Cheaper home or stretched

[Bells3032]

So we found a house this week we love. The road is the exact road I always wanted (the last house to sell on that street was in 2017) and the house is done up beautifully. We would need very limited work done which would be amazing. It's a tiny bit smaller than I originally wanted but still plenty big enough for two adults and two kids. We currently don't have kids but looking to ttc later this year.

Its about 150k below our top budget meaning we can take a lower mortgage and still have plenty of savings.

Obv anything bigger would stretch our budgets a lot further and we are likely to need childcare etc in the next few years.

We are currently chain free and in a good position as living in a home owned by relatives so not paying rent.

Would you to for a cheaper house thats slightly smaller than what you wanted but the perfect pitch or hold out for a bigger house that would stretch budgets and we can't guarentee.

This one! If you will ttc, expensive years ahead so need to stretch now.

This sounds pretty much perfect for you right now. Why stretch yourself to put size over location and quality?

If it’s a house you love then go for it, is an extension possible? Is it future proof?

You might catch for triplets!!

I’d go for this house, sounds perfect. Could you extend it?

I'd probably go for something a bit bigger as otherwise you may want to move again in less than five years. If you don't mind moving again (that's what we did) then the house sounds perfect.

Do you need to ask ? Ha ha - Road you want - bit smaller but no children yet - & money in the bank. I once held out for a long time for perfect house - - there isn't any such thing IMHO - My house is way smaller than I would like but apart from that - location etc - lovely. Buy it.

But whatever you decide I wish you well Bells3032

Well it depends on the price, if it's a lot of stamp duty & then a move in few yrs is more stamp duty then maybe not.

This one. Is there scope to extend later down the line if you want to?

Ours is a cheaper house. For the most part lovely room sizes, but small kitchen and downstairs bathroom. We're converting the loft into a bedroom, putting the bathroom in the small bedroom and knocking through to create a huge kitchen. We've been here four years and only now are thinking about doing it.

We discussed moving but actually, we'd still end up comprising on something (usually the third bedroom) and it will cost us more overall than doing the renovations.

I would also prefer the lifestyle over the house. We could super stretch and get a huge house with few compromises, but then we'd have to give up things like travel abroad which we're not prepared to do.

Also, the perfect house doesn't exist. You'll more likely find one that's the right size but the wrong location.

Normally I say bigger house but it sounds like this house is perfect for what you want so I’d go for it

@Kurtain

Well it depends on the price, if it's a lot of stamp duty & then a move in few yrs is more stamp duty then maybe not.

No stamp duty at the moment up to £500k. That got my DH thinking about moving again rather than renovating, but we keep finding that nothing compares to what we'll have once it's all done.

Thanks all. Not really. Much space to extend as has already been extended although you could go up into the loft if you liked.

It's still 1500 to 1600 square feet and 4 bed so still very comfy for 4 people.

My husband is a 2pqe solicitor so salary likely to increase significantly in next ten years so its likely we will move in 5 to 10 years although wouldn't have to

@TeetotalKoala I'm aware of that but 500k wouldn't get me much more than a studio in my neck of the woods so my stamp duty is always high if considering a move.

If you wouldn't have to move for 5 plus yrs then it sounds good.

We are in our perfect location but house is a bit small, however with stamp duty, turbulent economy staying put. Won't move until dc start high school now.

@Kurtain us either. Our got. Budget was over a million and could barely find something not in dire condition for that

That's a very hefty budget!

Ours is similar but the vast majority of that is equity.

@Kurtain not for a four bed home in London it isn't

no but considering your DHs career stage

We've have very generous parents thankfully

That makes more sense

I presume it's suitable for schools? If so & it's perfect except for size then go for it.

It's Literally on the road behind one of the best schools in the area so should have no issues getting in (or selling on because of that Tbh). As the crow flies there's only a few houses closer

Another aspect to consider for not stretching is the cost of childcare. It may not be applicable but if you do have to pay it's £££. Ours was the price of another mortgage & now that both dc are in school it's nice to have it as extra!

This house sounds great for you.
Once we have dc we should all check the uptodate criteria for local schools. I think Scotland has proper catchments but England school admission policies can be weird. Nearest child East of the A2, stuff like that...
My eldest was cross he didn’t go to the nearest school, next to pre-school with his friends. We were in the area for a good school in the other direction, apparently. Eventually he understood...

In the nicest possible way, it sounds like you have more money than you know what to do with.

You've found what sounds like the perfect house that's more than big enough (why would you want more than 4 bedrooms if you're only planning 2 DC that you don't even have yet?) in the location that you want and it's affordable. You're incredibly fortunate.

I don't understand why you'd be looking to move later on either. You've already found the perfect house. I'd be looking to pay down the mortgage and just enjoy living in it without the pressure of having to keep working hard in a big job in order to keep paying the mortgage.