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Original poster

Mortgage free or amazing house?

95 replies

Mayhemmumma · 19/08/2021 20:32

What to choose - very fortunate position I realise.

Sell our house, pay off mortgage buy nice house in cash further out of ideal location, that bit too far to easily see friends or kids attend their current clubs but could go to a lovely school etc.

Double our mortgage (to 350k) buy an incredible house in great location? Lifestyle etc set up long term.

OP posts:
Mrsbclinton · 19/08/2021 20:34

Id prefer to be mortgage free & have spare cash for holidays etc

cafenoirbiscuit · 19/08/2021 20:34

Depends how old you are and what your finances are like

nancybotwinbloom · 19/08/2021 20:34

How nice is this house? £350 k in the northwest is amazing!

Not so much in the south.

Can you post a floor plan of both so it's not idenyfinh?

nancybotwinbloom · 19/08/2021 20:35

Also how old are your kids? What about work?

DuesToTheDirt · 19/08/2021 20:36

Go for the amazing house./location/lifestyle. Mortgages are only money.

NoSquirrels · 19/08/2021 20:36

@Mayhemmumma

What to choose - very fortunate position I realise.

Sell our house, pay off mortgage buy nice house in cash further out of ideal location, that bit too far to easily see friends or kids attend their current clubs but could go to a lovely school etc.

Double our mortgage (to 350k) buy an incredible house in great location? Lifestyle etc set up long term.

Stay put?
boatyardblues · 19/08/2021 20:38

Mortgage free. What you’re not paying on a mortgage covers a lot of taxis etc and you’re not shackled to a job you hate or terrified of an adverse change in life circumstances. The kids will make new friends at their new school. They will also be off your hands sooner than you think or able to get around under their own steam. Once you are mortgage free you can also stuff money into savings or a pension so you’ve got more options when you’ve had a gutful of work or life takes an unexpected turn.

MeanMrMustardSeed · 19/08/2021 20:38

How old are you? This is key info.

FuckingFlumps · 19/08/2021 20:39

If they are your only options then I would stay put.

You already have a reasonable list of negatives about the mortgage free house and a 350k mortgage seems like a really risky idea.

Staying put makes the most sense.

toolazytothinkofausername · 19/08/2021 20:40

We need to see the 2 houses- rightmove links please!

ThatIsQuiteACrane · 19/08/2021 20:41

An incredible house in a great location for £350k...? Where, out of interest? We're in a fairly ordinary Scottish town and £350k would get you a very standard new build or a large flat.

I think it depends on how old you and your partner and children are and how secure your jobs are.

We are in a relatively similar position - could sell up and buy outright a 'normal' family home here in a fine location (would be around £400k) or wait for our dream home to come on and have a mortgage of £800k+. I lean towards the former and DH the latter! His view is that we are in our 30s with young children and secure(ish!) jobs - we should buy the biggest and best we possibly can and enjoy raising the children there. We'll work anyway as neither of us have plans to stop working, and we can still go on holiday etc so the size of mortgage doesn't matter that much to him versus the home of his dreams.

It depends what's important to you as well and how financially secure you want to feel.

Hope you get your dream place anyway! Smile

NoSquirrels · 19/08/2021 20:44

An incredible house in a great location for £350k...? Where, out of interest? We're in a fairly ordinary Scottish town and £350k would get you a very standard new build or a large flat.

OP says the incredible house will double their mortgage, making the mortgage £350K. It’s not the house price.

DarkDarkNight · 19/08/2021 20:45

I’d rather be mortgage free. It’s the dream for me. I would prefer to have a better work-life balance and if I didn’t have rent or mortgage to pay I could go part time, put more into a pension and just generally enjoy life more.

Flickeringgreenlight · 19/08/2021 20:47

Mortgage free! It'd be a very privileged position to be in and I'd take it over any amazing houses!

Treezan82 · 19/08/2021 20:54

In a similar position! Could be mortgage free in 10 years or make my house incredible but take 20 years to pay off. Leaning towards 2nd...

HarrisMcCoo · 19/08/2021 20:58

Mortgage free every time.

MadeForThis · 19/08/2021 21:08

Stay put. Why do you have to move to either house?

Jerseygirl12 · 19/08/2021 21:11

I also think stay put.

Saz12 · 19/08/2021 21:11

Depends... your age, your savings, your pension, how you feel about your job(s), do you like to spend or are you happy without?

Personally I’d choose the amazing house, but that’s because I like my job and don’t particularly want to retire early, and don’t have expensive taste in cars/ jewellery/ clothes/ grooming/ hotels/ etc...would value a great location and a characterful house (neither of which come cheap).

Saz12 · 19/08/2021 21:14

But... my mortgage is paid off, I have savings, work part time and I’m early 40’s. If I was 60, I’d want to be mortgage free, if I was 28 I’d - OK, actually I’d be renting.

ImAddictedToMyPhone · 19/08/2021 21:17

This massively depends on your age.

ivykaty44 · 19/08/2021 21:20

id go for the extra mortgage now, you can always change your mind further down the line, but the other way you can't really go back from

Monkeytennis97 · 19/08/2021 21:22

As an almost 50 yo I'd go for mortgage free. My 30yo self would have chosen the other option.

GingerBreadTeddy · 19/08/2021 21:24

How old are you? How old are kids? How much income is coming in? Do you have savings/investments/pensions?
No one can advise without knowing the bigger picture

MaggieFS · 19/08/2021 21:27

It completely depends how much disposable income you'd have left after the increased mortgage.

As long as you can still enjoy life, I'd go for that option because the attraction of being mortgage free wouldn't be worth the compromises you've described.