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Original poster

Which house...

26 replies

hattiesmith · 05/11/2021 19:27

Would you choose either...

House A - Beautiful brand new 4 bed detached and have a high mortgage and low disposable income for the next 25 years ( until I'm 75)

Or

House B - 3 Bed semi, needs some tlc but nothing major ( say 15k ) worth of cosmetic work and have low mortgage paid off within 15 years and lots of disposable income.

I am adamant B is next choice but my husband can not decide!

OP posts:
Ohshittt · 05/11/2021 19:31

The 4 bed does sound lovely but i would go with B, surely you don't want to be worrying about paying a mortgage after retirement age? More disposable income to make the house lovelier as well. Although I can see why A is an option as well, the though of living in a detached house is heavenly!

Tricked2003 · 05/11/2021 19:32

B

I bought a new build once and it was a nightmare!!!!
Better to have more disposable income and enjoy life than being tied to a huge mortgage.

wildasthewind · 05/11/2021 19:33

No Brainer id go for B . l It would be nice to have money to enjoy yourself and enjoy rest of your life .As long as house is commfortable and you like B. Depends whats important to you having an amazing home if you cant do nothing else for years is pointless.

ErrolTheDragon · 05/11/2021 19:34

First question is whether you have any DC, and also if one or both of you is likely to do much WFH.

bonfireheart · 05/11/2021 19:34

Location?
Can you get B to same standard as A?

I went for B and am still here 10 years later! We got the house for a steal, needed lots of work doing but means I could design it to how I wanted. Two years I was looking to move for secondary school and honestly couldn't find anything as nice as my own house, cos I'd been able to make it mine. Always option B for me. Have had two promotions since and whilst not a high earner, all the disposable income I have left after paying such a low mortgage makes me feel more well off than I actually am lol

FOJN · 05/11/2021 19:36

I think it would depend on how much space you need at the moment and whether that requirement is likely to increase or decrease. Moving itself costs quite a lot of money so I would be considering which house was most likely to meet my needs for longer.

Afonavon · 05/11/2021 19:36

B, no question about it!

Fangdango · 05/11/2021 19:38

A if you can get a lower longer mortgage and plan to downsize, but only then. Otherwise B sounds great.

spotcheck · 05/11/2021 19:40

B

HappySantasaurus · 05/11/2021 19:42

Being detached would be the most important thing for me, so in that case I'd say A. Bad neighbours can be annoying/ a risk anywhere but at least if you are detached you don't have to share a building with them.

iwishiwasafish · 05/11/2021 19:42

B

TreadLightly3 · 05/11/2021 22:37

B

FindingMeno · 05/11/2021 22:54

B!

YoungGiftedPlump · 05/11/2021 22:59

@hattiesmith

Would you choose either...

House A - Beautiful brand new 4 bed detached and have a high mortgage and low disposable income for the next 25 years ( until I'm 75)

Or

House B - 3 Bed semi, needs some tlc but nothing major ( say 15k ) worth of cosmetic work and have low mortgage paid off within 15 years and lots of disposable income.

I am adamant B is next choice but my husband can not decide!

Can you get a residential mortgage past 67? We cant at the moment despite a very high predicted pension income.
Annabelle69 · 05/11/2021 23:07

OP, if your high mortgage is 25 years until you're 75, then you're 50 now. That's exactly the age to be gearing down on debt, not putting yourself under financial stress. If you were in your 30s I'd say get the best house you can afford, but in this case B.

Daisy03 · 05/11/2021 23:07

A lot would depend on location for me, is there much difference?

Maverick66 · 05/11/2021 23:13

B

CatonMat · 05/11/2021 23:14

B.

Lightswitch123 · 05/11/2021 23:15

B

Kittykatmacbill · 06/11/2021 06:55

B!
Who wants a massive house to clean.
Why would you tie all your income to the house
You have told us nothing of the location but generally new builds are in the middle of no where so, I am assuming that the other house is better located.

Catnipples · 06/11/2021 07:37

B without a doubt. You can get the work done, put your stamp on it & enjoy all the disposable income for the next 15 years until the mortgage is paid off - at which point you could then sell & opt for a smaller detached house/cottage.
New builds are a bit soulless IMO. If you get bored of the interior you won't have the option to change anything.
Good luck!

FaaarkinEll · 06/11/2021 07:41

I live in a new build and won't get one again. The lack of storage space is a killer, we basically have an understairs cupboard and the equivalent of one wardrobe for all our stuff. Loft is not use able for storage.

I would go for B

whosaidtha · 06/11/2021 07:41

Do you have 15k in cash to spend on the house?
Do you need 4 bedrooms?

Depends on those two things which I'd choose.

Greenybluetowel · 06/11/2021 09:54

We had a similar choice when we moved a month ago. We were selling after 4 years in a village and moving back to where we came from (with rising market we didn't regret the move financially). I'm the same age as you and our choices were House A detached, quite new, exclusive street of 4 houses, higher mortgage over shorter time. Or great choice of House B's and we would be mortgage free.

We chose House A as being detached made it worthwhile and I preferred not to compromise yet on my home whilst I'm still earning, for me a semi was a compromise too far.

Are you in a detached now? We were and I didn't want to change that.

ISeeTheLight · 06/11/2021 09:59

Another vote for B. You'd be mad to get yourself into that much debt whilst retired.

Were also currently in a new build and I would NEVER buy another one again. Its a nice house, but the kitchen is tiny, the garden is too small so we can't extend, we have had a stupid number of issues (as have lots of others on our estate, for some the whole ceiling has had to come down to fix). Plumbing problems which unless we rip the whole thing out and reinstall won't get fixed. And from a supposed 5 star builder.

House B all the way.

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