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Original poster

Would you stretch yourselves for the perfect house?

91 replies

overthinkersanonnymus · 12/12/2024 19:35

I have found a beautiful house on a very sort after street and I'm so torn on what to do. I put a really cheeky offer in (30k below asking!) and as expected, was knocked back. She won't budge from full asking.

My current house is fine, 3 beds, 2 bathrooms, drive, decent sized garden etc but this one is a real upgrade. It would mean doubling out mortgage 🫣

We don't have children (unexplained infertility) so it could still happen, although after 2 years of trying, I doubt it. Not with out help anyway.

Would you stretch yourself in order to get the right house?

OP posts:
Livinginadream · 12/12/2024 19:36

No I'd prefer to spend on holidays and experiences.

Spaceid · 12/12/2024 19:39

How much time do you spend at home? If you’re homebodies and rarely go out then I would go for it. Personally, if I was a couple I’d like somewhere central with amenities and plenty of extra money for holidays and meals out, also money for things I really want (which unfortunately tend to be expensive)!

Original poster
overthinkersanonnymus · 12/12/2024 19:40

Livinginadream · 12/12/2024 19:36

No I'd prefer to spend on holidays and experiences.

That's the other side of the coin for me. We finally have a bit of breathing space, financially, in the current house.

So difficult!

OP posts:
HeddaGarbled · 12/12/2024 19:41

No, not right now: economy too unpredictable.

Original poster
overthinkersanonnymus · 12/12/2024 19:41

Spaceid · 12/12/2024 19:39

How much time do you spend at home? If you’re homebodies and rarely go out then I would go for it. Personally, if I was a couple I’d like somewhere central with amenities and plenty of extra money for holidays and meals out, also money for things I really want (which unfortunately tend to be expensive)!

We're definitely homebodies. We don't go anywhere!!

OP posts:
DelurkingAJ · 12/12/2024 19:42

We have, on the basis that pay rises would happen (they have, it’s already not a stretch two years later) and we will downsize when DSs leave home. Until then I see us as renting one bedroom and part of the large garden.

Nodlikeyouwerelistening · 12/12/2024 19:43

Don’t do it. Life is short and there are memories to be made. You are fortunate to be comfortable, no point ruining that when you don’t know what’s around the corner.
Plus if children do ever come along it’s all the meals at nice restaurants, couples holidays, weekends away etc. that you’ll miss. Then you may find yourself stretched beyond your limit with nothing to show for it except for a nice house you can’t even afford to do any work to when the decor becomes dated, or the bathrooms need redoing or the boiler breaks. Certainly no family holidays. Sounds miserable.

SatansBobbleheadedDashboardOrnament · 12/12/2024 19:44

Nope, probably not. We bought last year and went to our absolute upper limit. It's going to take us bloody ages to save to do the upgrades we want as we're now skint. We've had to budget ever since to be honest. The house is lovely, but we'll have no breathing space for the foreseeable.

LivingLaVidaBabyShower · 12/12/2024 19:46

How much mortgage are we talking

500k -> 1m 😵‍💫 hell no. I’m tired just thinking about it
200k -> 400k 🤩 hell yes. where do I sign?

Ineedanewsofa · 12/12/2024 19:47

We did, we were ready for a big life shift, we knew DC starting school would limit our ability to travel as much as we had previously so we decided to spend that money on the house instead.
4 years in and no regrets!

SirChenjins · 12/12/2024 19:48

It would depend on what wiggle room I was left with - if doubling the mortgage and stretching myself meant I’d only have £50 left for spending money after the bills were paid then no, but if I knew my job was secure and I still had enough left for a reasonable standard of living and emergencies then yes, definitely.

IMustDoMoreExercise · 12/12/2024 19:49

No way.

Peace of mind is more important than the perfect house.

wonderstuff · 12/12/2024 19:49

I much prefer a lower mortgage, I like to spend money on going out and holidays, I’ve also become much more financially conservative since the last recession, DH was repeatedly made redundant and we didn’t have savings, it was frankly terrifying.

Took me 4 years to conceive our first, has completely given up on being able to.

GettingStuffed · 12/12/2024 19:51

I wouldn't but DH would. We're waiting for our house to sell and we have our eyes on a new property that is around the top of our budget. It's fine but everyone else loves it so I'm keeping mum. Unlike you though it's mortgage free.

Original poster
overthinkersanonnymus · 12/12/2024 19:51

My mortgage would go from £185k to about £350k. This would leave us with no money to be able to put a new bathroom in or decorate ( which id want to do).

Jobs are fairly stable, as much as they can be in this economy, but we actually both hate our jobs!

OP posts:
Original poster
overthinkersanonnymus · 12/12/2024 19:54

@wonderstuff I'm very financially conservative too. I was homeless for a short while as a teenager so even having the house I have now is unbelievable to me. I never spend anything on myself.

I think maybe that's why a perfect house is important to me maybe? But the thought of a huge mortgage scares the shit out of me!

OP posts:
HappyFitnessQueen · 12/12/2024 19:57

Don't do it if you both hate your jobs. It will eventually make you feel stuck. You'll really curtail your freedom by maxing out your budget. A little spare cash is everything.

paranoiaofpufflings · 12/12/2024 19:58

I could be tempted but it depends. What makes it the perfect house? What would it give you that you are currently missing?

grafittiartist · 12/12/2024 19:58

We did.
Don't regret it, but our finances aren't great now we're heading towards retirement.
That's our bad planning though.

Christmaseason · 12/12/2024 20:01

Is there anything you can do to
your current home to make it nicer?

RubyRedBow · 12/12/2024 20:03

I wouldn’t do it. You don’t know what’s around the corner so stretching yourself doesn’t seem wise.

AudiobookListener · 12/12/2024 20:04

No. Nothing beats the feeling of not being worried about money.

KeepinOn · 12/12/2024 20:10

Doesn't seem sensible to me. Spend your money on the house you're in now. Make this one perfect, don't chase after what sounds like a mirage.

janfebmar87 · 12/12/2024 20:12

Would it be a stretch for a long time or do you see better jobs/ pay rises in the future. That's the real consideration

LivingLaVidaBabyShower · 12/12/2024 20:16

overthinkersanonnymus · 12/12/2024 19:51

My mortgage would go from £185k to about £350k. This would leave us with no money to be able to put a new bathroom in or decorate ( which id want to do).

Jobs are fairly stable, as much as they can be in this economy, but we actually both hate our jobs!

There sounds like there is zero fat in your budget which is never good.
If you expect 20k+ pay rises through promotion or job change in the next year or 2 crack on

if not… you have to seriously ask yourself “do I want to go for children?” (Appreciate it’s not a given)

if the answer is yes this prob isn’t the home for you. The financial strain from 0-4 cannot be overstated