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Original poster

At what age did you buy your forever home?

128 replies

ThedaBara · 13/02/2025 20:32

Just being nosy.
DH and i are still in our starter home, after 15 years. We're almost mortgage free, but with COVID and childcare costs, have no savings. Our youngest is about to start school, so that will free up some cash. We would probably need to borrow at least 150k to move into a home we could consider our forever home. I'm about to turn 40 and the thought of taking on a huge mortgage at this age is worrying. WWYD?

OP posts:
LetMeStopWhatImDoingToFixTheProblemYouMade · 13/02/2025 20:37

Urgh. If my maths is correct 28 but don't misunderstand - this is only our forever home because DH is a tight arse and says no every time I show him a house that would suit our needs. However, it also means we will be mortgage free very soon and then can look at retiring very young and travelling the world.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/02/2025 20:42

I don't really get the 'forever home' thing tbh. How do you know a home will be your forever home? You don't know what will happen in the future. You might want or need to move. I'm in my early 50s and I'm currently living in the 4th house I've owned (well, one was a flat). They all were what I needed at the time, but I never assumed any of them were forever.

JustWalkingTheDogs · 13/02/2025 20:44

48 when I moved into my forever home

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Bluevelvetsofa · 13/02/2025 20:44

43 when we bought the home we stayed in the longest, the one the children left home from and the one we finished with a mortgage in.

ZenNudist · 13/02/2025 20:45

I bought my house at 28, paid it off at 34 and declined to move to a bigger house so I'm stuck with this. It's a 7 bed semi detached (was 4 bed but we converted the loft). It's big but not huge and not what I'd have dreamt of

I have 5 holidays booked for this year and planning a 6th to America in Oct so being mortgage free has its benefits.

wipeywipe · 13/02/2025 20:46

We would probably need to borrow at least 150k to move into a home we could consider our forever home. I'm about to turn 40 and the thought of taking on a huge mortgage at this age is worrying.

I don't know anyone who would consider 150k a huge mortgage & your 40...

babiesinthesnowflakes · 13/02/2025 20:46

I guess the house we’re in now could be considered our forever home in that it’s big enough for our needs, is in the right location for schools and work, has a garden etc. I was 35 when we bought it.

I still think we might move in the future though! We live in an expensive area and once the kids move out I don’t think we will need as much space so it would be nice to free up some cash.

SlaveToAGoldenRetriever · 13/02/2025 20:46

I thought that we’d bought our forever home when I was 49. Now 58, divorced and starting over..! 🙃

outside1inside · 13/02/2025 20:46
  1. It was definitely our forever home when we bought it. But now I think if we downsized we could be mortgage free and have thousands of pounds of spare money every year. Or we could pack up altogether and travel. Or buy to rent and live off the rent.

Forever seems much more permanent when you've been stuck in it for 10 years.

cocoloco23 · 13/02/2025 20:47

I’ll be 51.

Whatanidiot123 · 13/02/2025 20:48

@ThedaBara £150k mortgage at 40 doesn’t sound bad but I guess that depends on your income. What constitutes a starter home?

We are still in our first home at 44, which might be our forever home. We’ve renovated it extended and done the loft over 12 years. It has 4 beds, 2 bath, downstairs loo etc but there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a terrace, no parking and we have a smallish kitchen diner. I’d love parking, a larger garden, a utility, a large kitchen and a separate study/music room. Unfortunately around here that’s c£900k so we’d have to borrow £300k plus stamp duty of £38k approx. Like you I can’t face a large mortgage - it’s affordable with our income but we’re reluctant to tie ourselves down to a huge debt when we’re almost mortgage free.

TokyoSushi · 13/02/2025 20:50

39, it was our 3rd house

ohtowinthelottery · 13/02/2025 20:50

28 - although I had no idea it was our forever home at the time. We've been here 32 years now and whilst we have no immediate plans to move, we will probably downsize at some point.

hoodiemassive · 13/02/2025 20:51

We bought our forever home at 30, but lost it all 14 years later. We are now living mortgage free in a tiny house and are happier than ever.

CatCurious · 13/02/2025 20:52

38

Silvertulips · 13/02/2025 20:52

I also don’t think of a house as a forever home.

We have 4 beds and 3 kids at home, when they leave we shall move, downsize, and enjoy the mortgage free life.

Coconutter24 · 13/02/2025 20:56

When I was 27 we bought our second home and I told everyone it was our forever home….. then 7 years later we moved.

lilybloom2 · 13/02/2025 20:57

32 then sold it at 52 for a better lifestyle

lemonwrighty · 13/02/2025 20:59

ThedaBara · 13/02/2025 20:32

Just being nosy.
DH and i are still in our starter home, after 15 years. We're almost mortgage free, but with COVID and childcare costs, have no savings. Our youngest is about to start school, so that will free up some cash. We would probably need to borrow at least 150k to move into a home we could consider our forever home. I'm about to turn 40 and the thought of taking on a huge mortgage at this age is worrying. WWYD?

£150,000 is definitely not a huge mortgage at nearly 40.

I'm about to take on a £300,000 mortgage at 35 on what will be our 2nd home. My husband is calling it his forever home.

MayaPinion · 13/02/2025 20:59

Moved into ‘forever’ home at 42. 14 years on it has more than doubled in value to about £550,000. Kids are now late teens - one at uni and one expected to go in 2026. There’s about £60k left on the mortgage.

We are splitting up and taking the money. Neither of us, even if we could, has a desire to buy the other out. The house and garden are just too big now. There’s too much work and quite frankly I have done my job and want to take my share and live a low maintenance lifestyle at a beach. It has been a great investment, but ultimately it is a family home (great schools, great location, great amenities, great sense of community), and ideally I’d like to see it passed on to a new family.

So, not a forever home, but a long term home. My idea of a forever home now is an apartment by the beach 🏖️

ahdlfj · 13/02/2025 21:03

Technically 33, but we bought with HTB so at 38 will be remortgaging to pay it off so will essentially look like first time buyers from a figures perspective, our mortgage is much bigger than what you're proposing, put it that way! It doesn't worry me though, I'm just relieved we've bought a long term house, it's such a weight off my mind, we'll pay it off before retirement, have a good sized asset, and most importantly, a home we love for decades to come.

henlake7 · 13/02/2025 21:04

I don't think I have TBH.
Bought my house at 26 and been here 25 years so mortgage paid and no plans to move but honestly it's just because I couldn't afford to get anything nicer.
I mean I'm certainly glad I have my house but there is plenty I would change if I could.

CerealPosterHere · 13/02/2025 21:05

bought my first house at 21 and forever home at 25yo

Original poster
ThedaBara · 13/02/2025 21:05

Totally agree that 150k is not 'huge' in London, and forever home is silly terminology. My reservations are:
-it would take a year or so to save up for things like stamp duty, fees, moving costs and a buffer for any works

  • we're so close to being mortgage free, so that's quite tempting. But no room to extend, and area not lovely
-would like to start saving for helping kids with uni etc -it would be nice to scale back at work

I wonder if we would regret making a big financial commitment just to have a bigger house. Our current house is just about big enough, just

OP posts:
ahdlfj · 13/02/2025 21:06

I wonder if we would regret making a big financial commitment just to have a bigger house. Our current house is just about big enough, just

Worst case you just sell up and down size? Seems worth the low risk gamble to me

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