To buy a house now

[Ebeneser]

I'm 23 weeks pregnant.
I own a terraced house, and my partner a flat. Both have no mortgage.
Plan currently has been to live in mine and then sell both and buy a place together within about a year of baby being born.

I have seen a detached house within the very upper limit of our price range, that I've always liked, near where I live. It currently looks like something out of a 1960s horror though, and will need a bit of work to it. It currently has no heating other than electric heaters, no double glazing and the bathroom and kitchen would need replacing, although they look functional enough (but no shower!).
I'm personally used to slumming it, and when I first moved in to mine I had no heating and net curtains that froze to the single pane glass for years. DP likes his creature comforts however, and can't seem to see past the horror of the bathroom decor. I have arranged a viewing anyway.

Would I be bat shit crazy, at this stage of my pregnancy to attempt to buy a house which needs work doing to it, whilst trying to sell 2 others? Also concerned about money. Once both properties have been sold, it should be a smallish mortgage, but then there's childcare to consider, and at a ball park figure I'd only have about £300 left per month to put towards savings, food & petrol etc (I'm guessing DP would have similar as well) . I've got used to having no mortgage or debt, and therefore no worries about getting made redundant etc. I'd be putting myself back into struggle again because I'll have to fork out for a mortgage AND childcare (unplanned pregnancy).

I would sell one of your homes (the highest value one), move into the other one together whilst the work on this detached one is being done.

Sell the cheaper home when detatched is move in ready and put the proceeds of that sale in a "rainy day" fund siphoning off as your lender allows to overpay on the new mortgage.

Sounds a bit stressful but is there any chance you could put in a cheeky offer and use the difference to replace the bathroom and put in heating.

Yes, unless it's a complete dream house I think you'd be mad. Don't underestimate the stress of having a new baby maybe give yourself a bit of time. Fixer-uppers will come up when you're ready if that's what you want. Why not sell the flat first then go from there? The market is a bit slow in some places at the moment so selling two places could take longer than you expect. It'll be easier on you when you're on full pay rather than mat leave too.

My biggest thought and issue is you are not married, just have a live in partner so do you both want to mix finances by buying together?

I would buy the house but you may haev to get a bridging loan if you can't sell the other 2 places first. I bought my first when pregnant with baby no. 1 (we were married) and it took until the July to complete and she was born in September.

It's probably as close to my dream home as it gets so far. I nearly wet myself with excitement when I saw the for sale sign. I've never seen it for sale in all the years I've been here, and from the outside it looks lovely. It's detached, has nearly 1/2 acre of gardens, a garage, an old stone outbuilding, parking for 2 or 3 cars and most importantly hardly any other neighbours nearby so an extremely unlikely chance of any CFer's parking over the drive (which is a constant problem where I am, and winds me up no end).

I've been thinking of bridging loans whilst the others sell, giving us a chance to do it up before we move in, but I'm not sure my DP would be as enthusiastic as me. The flat would probably sell quicker and for more money because of its location.

It has the potential to be a fantastic family home. The sane, rational part of me is telling me it's not a good idea though, especially given my impending motherhood!

Moving in together and blending finances is a LOT of commitment.
Buying a big house and doing it up is a LOT of commitment.
Having a baby is a LOT of commitment.

I'd say only do it if you are BOTH 100% on board for this. Then get everything legally watertight (what if you split, what if you/baby have health problems after the birth, what if one of you is made redundant or has hours cut etc).

You may have loved this house forever, but there are other houses out there. It isn't the only one in the entire UK that could be your dream home and a similar opportunity will present itself later. It isn't worth ruining your relationship and time to grow as a family over a house.

If you both LOVE this house and/or can see it as a way to pave financial security for life, it might be worth it. But you do BOTH need to want this. Otherwise, you'll end up selling it half done up, as a single mum, possibly having lost a lot fo money & a potential life partner.

No way. What if the baby is early? You’re ill?

Living in a shithole with a small baby is no fun at all. It’s depressing and you won’t feel you can have people over.

There will be other houses at a more convenient time.

Well, we went to see the house. It needs far more work doing to it than the listing depicts. We are talking about £50K+ odd. It needs new roof, re-pointing, ceiling & walls need replastering (damp & blown plaster in several places), new windows (current ones are rotten), has no central heating, wiring is literally prehistorc, the actual plumbing could do with re-routing (pipes are in some proper random places). Kitchen & bathroom need replacing (for some reason the toilet is at an angle, and the bit that connects the toilet to the soil pipe is wrapped in about 20 rolls of duck tape). The actual outhouses are falling to bits, parts of roof missing, sheep poo etc everywhere.

So alas, that's a bit too much for us to take on at the moment. Shame really as it has the potential to be an absolutely fabulous home, and the outbuildings could be done up for something like holiday lets.

So back to original plan of having baby, and looking again in about a years time when I should be back at work full time and adjusted to having a small dependent (can't be much harder than a naughty dog right? )

Wise decision. I think your 50K to do all that work is very conservative, it would cost at least twice the amount.