if you live in a big house, do you regret the size of your morgage

[Lardlizard]

Or are you glad ?

I’m regretting it and we haven’t even exchanged

It’s not MASSIVE (1600sqft), but the mortgage and running costs feel very big. My salary is £50kpa but after bills each month, I’ll have £350. How do I have less fun-money now than when I was 19?!

We have 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms but have lived in it a long time so will be paid off in under 4 years. In the beginning we were stretched but got lucky with low interest rates on a tracker mortgage so overpaid while rates were so low. i love our home and don't regret it. We also bought 7 bed French house but property is very cheap there. We saved and bought that cash.

This is such an interesting thread, OP! I can't contribute, as I don't have a big house, but I bet there are lots of people who have a better lifestyle with smaller homes because of the disposable income.

That's nuts @Walesnotwhales! Do your bills include childcare or something else that will not have to be paid forever...?

I did have slight regrets at the beginning, but now its paid off I'm glad we stretched ourselves at the time.

Speak to a solicitor if you have lived I. The house for six months you do have a claim on it and if you have children together too x

Yes, it was hideous and stressful paying the mortgage. I've only got 10 years to go but couldn't take it any more so I sold it and just downsized.
It's a massive relief.

I could have upsized but instead chose to pay down my mortgage and invest in other properties. And with the way the job market is at the moment in my profession I so don't feel envious of my colleagues worrying about losing their job because they still have to work to pay off their mortgage. I've made changes to my house, added value here and there but if definitely could be in better condition and now I know, were the worst to happen I can downsize and retire with what's left over. Also because I chose to invest in other properties I have income from them. Remember the house you live in is the only property you will have to go out to work for which is fine if you're young and love your job but as you age or if you don't like your job then it's very different.

6 bed house in London zone 3, 2300 sq ft but doesn’t feel that big as we have 4 children. Needs renovating and an extension which we will do as it is an investment as well as giving us the space/location we need. The mortgage is huge - no regrets though as I like living here and hope to move further into London in future when the children are older. Life is too short, want to enjoy it while I can!

We live in a big house, but thanks to very generous deposits from both parents, our mortgage is negligible.

What I would say about a big house is that the running costs are high! I’ve name changed, so no stealth bragging intended. Cleaner, gardener, roofing work, gutter blocking, it all costs a fortune! And there’s definitely a premium that workmen chuck on for a bigger house. I’ve now started sending photos of jobs by WhatsApp to get quotes, instead of getting them here to quote. Then at least they’ve committed to a price for the job, not a price they think I can afford.

Our heating bills are very high and it’s difficult to keep open spaces warm!! We’re getting new windows next year. Cheapest quote is £50k!!! 🙊

We so needed the space and it does make life much better and easier. The mortgage is a worry aometimes, but I can sacrifice other things for that - as the house is worth it, as I get to enjoy it every day.

Yep, we bought an old 4 bed detached with huge gardens. It was our second house and my husband has been made redundant three times in the last year and each time we have struggled to make ends meet because of the huge mortgage. All my wages go on childcare and this time I’m on maternity leave. We never have money to redecorate but we just fell in love with the amount of space. I do regret it though.

Have owned several houses and none have been my dream house. Don't think there ever will be one. Always find something I'd like to change whether with the house or location. Don't really place much emotion on a house, just want it to be safe, warm, reasonable location and easy to maintain.

We moved to a big (for London!) house two years ago. No regrets. Love the space, having a spare room and the DC having a separate play room ( tv watching room when they become teenagers).

We usually have camping holidays with a cheap week in Europe every other year, the house is our priority.

Spent my 20s out every night, now in my 40s I love my house so much I'd rather stay in, so I'm saving pub money, anyway!

No, not when we got it apart of having far more little details to clean. My mortgage payments are now, after 20 years, tiny, I couldn’t afford a studio with that money BUT....

The amount of maintenance it requires makes up for the cheap mortgage, it seems like after all these years everything is falling to pieces no matter how much money I spend fixing it.

I'd love a bigger house...but since we've paid our mortgage off, I can't bring myself to have another one to buy one!

I adore my house! But we have 7 bedrooms. 4 bathrooms and 4 floors

It’s a f**ker to clean. I have a cleaner twice a week. But with kids that sometimes barely makes a dent. It takes a good 15 hrs or so to properly clean.

So whilst I adore my house. It’s affordable for us in a very good way. I would absolutely downsize in a shot! We’re thinking of buying a smaller house soon. Purely because it’s so hard to clean. Even my cleaner thinks it’s a bit house. But I love it. We’ve got gates. So it feels safe. It’s camera’d to the hilt. But I will miss it

However won’t miss all the crap I’m going to have to throw out!

We live in a reasonable size property for London with an LTV of around 20% now. We decided to put some money into BTL and investments rather than go bigger. We have a 4 bed semi with 2 receptions and 2 bathrooms. It is big enough and it is well situated for schools, transport etc. If we wanted to step up where we are now, stamp duty becomes a issue as it sticks 10-12% on parts of the purchase price. Which in turn affects the size and term of the mortgage. I don’t really want to take on that sort of commitment at the age of 50.

@Warmfirechocolate I know this might be overstepping but his behaviour sounds like it may be financial abuse. This article might be worth a read (in an incognito browser obviously) www.relate.org.uk/relationship-help/help-relationships/money-and-work/are-you-financially-abusive-relationship

Like SkaterGrrrl, we prioritised the big house over holidays. It was staycations/self catering for a long time when the children were young but as our salaries caught up, we are now able to fly to our holiday locations. Still not luxury holidays yet - waiting for the mortgage to be paid off first and school fees to subside.

I reckon I would rather be comfortable in a nice location for most of the year than splash it on flash holidays for a few weeks a year.

This might sound strange but I find a big house easier to clean. There is more storage space and a a place for everything, whereas when we were in a smaller house a I felt as if I had nowhere to put anything, it always felt messy. I find it easier to clean dust/dirt than tidy if that makes sense. Although it is expensive to run it feels so much more relaxing to be in.

I wish we had bought a house now renting instead and can't afford to save to buy and pay bills etc

Milkandhoney123 That's my feeling too.

We've recently massively upped our mortgage to live in our dream house. I can't ever imagine regretting it. I imagine it as a savings plan, the monthly payment is going towards our dream home and eventually our children's inheritance. If it all goes tits up we'll sell and move somewhere cheaper but for now I'm loving the opportunity to live in my dream home.

@warmfirechocolate - you need to talk to a “women’s advice centre”. It sounds as if you are expecting to leave (thehorseandhisboy) picked up on this. Don’t do it without good advice, if you have children you have rights, please talk to someone