To want to move house?

[SarahJane321]

My husband and I bought our house 2 years ago. I want to look at buying our next house as our current one is quite small. He thinks it is too soon and said most people wait a lot longer to move. Am I being unreasonable to want to move now? We are both financially stable and would be able to afford it (but obviously things would be a bit tighter if we got a bigger house). How long did you wait before moving from one house to another?

We stayed in our first house for 6 years and then this house for 8 years (moving in the next couple of months). There is no rule though. If you stayed a bit longer and saved would that make moving more affordable?

How big a difference will the move make? Is it a case of adding a vital extra bedroom or getting out of an area you don’t like, or is it a vaguer ‘I’d like more space’?

If it’s the latter, I tend to agree with your husband. Moving is expensive, stressful and you really don’t want to have to do it again in three years when you may actually really need to do it.

Is there potential to extend your current home?

We stayed 8 years or so in our first house, where we had a 95% mortgage. We stayed even though it was small so we could pay down the mortgage and increase our deposit for the next house, which was helped by prices rising a little in the meantime and interest rates falling. So with the additional equity in the house, the amount we’d paid off, and the drop in rates, we were able to buy a much bigger house with a much lower LTV, but with the mortgage costing only £100 a month more. We’d both also progressed considerably at work by then so we were comfortable with the new commitment.

Unless you’ve managed to pay off a lot of your mortgage, or your circumstances have otherwise changed significantly in two years, I wouldn’t be looking to move right now, especially given the uncertainties about the housing market. But only you know if you can be happy where you are for longer.

Moving is so expensive, it's generally better to buy something you plan to be in for 5+ years. Admittedly with the stamp duty holiday now would be a better time to do it, but what's your mortgage situation? Would you need to pay an early exit fee? Solicitors, surveys, agent fees all add up really quickly... unless there are really good reasons to move now then yes, YABU

18 months and then used the profit to move to a bigger one in a better area.

I’d do it now with the tax break
Plus they’ll put house prices up soon

There’s no rule, it doesn’t matter what other people did, surely?
What matters are your reasons for moving now, and the costs, and how you both feel.
My ex bought every 9 months or so for 10 years - he was flipping houses, living in shells whilst he renovated and then sold to make money. Compared to that, your 2 years is quite long!

Plus they’ll put house prices up soon

‘They’? 🧐