To ask what you’d do? Property related.

[Merryoldgoat]

My DH and I moved away from an area we loved 5 years ago because we wanted to buy a house and couldn’t afford one there.

We bought a large 3 bed house and have a fair bit of equity. House supposedly now worth £550k ish.

We live in a not very fashionable London suburb in SW London. It’s ‘fine’. I’ve made some friends, kids are settled and life works fine. DH and I have reasonably secure jobs, haven’t been affected too much by Covid-19 and earn good money.

Youngest DS will be able to access 30 hours funding from next year which will free up around £600 per month.

So. These are our options.

1. Plough more money into the mortgage, pay off house much sooner and be mortgage free in 10 ish years.

1. Move back to a nicer area. We’d not really be able to get a better house but it would be in a much nicer area. We’d be looking at having to spend £800k ish for a house that would be suitable in this area.

1. Stay as we are and buy an investment property to rent out.

1. Extend our house into the loft - we have massive loft space and could add 2 double beds plus bathroom up there. Our house would then be 5 double bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Prob worth something like £750k after that - it would cost £60k ish which wouldn’t really affect our mortgage massively.

I appreciate these are nice problems to have. But life isn’t all roses - both sons have SEN, I have some chronic health issues.

Where we are has great school provision for SEN but schools are generally better in the nicer area.

So what do you reckon?

I think I’m tempted by 4 but could be persuaded any way. DH thinks 3 or 4.

1. It will improve where you are now and give you more equity when you move

@Saz12

I would be very concerned about starting big projects now: likely to suffer long delays due to Covid issues.

Personally I’d worry about about tying all my money up in property just now. We’re in recession, the market now is buoyant due to pent-up demand.... but once the frenetic activity stops prices may well not keep rising. The 2008 crash didn’t impact SE/London so much, but I think this recession will.

So, short term I’d do (1), and wait to see how things go in the coming year or so.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear - nothing actually happening until next year Easter at the very earliest. Definitely need to see how things go.

@Merryoldgoat
that sounds like a plan haha! I’m 42, still fairly young I know, but nice to be mortgage free.

I’ve been looking at garden rooms too- we have a converted cellar - basically a sound proofed man cave with music stuff in it. Doubles up as an office for hubby. Thought I could relocate my 4 year old and her friends to the garden room

I'd go for 3, but that's because I hate moving.

I also hate having anything resembling building work going on, so that rules out 4 for me.

But 3 keeps your options open in a way that the others don't. You still have equity in property and you can throw the rental income into increasing equity, building pensions, or generally having a nice life.

1: We are now mortgage free, so dh retired at 58. It is bloody marvellous to know that you own the roof over your head, no worrying about negative equity etc. It gives you options.

Could you combine 1 and 4?

I would for for option 1 AND a garden room. If as a family you have all the space you need but you want a home office and a guest room, then I think a garden room would suit and cost you a lot less. DH works from home full time and has a garden room which cost us £7,000 and was set up in a week with no disruption to the house. He has enough room for a sofa, desk, pool table filing cabinet and an arcade machine! You could easily make a garden room multi purpose if you wanted to put up guests. Having the roof over your head bought and paid for is a huge relief and a fantastic cushion against life's blows.

@thegcatsmother

1: We are now mortgage free, so dh retired at 58. It is bloody marvellous to know that you own the roof over your head, no worrying about negative equity etc. It gives you options.

Could you combine 1 and 4?

Yes, possibly. The additional borrowing wouldn’t cost that much so we’d be mortgage free in our early 50s even with a loft.

@krustykittens

I would for for option 1 AND a garden room. If as a family you have all the space you need but you want a home office and a guest room, then I think a garden room would suit and cost you a lot less. DH works from home full time and has a garden room which cost us £7,000 and was set up in a week with no disruption to the house. He has enough room for a sofa, desk, pool table filing cabinet and an arcade machine! You could easily make a garden room multi purpose if you wanted to put up guests. Having the roof over your head bought and paid for is a huge relief and a fantastic cushion against life's blows.

I really want a garden room as you described. My DH wants one as a leisure space but doesn’t want the office space outside.

If the people who built our house had planned the space better we’d have 4 bedrooms but the layout won’t accommodate it now without such a load of work that the loft is the easier option.

Do 4 and then do 2.

I'd do 4 then sell and move before youngest starts school

Anything but 2 tbh

4 definitely. But only do as much work as would enhance your quality of life. Don't do work just for the sake of it. Any funds not used can be thrown into the mortgage to reduce the term. Best of both worlds.

We've got a garden room which we use as a home office. It's been invaluable while we've both been wfh. And once we're both back in the office, DD can use it as a den for her and her mates.

The thing is I suspect I’d be too attached after all the work to sell. Youngest may need a special school and there’s a good one on my doorstep.

Christ. I don’t know.

I don't want to sound doomy but heaven knows what Covid and then the threatened No Deal Brexit will do to property prices. We are living in really uncertain times. At present it looks as if property prices will plummet because of unemployment from Covid, then fall again if there is a no deal Brexit, with less desirable places getting almost impossible to sell. I also wonder if inflation could soar which would make mortgages more expensive. So, you COULD sell now at a reasonable price, rent for a bit and bank your equity and if prices fall then quickly put down a big deposit and snap up a bargain in your preferred area. And if prices don't fall, then move out of your rental quick, into somewhere no worse than your present house. ( I'm willing to be corrected on any of my assumptions by the way. I'm in a similar situation to you, and I have decided to stick with what I have for now, it's OK really! )

There is no way I’m going into rental - I have a lot of equity, prices would have to drop by over 50% before I hit negative equity. My mortgage is £1300, rental would be nearly £2k - not a chance!!

Re 4 '; overdevelopment of a property does not always make a house more valuable or easier to sell.

Does anybody pay 750 K to live in your area? Don't you think they'd have the same reservations as you, and spend their 750K to buy into a different area ?

I would always go for paying off the mortgage to be mortgage free ASAP. The ultimate freedom and security.

BTL has had its day IMO;  don't put your head in that noose.      Letting regulations are becoming ever stricter for landlords (and more protective of tenants).  We're all facing economic and health uncertainty,  which means  more tenants are going to  default on rent.

1. Nothing beats the feeling of security in owning your own home.

Op can you name rhe two areas? This could make all the difference.

My advice would be go see some houses in your preferred area. A bit like Kirsty and Phils love it or list it thing, then make a decision on whether any houses in your preferred area are better than what yours would be like done up. Then call it.

Seeing houses will help you decide. At least look on line.

@2bazookas

Re 4 '; overdevelopment of a property does not always make a house more valuable or easier to sell.

Does anybody pay 750 K to live in your area? Don't you think they'd have the same reservations as you, and spend their 750K to buy into a different area ?

I would always go for paying off the mortgage to be mortgage free ASAP. The ultimate freedom and security.

BTL has had its day IMO;  don't put your head in that noose.      Letting regulations are becoming ever stricter for landlords (and more protective of tenants).  We're all facing economic and health uncertainty,  which means  more tenants are going to  default on rent.</div></div>

£750 for a 5 bed in my area vs 3 bed in nearby.

Houses are locally for that kind of price.

I agree about overdevelopment and it’s a concept. I have.

1 or 4 depending on your short to medium term space requirements.

@Bluntness100

I live in an area between Sutton and Wimbledon that’s well connected to A3 & A24 And would ideally want to move towards Kingston upon Thames (Surbiton, Kingston, Hampton Wick, Thames Ditton etc).

It’s a really hard decision. I’m just not sure all the money is worth it to be in a nicer area when I just work anyway and I’m not far from there if I want to get there for coffee etc.

4.- be careful you don’t create a top heavy home with not enough living space down stairs for the number of bedrooms. You might be better to create a single master bedroom with separate bathroom and then a smaller office space with a sofa bed.

@Atalune

1.

4.- be careful you don’t create a top heavy home with not enough living space down stairs for the number of bedrooms. You might be better to create a single master bedroom with separate bathroom and then a smaller office space with a sofa bed.

Yes, that sounds like a good plan!

1 for now and keep 4 on the back burner? I think the good SEN provision and special school on the doorstep could be worth its weight in gold in your position. I have a DC with SEN and agree with PP that the on paper 'best schools' are not always best for their needs. Sounds a bit daft but could you make a bit of a 'treat budget' for going on days or evenings out to the nice area a couple of times a month so you feel you're not missing out?

I would prioritize education. If your current home provides the best school for your kids then stay where you are . If it doesn’t, then move where the best education would be.

If you stay out, pay off your mortgage and then funnel the extra money into retirement savings. We almost moved to a bigger house in our same school catchment. Ultimately we realized just staying in our home means we can possibly retire earlier. Our house is perfectly fine, just lacks a couple of little things we would like to have, but a better retirement is now our goal.