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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

If you paid £1m+ for your house...

202 replies

propertydetective · 16/03/2021 11:07

How old were you and how?
If just from savings/earnings, what sort of level were you at financially?

Sorry to be nosey. DH and I live in a three bed semi, we've been here a year and it's worth £550k. We don't have children yet but have dogs and realise that it's pretty annoying not having the space we desire and would prefer detached to not piss off our neighbours.

In our area a 4 bed detached can range from £850k-£1m+, we live by the coast in a commuter town so the closer you get to the sea, of course the prices rise. I found a house we would love to buy in the future just to figure out prices, that was listed for £950k. The houses are never on for more than a week before SSTC so they always seem to go for the asking price or thereabouts.

And my AIBU, is it just stupid to potentially have such a big mortgage? I'm 26 now and we have achieved everything with 0 financial help and we are really proud. But likewise, we will seriously need promotions/luck to get the money together.

We can currently get a mortgage for around £500k meaning we either need major promotions or to win some money. I like to dream though...

OP posts:
WaggishDancer · 16/03/2021 17:01

Also, we sold in London and bought in Surrey. Much nicer area for us but nowhere near as expensive for property so we got loads more for our money.

minniemoocher · 16/03/2021 17:17

Half a million is a very expensive property for most people of any age! If space is what you desire, there's plenty of places where you can buy a 4 bed detached for your current budget.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 16/03/2021 17:30

Squashiesaremyfav?

Why not? Have a look on rightmove at sold house prices in popular commuter towns in the south east - think guildford, sevenoaks, beaconsfield, st albans etc. There are lots of 3 and 4 bed homes selling for £800k plus. Who do you think is buying them?

There are many many people earning towards £100k in london. Lawyers, accountants, management consultants, bankers, investment advisors, actuaries, sales directors, commercial and operations managers IT professionals, civil servants, business people, builders, property developers.... lots. Why would people lie about it?

Tumbleweed101 · 16/03/2021 17:47

Stick within your budget if you are intending to have children.

Delphigirl · 16/03/2021 17:51

Bought £2m at 34 and 39. Two high earners in banking and law and had done v well from first house bought at 28/34 so had a deposit of 500k

PattyPan · 16/03/2021 18:01

Yabu in that I don't understand how a 3 bedroom semi can possibly be too small for a couple when that's the average family house.

Focus on building up equity in your current home and paying off the mortgage early (thus saving interest) until you can increase your earnings. The bigger a deposit you have, the less the income multiples matter. You could also consider looking in a different area i.e. further inland.

macshoto · 16/03/2021 18:02

Bought first property (in London) age 28 and mortgaged at largest earnings multiple (slightly over 3x). Very small amount of financial help -

bumblenbean · 16/03/2021 18:13

We’ve literally just completed on a £1m house - moved in on Friday. Aged 38 and 39.

It’s a huge leap from our last place. The only way we were able to do so is by selling a small city centre flat I have which I was renting to tenants, and taking on a bigger mortgage (a chunk of which we will pay off when flat sale completes to bring mortgage payments down to similar levels to before). We also both earn decent salaries and DH is very good at saving (me not so much!)

there’s no way we’d be where we are without help from my parents, as they helped me buy the flat years ago and also lent us some money when we bought our first house (now repaid). I’m fully aware of how lucky we are.

The main reason we’ve moved here is for location, school and family reasons. It’s a big step and there’s no way we’d have done it if we didn’t have the safety net of the other property to sell.

SilentBob · 16/03/2021 18:14

22 and a half. I just cut back on avocados and takeaway coffees.

Gwegowygwiggs · 16/03/2021 18:18

Fucking hell stealth boast or what.

This is a shameless excuse at promoting the fact that you can afford a £1m+ property. I live in one too, but I haven't given a second thought to how my neighbours or anyone else afforded it and why would I? Who gives a shiny shit. Get back in your box.

stackemhigh · 16/03/2021 18:25

@Gwegowygwiggs

Fucking hell stealth boast or what.

This is a shameless excuse at promoting the fact that you can afford a £1m+ property. I live in one too, but I haven't given a second thought to how my neighbours or anyone else afforded it and why would I? Who gives a shiny shit. Get back in your box.

I agree, I don’t post details on these threads as they cause a lot of upset. So unnecessary.
SplendidSuns1000 · 16/03/2021 18:28

I was 20, DH 36. He's a high earner, runs his own business, owns another business and we have income from houses we rent out too (Cutting back on our avocado consumption contributed to our fortune 100%). No mortgage.

Having a mortgage until later in life isn't the worst thing to do, if you have a good pension and are happy and able to work until retirement age it's fine.

JaninaDuszejko · 16/03/2021 18:41

This thread is very Londoncentric, £1M is multiples of the average house price. What kind of house are you hoping for? I live in the north and there are no houses worth a million in my town. But when DBro (lives in London) last came to visit he assumed all the beautiful detached period properties were flats. Personally I'd rather spend less on property and have more money for other things.

Original poster
propertydetective · 16/03/2021 18:43

@LividLiving city finance. Don’t recommend for a happy life haha

OP posts:
Original poster
propertydetective · 16/03/2021 18:46

I am loving the answers - thank you!

To clarify, the 1m house is a 4 bed detached with somewhat of a garden. But we love where we live (we aren’t in London, we are Home Counties)

OP posts:
LifesLittleDeciders · 16/03/2021 18:48

This thread makes me and my £140k house feel very poor 😭

I want your life.

No advice, but I wish you luck and hope you get to where you want to be! Flowers

Original poster
propertydetective · 16/03/2021 18:56

@Gwegowygwiggs but I can’t afford a £1m property, that’s the point. I am aiming for it. Not a stealth post, people earn high. Some people earn VERY high. If you don’t like it, move on.

OP posts:
Original poster
propertydetective · 16/03/2021 18:58

@LifesLittleDeciders absolutely not, your house is lovely I bet!

It’s just where I live, it’s where I was born and raised and so I’m attached. DH has built a business around here so we are very much “here” if that makes sense. I would need to pay another £75k for the same house with a parking space - I’d just love a drive way to be honest!

OP posts:
PattyPan · 16/03/2021 18:59

I'm guessing you live in Brighton OP. Just know that not everywhere in the Home Counties/SE is quite so expensive. If you moved to Hampshire for example you'd get more for your money and could still be by the sea. I live in Berkshire and you can get a 4 bed detached for the cost of your current house even somewhere like Windsor.

KindergartenKop · 16/03/2021 19:03

Remember that if you decide you want children then either one of you becomes a sahp and loses their wage (and future earning potential) or you pay out £60-100 per day for child care.

Atalune · 16/03/2021 19:05

Move slightly out of area and you could flip your house.

That’s basically what we did. Bought/sold in London 3 times and took advantage of the market. Moved out of the city to a country pile for the same money as what we sold our London Victorian terrace for. Worked like mad to be in the position we are in now. (Media and Comms)

Twattergy · 16/03/2021 19:06

Go for whatever house makes you happy . But, as someone in mid 40s I'd advise very strongly against you having a huge mortgage. I've been in lucky position to always have small mortgages, and as of this year, we have no mortgage due to leaving London. The freedom you will get from not being a slave to your mortgage is IMMENSE. It means you can choose the type and amount of work you want to do, it opens up option of private school for kids if you want, enables nicer or more frequent holidays and also allows for maternity leave or other times out of work. All of these things are worth far more than the most expensive house you can afford in my opinion.

PurBal · 16/03/2021 19:07

Everyone is different. DH and I are 37 and 30. We are buying a 3 bed semi as a family home.

Logoff · 16/03/2021 19:12

Love the raging at stealth boasting but couldn’t help slipping in that she too lived in one. Good old mumsnet Grin

AbstractHeart · 16/03/2021 19:13

@BigPyjamas

As you asked:

We were mid 30s.

No family help just a lot of good luck on the property market and DH starting a successful business yielding unexpected profits the year we made the move to our current house.

Bought property one in our 20s, lived in it and sold for 20% profit within 4yrs. Bought property two for £900k ish, sold £1.3m ish. Then bought this one.

You don't need a big fancy house to have a family. Our kids would be equally happy back in our middle property and we'd have made it work in our two bed flat.

Did you stay in the same area? Surely the profit is irrelevant if all the houses are going up in value?