How do you upsize!?

[secondtimebuyer1]

This is a very first world problem and I know we are lucky to a) own our own home and b) have stable incomes.

We bought our first home in 2013 for £285k- a 2 bed bungalow. In 2015 we borrowed an extra £50k and converted the loft so we now have a three bedroom house. Mortgage is now £203k and house is worth £420k. We are desperate for a 4th bedroom so family can stay (post lockdown) as they all live up north.

When we bought our combined household income was just under £50k. We have progressed in our careers and our combined income is now £84k - despite our pay increases we still can't afford to upsize. A detached 4 bed with garage (our forever home dream) in our area is £700k- these are relatively normal family homes. We'd need a combined salary of £100k+ to afford a house like that- how do normal families afford it? We both work full time in professional jobs, nursery fees are crippling and I feel like we're just keeping up. If we were first time buyers we'd need a £42k deposit just to buy our own home- would never have happened!

AIBU to think the only way to really upsize, in the south east, is win the lottery or inherit?!

The biggest variable is probably nursery fees. If you wait until your dc start school you may be in a better position.
Not sure I’d take on a big mortgage just to have a guest room for occasional use though. Much cheaper to buy a sofa bed!

I guess it depends on where you live. We bought our first house in the UK for 190k. It was a two-bed house to begin with, but in a lovely area, a few hundred metres from the beach and with a large garden. It was a rare find. We extended it to three bedrooms and then sold it six years later for 270k.
We moved abroad and bought a house here for 270k and then put quite a bit of work into it to modernise and update it. If we sold it now, it would go for about 600-700k. (We bought it two years ago but it was pure luck. Most houses in this area aren't this cheap.)
Our salaries have gone up but not massively. Nursery fees are not an issue for us here since DS has a subsidised place and we only pay a fraction of the fees.

I think you have to wait until nursery fees are done and perhaps you have more income.
Meantime, you have options - sofa bed, kids share while you have guests or put guests in a local Travelodge or similar. Your guests can eat at yours if that’s your wish.
If you can, save towards dream house.

I would like to know this too! A 4th bedroom would make such a huge difference to us but like op, don't earn enough to be able to borrow what we would need.

Only way I can see is to move location. Can't even afford a do-it-upper with 4 beds here.

It's the nursery fees. Simple (and depressing) as that.

My childcare fees for one child
South East) are £800 a month.

There is no such thing as the property ladder anymore! Prices outstrip wages, only big career progression gets you higher up.

We made the move you did by moving to a cheaper area with a further commute to London and compromising on house size for school catchment.

You move to a cheaper area.

The jump from 3 bed to 4 bed is always challenging. But a 300k jump is massive. Or maybe you are looking at unrealistically priced 4 beds....maybe you need to look at semis or no garage.

Can you fit a cabin in the garden?

Well no you don’t need to win the lottery, you just need to earn sixteen grand a year more between you both than you do now.

I'd guess just move to a cheaper area. I agree though it's better to buy a sofa bed than increase your mortgage just for family visits. That's what Kirsty always says

It's not possible. We have a 3 bed flat. We would love a 3 bed house but the leap from flat to house is another £100k and we just can't stretch.

Most normal families don’t live in 700k houses - average house price in the uk is around £250k.

£16 increase for you both doesn’t seem unrealistic? Also childcare fees are finite.

I think it’s possible in the next 2-5 years.

Do you have room in your garden for a cabin? Someone I know got one kitted out with kitchen and bathroom for 15k. Much cheaper.

"nursery fees are crippling and I feel like we're just keeping up"

Grit your teeth until you're no longer paying these?

I think it's because you are looking at detached with a garage?

Is there a low stock of 4 beds in your area?

There is in mine and you would be hard pushed to find a 4 bed even on the market, let alone under £700k (herts)

I wouldn't want to take on that kind of additional debt just so family could stay every now and then.

@Funnyface1

I wouldn't want to take on that kind of additional debt just so family could stay every now and then.

I thought that as well

A 4 bed detached costing £700k isn't really a 'normal family home', almost no-one can afford this, they will be owned by people who bought them decades ago for much less.

How often do your family stay? It's an awful lot to spend, so you probably need to look at alternatives like hotels, air BnB, cabin in the garden etc.

It's because you are trying to make a £300k jump which is probably two rungs of the ladder. You could easily afford a 4 bed semi or a 4 bed detached in a cheaper area.

I agree OP, where we are a starter home is about 295k. A 10% deposit is best part of 30k and then that still leaves you with an enormous mortgage of 265k which I think is a huge amount. And that might even be for a 2 bed! It’s just crazy!

I do agree though that all that money for guests to stay is insane, caravan on the drive be a cheaper option!!

My friends all live in the same town in the south east. It's insanely expensive, one can't afford it so will be permanently renting, the others have all had to do the new build government scheme where the government pay 25%. Others have inherited money and maxed out mortgage. A four bed house is £400k-£500k, 2/3 beds around the £350k mark. I on the other hand moved to a little town in Suffolk and got a five bed house for £260k in 2017. It needs some work though but still! And in turn the nursery fees are cheap (£40 for ten hours). Why not move?