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Original poster

How do you upsize!?

246 replies

secondtimebuyer1 · 04/04/2021 20:19

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?!

OP posts:
mandsbag · 04/04/2021 22:11

BTW, OP, £84k is a massive income - twice more than XH and I ever earned between us. However, we sold our marital home for £800k five years ago. That's house-renovation for you!

Echobelly · 04/04/2021 22:11

TBH, we could only upsize in London from flat to family-sized house because we had two properties to sell. Otherwise we'd have had to have moved out into Hertfordshire to get the size we needed.

tunnocksreturns2019 · 04/04/2021 22:14

Yes are you absolutely sure it’s better if family stay with you when they visit?

My in laws used to stay with us but now stay in the local Premier Inn (covid permitting...) and it’s better all round. For example I don’t hear FIL getting up super early, and he doesn’t have to encounter rowdy children until he’s had his premier inn breakfast Grin

IndecentFeminist · 04/04/2021 22:15

I'd stay anywhere for a premier Inn breakfast

In fact, I love premier inns full stop.

Cornishclio · 04/04/2021 22:17

In our case we moved away from the South East to the West Country but I appreciate not everybody can do this due to work situations.

LemonSwan · 04/04/2021 22:19

We are in a similar situation but no children. We need a larger home for our business and its also in the 700k region. Although our house is only worth 250k (100k equity) and we can only borrow 350k - so thats 450 max.

We are moving to a tracker this year to enable an aggressive overpayment plan. We hope to pay off the remaining mortgage in 3 years, save for a year and then jump. That brings us to 600k (+ whatever we can save on top of the overpayments) and we hope we can find a doer upper or compromise on area. If the housing market stays stagnated I am hoping we will just about catch up.

BungleandGeorge · 04/04/2021 22:19

House prices are ridiculous, we need to allow natural falls in the market rather than propping them up further with policies like stamp duty holidays. Many people just can’t afford to upgrade so it’s a case of making do.

Goldieloxx · 04/04/2021 22:20

Wages haven't risen at the same rate as house prices so unless circumstances change dramatically, it is really difficult to move up the ladder. Where I live a 4 bed detached, starts at 600k, our house (3 bed semi) is worth about 360k so we have to win the lottery or inherit to move up in out area, and that's with a household income of 100k +

TatianaBis · 04/04/2021 22:26

700k for a 4 bed is a totally ‘normal’ price for a 4 bed in the SE.

It wouldn’t buy you a 4 bed in London unless you fairly far out.

I think the answer, aside from inheritance. is either a. Property developing to get up the ladder. Buy a wreck, do a lot of work yourself, sell for a profit and move up the ladder. Repeat a few times. Or b. They relocate out of the SE.

PowerslidePanda · 04/04/2021 22:28

We can't move- DH's job is limited to this geographical area.

There can be a lot of variance within an area though. In the "naicest" town around here, a 4 bed detached is £650,000. 10 miles away, in the roughest town, it's £425,000. And the others fall at different points along the spectrum.

Notnownotneverever · 04/04/2021 22:32

You move to a more affordable area. As large numbers of PP's have said, increasing your mortgage by that much just to accommodate some visitors is rather extreme. Could you install a small decent summer house?

folloyourarro · 04/04/2021 22:33

There can be a lot of variance within an area though. In the "naicest" town around here, a 4 bed detached is £650,000. 10 miles away, in the roughest town, it's £425,000. And the others fall at different points along the spectrum.

Absolutely, our house is a new build, our identical style was built in a development just 15 miles away, smaller plot, £100,000 more than ours. We are in one of the country's least desirable towns, about 20-25 miles away from one of the country's most desirable, huge variance in price.

Calmdown14 · 04/04/2021 22:33

Have you absolutely maximised your current plot/ house? I know you went up into the loft but could it still take an extension? Even if this wouldn't make it your forever home, if you are in such an expensive area it would surely add further value (assuming space allows).
A bungalow - as it was built - often gives more scope to reconfigure rooms

Alsohuman · 04/04/2021 22:35

Not all of the south east is that expensive, in fact I live in what’s classed as an expensive south east area and detached 4 beds are around £500k.

This. We’re an hour from King’s Cross and detached four beds are about £500k here too.

Rusts Lane, Alconbury
www.rightmove.co.uk/property/89758228

TatianaBis · 04/04/2021 22:35

Could you dig out a basement?

LemonRoses · 04/04/2021 22:36

I think others may also question moving just so family can stay. There are cheaper ways to entertain and host people. What does moving cost before you’ve even thought about additional cost of the new house? I’d think about £12k at the moment. That’s an awful lot of nights in a local hotel or AirBnB for basically lost money.

If you’re set on moving to somewhere bigger consider what you might compromise on. The location is pretty important to price. Would you live with road noise or train noise? Would you live further away from town/city centre? Would you consider an ugly but bigger house?
Think about what you would compromise on.

sunflowertulip · 04/04/2021 22:36

We are in the SE and went from a 2 bed to a 4 bed that was £20k more than our previous one but moving to a cheaper town 20 mins away. We couldn't have afforded to stay in the same town. Similar income to you and had a toddler at the time (and pregnant with the second) so also had nursery fees.

sabrinathemiddleagewitch · 04/04/2021 22:37

You're expecting a too big of a jump. The majority of people don't buy their first home and then move straight into their dream forever home. And nor do they do it in the 7 years of being on the property ladder.

Your home now has been made into your middle hole by getting the loan to extend it, so treat that as another move and stay put, pay off more equity and then move again. To your "nearly" dream home. 4 bedroom OR the garage.

The next move is your dream home. Most people make that move after 10-15 years and a hell of a lot of equity and lower costing children that are older

sunflowertulip · 04/04/2021 22:39

(And our house is worth nearer £500k than £700k)

Babyroobs · 04/04/2021 22:43

@Funnyface1

I wouldn't want to take on that kind of additional debt just so family could stay every now and then.
Yes exactly- make do with a sofa bed or get them checked into a nearby travel lodge !!
CommanderBurnham · 04/04/2021 22:46

Something you can extend? Or a garage conversion.

Ellpellwood · 04/04/2021 22:48

You're expecting a too big of a jump. The majority of people don't buy their first home and then move straight into their dream forever home. And nor do they do it in the 7 years of being on the property ladder.

This. We bought a 2 bed 13 years ago, sold that and moved into this house 8 years ago (3 bed terraced townhouse in a great location, small study, no garage). We're fine here with one child but had we had 2 or 3 we'd have had probably 2 more moves to get into a detached with garage. Large 3 bed semi with utility would have been next.

It does also vary hugely on area. We are commutable to Bristol and Bath, but a new build townhouse in either will set you back over half a million, whereas ours can be had for £225k.

Saracen · 04/04/2021 22:59

Having family stay in a hotel isn't the same. When we go up north we're always ' put up'.

I agree that it is much more pleasant for everyone to stay overnight in the same house. When my parents came from abroad to visit us and we had no space, we used to rent a house for all of us to stay in - sometimes in our home town if we had to work, sometimes elsewhere so we could all have a change of scene and holiday together. The houses we rented were of a better standard in a nicer location than our own, which was pleasant for our relatives. Not only does that work out much cheaper than the move you are dreaming of, it also eliminates the awkward guest/host situation. You don't get one person or couple running themselves ragged to clean and cook for the others simply because it is their house.

If you feel that would be unfair and mean because your family always host you when you go up north, you can still act as host by doing the legwork of finding a suitable house, and you could pay the entire cost.

Saltyslug · 04/04/2021 23:01

Why not over pay your mortgage so that it’s all paid off in 8 years. Then save for a bit and then jump up the housing ladder.

How do you upsize!?
Houseofvelour · 04/04/2021 23:09

I think the best way for you to get a dream home on your income is to move further up north.
We live in the north west and own a 5 bed detached house which we bought for £295k in a beautiful area.

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