To move because dh inherited property?

[bowmejen3]

So I'm born and bred in Hackney. Met my husband here who is originally from south Manchester in one of the largest council estates In Europe apparently.

We've been married 10 years and have two children. (4 and 2 months)

We rent privately and was looking forward to getting on the shared ownership scheme this year! 4 year old settled in nursery waiting for reception etc! However DH has been very stressed and with rising living costs. We have not got much to spare each month after saving for our deposit.

Now here is my aibu.
Dh father recently died and left his house (ex council but bought) to dh. It has no mortgage left.

Dh thinks this is the best thing ever as we could move there (3 bed semi detached, big garden, driveway, extra room for washing etc)
Be mortgage free, near his family and have essentially more disposable income to enjoy life, holidays, other ventures etc.

I know I know it sounds perfect on paper... but I always envisioned raising my children in London but dh claims we are actually being selfish because potentially they will never be able to afford to live near us in the future and we may only ever own 25 percent of a flat!
And the area he is from has not got a great reputation...

I believe he could sell the house for around £240,000 (from Rightmove) and put it down for a deposit on a house in London!

Dh thinks I'm being ridiculous to want to not be mortgage free just for the sake of "London" and being snobby towards his childhood area? (Which I'm not)

Aibu?

If op was selling a property in London to move to Manchester then the "it is easier to leave Longdon than come back" would be a fair point, as it is due to the fact that house prices increase so much that you can't afford to buy back in London once you have left. The op is renting, different case altogether.

I reckon try it out op, the kids are young, this is a.chance to try out a new city with little outlay.

Where in M/c? Are we talking back streets of Collyhurst?

Also team dh, although I think compromise may be a better option.

Personally I'd move and try it for a year or so, with the caveat that if you're unhappy you then look at other options.

My preference would be to sell the Wythenshawe home and buy somewhere we both agreed.

[quote Shutupandcry]@RussianSpy101 no west didsbury![/quote]
🤣

Yes, if it were West Didsbury or London, that might be a harder call. But the OP's partner's inherited house would buy a naice garage in West DIdsbury, so there's not that much difference.

If that's the choice, I'd still stay in London.

Or you might as well stick a pin in a map and move to fuck knows where, just because the houses are cheaper.

Apologies if this has already been mentioned as I haven't rtft but you also need to consider capital gains tax. I'm not sure what it is in the UK but here it's 40% which is quite a chunk. Sorry to rain on your parade.

@WinnieMac I do appreciate that! However we sold a 1 bed flat in a not great zone 3 suburb and bought a 3 bed Victorian terrace on a beautiful road in didsbury for 8k more 3 years ago. The cost difference is still extreme between london and Manchester (our house would probably by 1.5 million if in east Dulwich which is probably the equivalent feel to where we live! Sadly it’s not worth that here…)

I love London, we live on the outskirts so near to the country / open space but can be in Victoria in less than half an hour. So much to do, I love theatre / museums etc, as does my DD. DS loves the football and being near the city. Yes you get a cheaper house but I wouldn’t want to live there either. I grew up in the north and the house prices occasionally tempt me back but I love being able to decide on a Friday evening I’m going to the Saturday matinee in the west end tomorrow etc. London isn’t the worse place to bring up kids that everyone says. The little town I grew up in is much worse for underage drinking / anti social behaviour as there’s nothing to do

I'd stay in London and put the £240k into buying a new place. A 3 bed house is hackney is around £450k that would mean you'd have a small mortgage.

Sell Manchester, put £240K into a house in London, not a shared ownership flat in Hackney!!

£500K should get you a small starter home somewhere east London (Leyton?), and with almost 50% deposit (more if you've been saving), you could be able to secure a mortgage?

A small house would be a far better investment. And London more so than Manchester- especially some of the areas out east on central line.

Apologies if I'm making any assumption about your salaries and borrowing capacity, it's what I would do if I could stretch to it.

I’m team DH but would sell and move to a nicer area. Don’t like London or Manchester though and wouldn’t want to raise my kids there so would look on the outskirts probably!

@SwimmingOnEggshells

Apologies if this has already been mentioned as I haven't rtft but you also need to consider capital gains tax. I'm not sure what it is in the UK but here it's 40% which is quite a chunk. Sorry to rain on your parade.

Not on an inheritance, and the house is below the threshold for inheritance tax.

Another one who thinks you should move to Manchester, life will be much easier not having to pay a mortgage or rent, your husband will be less stressed. The next few years are going to be very hard with inflation and government cuts. London really is not the centre of the world, Manchester is a great city.

£240k is a massive deposit to get a nice house in London surely?! Yes, you might have quite a big mortgage but you will also own a property that is worth a lot more and will probably be a better investment. Everyone is moving out of London now so it’s a good time to buy. I wouldn’t live anywhere else personally though, so I am a bit biassed.

I think if you're struggling now financially it's only going to get worse. If you haven't got your family close by currently, I'd definitely sell Manchester home and buy in nicer part nearby. I agree about the point of your kids not being able to buy close to you if you choose Hackney.

@itbemay1

I'd stay in London and put the £240k into buying a new place. A 3 bed house is hackney is around £450k that would mean you'd have a small mortgage.

Umm

No it really isn't! Think double that and you'd be in the right ballpark for a really nice 3 bed flat.

@ButWhereDidTheWindComeFrom

You don't say if jobs are an issue in that you would both need to change jobs, but if not then I would say move to the hosue for say 12 months and try it out. Then you know what the area is like,l yet can still sell up and move back to London if that works out better for you. The children are young enough to be able to make the move without too much disruption I would have thought.

Thats a really good idea !! 👌🏼

Team DH all the way. Manchester is brilliant. I’d move back up north from London in a heartbeat if I could.

[quote TatianaBis]@ChateauxNeufdePoop

For international level museums you need London.

Cf the post about Serpentine/Snowdonia. ^[/quote]
Tell the Fitzwilliam or Ashmolean that. It’s nonsense.

@SwimmingOnEggshells

Apologies if this has already been mentioned as I haven't rtft but you also need to consider capital gains tax. I'm not sure what it is in the UK but here it's 40% which is quite a chunk. Sorry to rain on your parade.

You don’t pay CGT on an inherited property.

I am with your DH ..

A 3 bed house is hackney is around £450k that would mean you'd have a small mortgage.

What?!!!

I know both places really well and I would stay in London. £240,000 will buy you about half a house in some Z3 areas and you wouldn’t have to live in Wythenshaw. It’s not like you’re swapping the opportunities and culture of London life for a massive garden and loads of square footage - you’d be moving to a pretty grotty suburb of a not as good city. If you want to give your kids more than London can offer, I’d look further out of either city.

@itbemay1

I'd stay in London and put the £240k into buying a new place. A 3 bed house is hackney is around £450k that would mean you'd have a small mortgage.

I think you must be beaming to us from 2002! If only!!

The 2 bed flat in Hackney that I used to own, sold for £695k last year.

The upstairs 3 bed maisonette was about £450k when I sold, and that was in 2010. Prices have boomed since then!

You don’t pay CGT on an inherited property.

Surely you do when you sell it if it’s gone up in value since you became owners and haven’t lived in the property?

I totally understand this from both your points of view. Having lived in Manchester and Hackney they are both great places to raise kids too.
Being mortgage free is a HUGE relief - it will free up lots of of your mental space as parents and as a family. The deposit would be significant but in Hackney that's only going to be 50 per cent of the cost of a property big enough for a family (and not exactly on the nicest street either).
Whatever you decide, don't go for shared ownership. It's an absolute rip off and very very hard to sell onwards. If you don't expect to be able to staircase up to 100 per cent ownership of the property in question please don't do it!