AIBU to buy the house I’ve fallen in love with

[Summeryjustice]

I have the choice between two houses in the same town:

A - Modern, brilliant condition, big garden, but terraced. 3 bedrooms. I’d be mortgage free if I bought it.

B - Dream house. Old, detached, enormous garden, views. Also 3 bed. Would be paying off mortgage for 20 years plus.

Houses are similar size but obviously there’s a massive price difference. Me and DP are early 40s with secure jobs. Would we be crazy to buy the dream house?

With this further information, I would definitely go for A. Being mortgage-free is amazing. You would also have the freedom to move on at a later date and hopefully less troubled times if you still wish to. Older houses can spring up all sorts of unpleasant surprises and you can spend more and more money on them.

Current climate A, then save money and perhaps you could buy B in the future with less mortgage

B. It sounds affordable, you clearly love it and it will appreciate more than property A.

Current economic climate A;you can always move later down the line when things settle;I bet you'd be able to find another house you'd love just as much.

OP, the vote is split! I would like to live in b but LOVE being mortgage free and just not having to worry about COL etc. Doing lots of travelling, paying heavily into pensions etc and so much less pressure work-wise.

I know is not an easy decision to make about buying house A or house B.

My parents had a house B for apox 20 years. They had space for a young and growing family.
The house needed work and by degrees the work was done. Even back then the work was not cheap and was always more than they expected.
The plumbing and heating could at times be temperamental.
To get the house painted was expensive due to its size and the amount of paint needed.
Also it was a hard house to heat and keep heat in the room's.

I currently have a friend whose parent is living in a house B. The house is in good condition. However it has a large garden that needs a lawn cut, flower beds to be weeded ect. Along with this the house is about 3 miles from the nearest town. My friends parent is now older and is beginning to find the outside work harder to do. Then it getting hard to get some one to mow a law, do gardening ect.

In your early 40's I would pick house A over house B. Having no mortgage gives you far more disposable income. You could increase the money going into your pensions and build up your savings.
A big garden sounds nice but not when your spending a lot of your free time doing work.
Your maintenance bills will be lower in a new build. Along with this a new house will have good windows and insulation so you will have lower energy and heating bills.

You also need to consider that if your circumstances were to change that been mortgage free could enable you to change jobs, go part time in a few years or take early retirement.
If you take on a mortgage now it will rise over the next few years along with general cost of living so yes you have a nice big house but your working long hours to have it.
What happens if either of you lost your jobs or if your industry had a downturn?
At the moment things are very uncertain so I would be risk adverse about taking on a potential large mortgage.
I don't know what age both of sets of your parents are but in time if they need some extra help or support you or your husband could be in a position to work less hours to help them.
One of my friends was in PT employment when her father health got worse and she then had the time to bring him to appointments ect before he died.

I'd choose house A a million times over but I v unsentimental about "things" (appreciate a house is a v big thing!!)

Terraced vs detached? Pick detached! So much better.

I e always wanted an old house - my son is a builder and says I’d be a fool to buy one, because the upkeep is awful. Tbh, I’ve got no real idea - the upkeep on my own house is bad enough, but I’d check it out before financially stretching myself hugely on a house, even if I did love it,

B

With inflation so much higher than interest rates you will do well out of it as long as you can afford the mortgage repayments. Plus you get to enjoy living in it every day.

I'm mortgage free on a semi. Can't find a detached with more space unless I spend £££. I recently had the chance to get a "dream house" but there was a lot wrong with it and not worth the extra cost.

In your shoes I'd get a semi or smaller detached rather than go terraced. No need to get a massive mortgage. Mind you if it's a massive beautiful terrace in a great area that's a different kettle of fish.

This isn't true. Inflation is going to come back down to more like 2.5% hopefully in a couple of years time. Rates probably more like 4 or 5%.

It's more about financial freedom and security vs living in a great house.