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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To go from a £500/m mortgage to a £2800/m mortgage?

91 replies

badatdecisions · 11/05/2024 16:47

My partner and I have been looking at buying a bigger house for years, but we're so picky about the area and what we want that there's literally been about 3 properties that we've been interested in enough to go and look at.

Recently one has come up that we both love - it's not quite perfect, but it's the closest we'll ever get to what we want in our budget I think, and there's lots to love.

However, I'm very nervous now about such a huge mortgage jump, as we're currently on a low interest rate on a very small house, lived there years, will have fully paid it off in the next 3 years and would be "free" to travel or do whatever we want as we're self-employed and can work from anywhere. We are mid/late 30s, no kids or plans for kids.

We were considering keeping our current house as it's nearly paid off (I know there's stamp duty to think about with 2 properties), as when I was growing up my parents lost our lovely family home and it's made me really paranoid about losing another home by taking on a huge mortgage, so at least we'd have a house we love to go back to if needed?

Mortgage broker says we're eligible for a bigger mortgage than the house we're looking at buying, but to be honest the thought of that much more debt terrifies me. Our business is profitable every month (touch wood), but we have a team of staff and salaries to pay, and that's our priority - plus having enough of a nest egg in the business to cover several months of them and anything else that may come up without needing to worry.

We also love our current house, it's near lots of our friends, it's not overlooked, it's very convenient, we have lots of great memories of our pets there, it's just feeling too small for us really, plus the area isn't as good as it once was and one of our neighbours is annoyingly nosy/intrusive.

Our life at the moment is very chilled, we're lucky to not have to worry about money because our costs are low (no debt) and very easy to reduce outgoings if we wanted (e.g. not eating out as much).

Would you go for the lovely unique forever home or opt for an easy life and travel/wait to move until house is paid off?

AIBU - buy it
Not - don't buy it

OP posts:
Elephantswillnever · 11/05/2024 21:46

Buy a house boat and put it on the mooring. Use for hobbies and holidays.

Nottherealslimshady · 11/05/2024 22:04

God no. I'd rather spend that money on living. There must be something between the two.

justasking111 · 11/05/2024 22:23

@badatdecisions how much is the stamp duty, is it higher in England?

SlothsNeverGetIll · 11/05/2024 22:31

As a couple without kids, why would you saddle yourselves with this much baggage when you dont need to? Keep your cheap house!
Have the last 4 years taught you nothing?!

TeenLifeMum · 11/05/2024 22:52

I’d do it - living where you want to live is money well spent and if you need to, you can downsize. I guess the small property would be an investment but I think I’d sell that so I have a larger down payment and mortgage would reduce. If your situation changed, you could sell the expensive property and still afford something smaller… or sell in 20 years and retire early.

TeenLifeMum · 11/05/2024 22:54

SlothsNeverGetIll · 11/05/2024 22:31

As a couple without kids, why would you saddle yourselves with this much baggage when you dont need to? Keep your cheap house!
Have the last 4 years taught you nothing?!

Edited

As a couple with no kids, why wouldn’t you take a little risk and live somewhere you love? your home is where you are every day so live where you feel happiest.

AldaCry · 11/05/2024 22:57

I wouldn't make too many sacrifices for the house. The important things in life are experiences. I don't find saving on food to pay off mortgages a great idea... all it takes is one unexpected event and things can go really wrong.

BigWillyLittleTodger · 12/05/2024 01:05

SlothsNeverGetIll · 11/05/2024 22:31

As a couple without kids, why would you saddle yourselves with this much baggage when you dont need to? Keep your cheap house!
Have the last 4 years taught you nothing?!

Edited

It’s probably because they have no children they can afford a big house, why would a couple with a high income not live in a large house in a lovely location, what’s the point of having money otherwise if not to improve your living standards? such a bizarre attitude that people without children even if they have a high income, should live in a 2 up 2 down their whole lives.

SilentConversation · 12/05/2024 02:44

I’d go for it. You’ve been looking for a while and you’ve described it as near perfect. I think you’ll kick yourself if you don’t go for it.

If anything goes wrong, you can downsize or go back to the property you’re currently in if you can keep it. Can you rent it out?

I really value having a nice home though and I’d have sacrificed holidays for it, if it would ever have come to that.

sunnydayhereandnow · 12/05/2024 04:52

If your calculations all include keeping your current property, you’re in a great position as you can always sell it if needed. And if you do sell you current place, with that much equity in your new home you don’t need to worry about worst case scenarios where you can’t pay the mortgage as in the worst case you could always sell and use the equity to buy something smaller.

I think you should put aside nostalgia and think practically: What rental income will your current home bring in? Can you offset that against the new mortgage? Is it financially a better option than selling?

I’d personally be in favour of selling the current property though. Even though it’s an emotional wrench at the time, my own experience is that you don’t actually miss your previous place as much as you think you will, and I prefer to close that chapter of my life rather than dealing with tenants and how they don’t treat the place exactly as I would have. You will have memories and photos but it’s time to move on.

SlothsNeverGetIll · 12/05/2024 06:09

BigWillyLittleTodger · 12/05/2024 01:05

It’s probably because they have no children they can afford a big house, why would a couple with a high income not live in a large house in a lovely location, what’s the point of having money otherwise if not to improve your living standards? such a bizarre attitude that people without children even if they have a high income, should live in a 2 up 2 down their whole lives.

Show quote history

I only know the immense freedom it's given DH and me that we've maintained low fixed monthly outgoings right into our 40s, and how comparatively harder and more restrictive friends' lives look when they're servicing high fixed monthly outgoings. But hey, we're all different.

justasking111 · 12/05/2024 07:18

sunnydayhereandnow · 12/05/2024 04:52

If your calculations all include keeping your current property, you’re in a great position as you can always sell it if needed. And if you do sell you current place, with that much equity in your new home you don’t need to worry about worst case scenarios where you can’t pay the mortgage as in the worst case you could always sell and use the equity to buy something smaller.

I think you should put aside nostalgia and think practically: What rental income will your current home bring in? Can you offset that against the new mortgage? Is it financially a better option than selling?

I’d personally be in favour of selling the current property though. Even though it’s an emotional wrench at the time, my own experience is that you don’t actually miss your previous place as much as you think you will, and I prefer to close that chapter of my life rather than dealing with tenants and how they don’t treat the place exactly as I would have. You will have memories and photos but it’s time to move on.

It sounds very lettable, down by the canal, professional couple you should clear £500 a month profit. That can go towards your new mortgage.

TomeTome · 12/05/2024 07:30

Pay off mortgage 1, rent it the property, buy property 2, use rent to reduce mortgage payments. Seems very straightforward to me.

WaltzingWaters · 12/05/2024 07:36

Personally if I didn’t have kids to look after and have enough space for I’d absolutely keep the smaller house (almost) mortgage free and do lots of travelling. But I love travelling!

DiscoBeat · 12/05/2024 08:13

In your situation I would keep the current house until paid off, then rent it out and buy something else. Always the option then to return to current status if anything unforeseen happens.

Hereyoume · 12/05/2024 08:23

Jesus OP, please DON'T.

You can do so much more with the money. Invest, make your money work for you and buy your "dream" home with the profits. You can do a lot of investing and growth with 2k a month.

Trust me, when the roof needs replacing on that "dream", and the quotes are 30k, and after that you find out that it needs replastering because the roof work cracked the old plaster, and that's a 10k bill, your dream will turn into a nightmare.

CormorantStrikesBack · 12/05/2024 08:25

TomeTome · 12/05/2024 07:30

Pay off mortgage 1, rent it the property, buy property 2, use rent to reduce mortgage payments. Seems very straightforward to me.

Sounds a great idea. Then if your business goes tits up you have options/security.

user1471538283 · 12/05/2024 08:27

It's the neighbour and drug dealing that sealed it for me. I would move but maybe if you sit tight for a bit you'll find something more affordable? Or sell what you have to put towards the new house?

You will feel this jump in mortgage payments. I'm feeling it now as mine has tripled but this move was one of the best things I've ever done.

Hereyoume · 12/05/2024 08:27

TomeTome · 12/05/2024 07:30

Pay off mortgage 1, rent it the property, buy property 2, use rent to reduce mortgage payments. Seems very straightforward to me.

Assuming the current home meets regs. Can be viciously expensive to meet standards of the house is older.

And there's also the issue of a bad Tennant. You may not depend on the mortgage payments, but one bad renter and your house could be trashed. It will take you four to six months the to evict. Then there's the cost of redecoration and getting back up to standard.

There's a reason who private landlords are getting out of the business.

PiggieWig · 12/05/2024 08:28

As someone who has gone from comfortable to struggling to make ends meet, don’t underestimate the impact financial strain can have on you.
Money is freedom. I would kill for a week’s holiday. As it is I use my annual leave to stay home and not spend anything. It’s pretty miserable.

Isn’t there a mid way point? Somewhere a bit bigger with what you need but that doesn’t break the bank? With no plans to expand your family or need to move for schools I’d be hesitant to give up the freedom you have.

Iggleoggledaffy · 12/05/2024 08:39

That terrace house, once you and your stuff had moved out, and tenants have been in and not loved it like you did, will just be another thing you have to sort out and deal with.

how long is the mortgage term? How long until will you be mortgage free?

justasking111 · 12/05/2024 08:58

My brother and wife bought small houses, kept all but two and let them out after renovation. They did this over 20 years, then found a village they loved, some land and built their dream house. They never had children either. Both retired at fifty

Didimum · 12/05/2024 09:29

TeenLifeMum · 11/05/2024 22:52

I’d do it - living where you want to live is money well spent and if you need to, you can downsize. I guess the small property would be an investment but I think I’d sell that so I have a larger down payment and mortgage would reduce. If your situation changed, you could sell the expensive property and still afford something smaller… or sell in 20 years and retire early.

I agree. We went from £1400 mortgage to £3300 mortgage for dream house in dream area. No regrets. The happiness and wellbeing it brings us and our children on a daily basis is, to us at least, priceless. I would also hang on to the other house if viable as it will give you a lot of financial options in the future – you can sell it whenever you wish. Mortgage rates will also likely slide down over next few years, so you likely have a better deal coming in your next fix.

This decision will be VERY dependent on people’s lifestyle/income and attitude to debt.

SquishyGloopyBum · 12/05/2024 10:11

I think your emotional attachment to your current house is clouding your judgement.

Sell it and buy the new property. Renting has huge issues and implications.

TotalDramarama24 · 12/05/2024 10:49

I would definitely buy the new dream property rather than spend my entire life in a small mid terraced house to save money.

I get huge pleasure from my house and surroundings on a daily basis so it is worth a great deal of money for that reason alone, plus a good house in a good area is an investment, not some sort of bad debt or noose around your neck. No amount of travel or investments would be worth me living every day in a house I had outgrown.

I would sell the current house in your position as you should never rent out a house you have emotional attachment to - I made this mistake once and seeing it destroyed by tenants was heartbreaking.