Would you over extend yourself with this house purchase if you were me?

[Proopo]

Dh and I have found just the most gorgeous home. It needs some tlc and modernisation but it could be absolutely spectacular. Location is superb, dog walks would be like a page out of The Wind in the Willows. It feels so rural but it is only a few miles from a very pretty town. Well several. Plus excellent transport links into London

It is at the extreme end of our budget. Dh and I have had some tough few years and were really planning on the next move bringing peace into our Iives. But this opportunity with the house is so compelling.

We would probably put in a brand new kitchen before we moved in and then just do a room at a time. The reception rooms and bedrooms don’t really need doing and the bathrooms are in good nick just very ugly

We really wanted to move somewhere that didn’t need a lick of paint if we were to go towards the top of our budget

It’s 4 miles from a station with a direct line to London and a 5 min drive to a Waitrose. It feels rural but is close to amenities.

Would either of you have to travel for work?

If it’s your dream home then I would definitely buy the house. We borrowed the absolute maximum we could many years ago when interest rates were sky high, and we’re spending over 70% of our combined take home pay on the mortgage. It was very difficult to manage for three or four years, but interest rates went down, we got promoted, our salaries increased, and we gradually did the work that was needed. It was the best decision we ever made.

We are in a very different economic climate now though

The mortgage on this house would be roughly 50% of our income. But dh and I really need a few years of not worrying about money I think. And being able to treat ourselves to meals out, days out etc without feeling guilty.

Is that actual doable on a mortgage with such a high value? Obviously 50% of 20k a month is very different to 50% of 6k

I'm looking for a house now and have to say if I found one that ticked all the boxes like you two, I'd go for it! Putting your own stamp on it (decor etc.) will only make you love it more.
As for having little ones, there's plenty of growing years for them (of course) before they hit the teenage era & it's their home, they won't know anything else so will just love & accept it too. If you've done the figures properly, got secure jobs, & it IS possible, I think you'll regret it if you don't! Good luck deciding 💐 🤷🏼‍♀️

We live in a commuting town (Buckinghamshire) and it costs £20 a day transport. So make sure you factor that in. Plus over £1000 a month for childcare (if you are lucky). Do you think having such a chunk of your income gone on just your mortgage is a good idea?

This is a considerable reduction so I don’t believe childcare costs £1000s anymore like people refer to, I certainly don’t pay much and I have 3 under 4.

I would say that's unusual, most places cannot survive on the funding & are charging extra for the additional hours.

5 min drive to Waitrose, how long to the nearest Lidl though, you won't be shopping in Waitrose with that mortgage when the kids come along 😂

To be honest it sounds gorgeous but also a real stretch, really sit down and hammer through your figures.

Having just seen your kitchen- I’d say go for it - that kitchen is doable for now and as it ticks so many boxes I’m changing my vote.

not really, I have colleagues in similar situations. They top up only a few £100, certainly not £1000s. So not unusual at all IMO.

We did this ‘twice’.
and it’s horrible ()
but then you make the new place great as well.
you have to or you don’t get anywhere.
we ‘re on house number 3.
10 years in and still got one major room to totally revamp
update 1 or 2 floors.
(and there’s even talk of a Sumner house for the garden).
but my kitchen
it’s so much more than the others we had and more than I could have ever imagined.
it takes time but is worth it.

50% of income om mortgage is too much no? I thought comfortable spot to live/holidays and save was 20-25%. For that reason alone I wouldn't do it.

I agree. I’ve only just seen the photo of the kitchen. If the cupboards are generally sound then you could transform the kitchen in a few days with relatively little effort.

I think it’s probably a bad idea due to the cost. The economy looks rocky for a fair few years, food prices will continue to rise, and you also want to start a family.

BUT, you can plan for all that. It all depends on outgoings/likely costs. So maybe YANBU - but you’ll need to spreadsheet the hell out of it to check.

Going to say the same @Proopo
i grew up in a villages and had tons of friends there.
Saturday used to go into town on the bus regularly with my Nan.
And then on my own as I grew on my own.
then got a lift home as my mum worked there.
growing up in the country side was great.
we did move to that particular Town when I was 16 though.
This was because mum worked there and they got a new build.

We did quite similar (we already had the young kids) and yes, our house is still very dated (and in fact it's got shabbier round the edges rather than being done up!) and yes, we spend a lot of time driving back and forth from town (6 mins each way) but I still love it!

But it sounds like you're in a different space. You want the lovely house AND you want it done up nicely (that kitchen is perfectly fine, much nicer/newer than mine) AND you want to be able to spend on small luxuries without always watching the pennies.

Without knowing the intricacies of your financial situation, I think something has to give here. Either you go for the smaller/less special house, but it's already how you want it internally. Or you find something at a lower price that needs some work. Or you go for this stretch, and accept that either you'll have to live with it as it is, or that you'll have to be very careful with your budget in other areas (and/or delay the children)

Basically, there are compromises if you stretch yourself financially, and there are compromises to living rurally. For lots of us those compromises are worth it, but you'll have to make that decision for yourself.

Completely depends on your circumstances.

You’ve said 50% of your income, which really is much too high. Are you sure your lender would give you this?

I’m not a mumsnetter opposed to high mortgages - but there are limits to good financial plans. We moved to a semi-rural doer upper. Mortgage over £3k. We have spent probably £40-50k on the house so far and it is nowhere near finished - we are two years in.

With wanting to ensure we save a good fallback of savings (6 months of living expenses), we has reached the point where anymore big works of the house were years away (don’t underestimate the cost of a decent kitchen). It’s only because my dad died early and unexpectedly that I have now received an inheritance to make the remaining works possible.

I agree with PP that you want your cake and to eat it too. I would not be doing that kitchen if you mortgage is a whopping 50% of income. It’s a million times nicer than ours.

What savings would you have left over and what is your future earning potential. Have you factored in future nursery costs?

The mortgage on this house would be roughly 50% of our income. But dh and I really need a few years of not worrying about money

The two do not compute
Unless 50%leaves you 10k a month because you're both high earning
50% of what?
What is mat pay for you?

If you are looking to start a family. I would price it up as if you are paying for nursery. If the mortgage is 50% I think you could find yourself struggling. I think the ballpark recommendation is no more than a third of take home pay

My daughter has just started school and prior to that our take home pay was roughly 25% mortgage, 25% bills, 25% nursery and 25% savings.

We put offers in on two houses one at the top of our budget that needed a lot of work including structural and one at the bottom of our budget that just needed personalising and a bit of an uplift. We bought the second one. 2 years on, I was unexpectedly made redundant and now very gald we didn't get the other house. Daughter is now in school so nursery fees and our lifestyle is paid for by my partners wage. It's a relief to be able to find the right job and not having to rush into finding any job

Very much depends on 50% of what.

After that 50% can you...

• afford maternity leave and return part time if one of you wants to?
• afford nursery for one or more??
• afford commuting costs for one or both of you
• afford to replace a car that will eventually need bigger repairs or replacing altogether
• afford new appliances that will break as well as boiler etc.
• pay all your bills with enough left to save for emergencies?
• do you have savings to cover job loss? At least 6-12 months of at least one of your incomes in case you were made redundant or terminated?

I think there are far more questions than answers right now.

If you love the location, could you look for something smaller and more affordable in the same village?

It's really hard when your heart and head are pulled in different directions. Good luck!

Bloody hell people are miserable and negative.
OP go for it, if you love the house and the area. You've got decades of work left to get the mortgage paid down. Yes it might be a bit stressful at the skint and renovating stage, but longer term it will be worth it, it sounds idyllic.

I’m someone who did very similar and have a lot of tolerance for financial risk, but 50% of income mortgage is colossal by anyone’s standards. If they were very high earners then maybe, but if they were I don’t think OP would be asking the question.

50% of your income on just a mortgage is huge. If you’re going to start a family then have you considered nursery fees on top of all your bills? Just doesn’t sound like it leaves you with a decent lifestyle at all. Nursery fees round here are around £25k a year full time (no funding).

My mortgage is 25% of my monthly income after tax and pension to put this is context. I am single so all costs on me.

Taking on debt that's over 50% of you take home pay is madness (33% is the absolute recommended max for a reason).

You are making the following assumptions:

• neither of you will take home less (what you considered job stability,, sectoral statability and your personal ability to attract the same income in a downturn or economic shock)
• Have you allowed for unexpected illness (do you have CHI policies in place)
• You have already mentioned children - have you ran the numbers allowing for maternity leave and childcare costs)
• Have you rang the calculator to check what level of interest rate increases still make the repayments affordable

To sustain a 50% take home pay, you will need absolutely everything on your side. No bad times or unexpected shifts in your income.

It's for too easy to get caught up in the romantic notion of ideal houses and firver homes, it's far more important to run and understand the numbers.