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

No.

We've refurbished 3 homes back to back, and it's not worth doing anymore, now materials and labour are so expensive.

Also, I've recently been signed off work with a health issue, and our very small mortgage and the fact we've never stretched ourselves financially has given me huge peace of mind.

That sounds a nightmare with nursery and school. I wfh mostly and live in London and it’s still difficult!!

No need to be so pessimistic. Many people do this and it’s fine. I commuted into London 1.5hr commute 5 days a week when my twins were 0-5, now at 7 I still do it 3 days a week.

And this isn’t even OP’s question.

Are you expecting earnings to increase more than just the rate of inflation?

Knowing very little about my circumstances, I’d suggest that if you go ahead and buy the property that you paint it through in a soft neutral, deep clean it - including cleaning the carpets - and then you settle in and live in it. Save up an emergency fund as well as your kitchen fund before you go ahead and do the kitchen so you have a safety net if something goes pear-shaped.

I agree with posts saying it’s foolish. I want to live life in the slow lane for a bit

Your life is about to get exponentially more expensive if you're planning to have children. There's absolutely no way I'd want to go into that with so little wriggle room. What if you have a child with complex needs and have to give up work? What if you want to go part time? Childcare is a huge expense... Every bill on a larger property will increase and go up every year. I think you'd be mad to get such a large mortgage and tying up half your income