Wwyd? Housing situation

[brownbearbrownbear123]

Me and my other half are struggling to decide what to do so I thought I’d get some other peoples opinions and perspectives on it.

Me and my OH are both mid/late 20s. I’m currently a SAHM but will be going back to work next year. Before kids I didn’t earn a massive amount and would probably have to go back part time for childcare, however it has been my plan to go back to uni to continue my education and get into a career where I could potentially earn around 40/50k a year.

My OH currently earns around 42k a year and we live in a modest terrace in an ex council home.
our area isn’t the best but I know there’s good and bad in all areas and sometimes the grass isn’t always greener. Our area is mostly made up of council houses and ex council houses so a mix of social housing and privately owned.

in the next year or 2 me and OH have spoken about putting out house on the market and moving to a bigger place, but this would mean probably doubling our current mortgage which is a very comfortable £600/month.

Our bills are low and mortgage is comfortable meaning we have money left over to save and money to spend on ourselves albeit not a huge amount.

would you still move in a year or 2 to a ‘nicer’ area with a bigger place? Or stay put and just put up with the worse area/smaller house?

If you have children I'd be thinking a few years ahead. We live in an area that could be described similarly. It's actually a pretty deprived area of our town, there are significantly nicer parts, but our catchment school is outstanding in every regard, not just Ofsted so we will not be moving anywhere on that basis. Our house is comfortable, big enough, we have nice neighbours and we have spare cash for holidays and other opportunities.

Stay where you are. Start uni next September. Move when you have graduated.

*or move earlier than graduation if finances allow while you're studying.

I'd be a bit nervous that increasing the mortgage first makes studying more difficult financially and you put it off, potentially for years. If kids are under 5 now and you crack on with your study, you'll finish while they are still early-ish primary and you can move for later primary and beyond.

Im just thinking if we move sooner rather than waiting longer at least the kids will only be a year or 2 into school so moving them schools won’t be as disruptive.
We could wait another 5 years to move but then our oldest would be 7 and youngest 5 and I’d feel worse about moving them schools as I think it’d be harder on a 7 year old to move schools

@ArtifishalYeah your area does sound similar to mine. It’s not a terrible place to live by any means but as you say there is a lot of deprivation. Our primary and secondary school are just a short walk away and are both rated as good schools so that’s a big plus to living here. We’re also blessed with good neighbours too which makes a big difference

I'm moving my 15 year old (exam year) and 11 year old (first year at secondary school) in a few weeks. I also feel terrible about that but the absolute need to get out of this place outweighs it. I do find though that younger kids are more resilient and adapt easier so a move at most ages would be fine. I moved schools at age 8 and was fine. And again at 12 and was fine. Hubby studied first before we started making our move. That's probably the best idea. Study first while saving then move...if you can bear living there for another few years x

For me it would really depend on the schools.

if your area has acess to good state schools I wouldn’t be moving.

What would be your motivation to move? Your current setup sounds pretty good.

Would your life be a lot better if you moved? What would be the benefits?

I think unless where I was living was unworkable for some reason, I'd stay and study while I had a lower mortgage. 5 and 7 isn't too old to move.

@brownbearbrownbear123 I assume with two DC your family is complete. At 30 (I know you are slightly younger) you have 35+ years to retirement.

Prioritising study with a view to building your career for the next 30+ years makes more sense. As with anything you need to think long term (pensions and retirement), medium term (teenagers/uni) and short term ( quality time with your DC whilst they are young).

You own a mortgaged home and have enough to save some but also enjoy life with your DC. A lot of people have far less. At this age your DC will value the time you spend with them not a bigger house.

You are in a really good position to invest in you now and once you both have careers moving house will become a natural next step.

@SpencerGarciaGideonHow are your children finding the move? I never moved schools as a child so have nothing to compare it to but ideally wanted to avoid it if I could or at least move as early as possible but it’s good to hear that it didn’t bother you growing up

@ForgetMeNotRoseMain reasons for wanting to move is area really. We have great schools around us and are close to a city center but definitely in the ‘rougher’ side of town.
We’re also currently in a terrace and ideally I’d want to be in a semi with a driveway due to a disability.
im not even 100% sure I want to go back to uni as the career would be demanding and I’m not sure if I’m cut out for it but I want to provide for my family at the same time

@Octavia64we do have both a good primary school and a good secondary school within a 15 min walk of our house. Schools is definitely something I’d prioritise if we did move

I think the best thing to do is to look at all of your options really, see the kinds of properties in your price range along with schools etc, calculate what your mortgage and disposable income would be, and see whether altogether it was worth it to move now.

7 is still very young in the grand scheme of things. And it's also a natural entry point if you have junior schools in your new area. But I can see the appeal of getting into the better area and bigger house earlier, of course.

It does come down to how the numbers stack up. How much you'd need to push the mortgage and how much stretch your finances can take. Would you be compromising the next house by doing it earlier or could you get all you need/want without putting your future studies in jeopardy? My main worry is studies getting postponed because it feels too expensive when it's such an investment in your (plural - including the children) future

My 2 are fine about it. They will miss their friends but they're looking forward to a fresh start too. Good luck in whatever you choose to do x

I probably wouldn’t move because of what you have said about your local schools .

I moved school 5 times when growing up. Once or twice would have been absolutely fine, more than that it starts to get disruptive

I am moving next week , similar situation cheap rent 600 pcm , not the best area we moved here when the kids were 9 and 11. The area in the last 6 months alone has got so bad I almost on a nightly basis have to throw streetworkers and their clients off my backstreet as they are doing their business in plain view of my sons window.
If the kids socialized in this area I'm sure they would be in some kind of trouble by now. So we are nearly doubling our rent costs and moving to a quieter area that ironically is 10 minutes away but may as well be a million. Luckily schools/colleges are not affected. Sometimes a not so great area is not so bad when you see what your kids are up to at all times ie when they are small the time to make the change for us should have been a few years ago. Luckily they are good kids x

Stay, get your education. Move when you’re both working and more financially stable.

Moving primary school at 7 isn't something to worry about! If you want to minimise any disruption to your kids, I'd recommend moving before either of them reach secondary school age.

The number one issue for you is to make sure you move to some where with a good school for the children. Nothing else should really matter. If that’s stay where you are, fine. Otherwise, move.

I think you need to weigh up the financial stress of moving. You say you will go to uni so you can get into a career that pays well, but then have also stated you are not sure you want to go to uni. Even if you do go to uni, does the course you are looking at come with a job guaranteed? The jobs market is pretty harsh right now. How do you also plan to finance you going to uni? If you are doing that and not working, are you relying on a student loan?

If you move and don't go to uni what will your job situation be like? Would that cover the increase in mortgage?
What would the impact be on your general life? So moving to a nicer area but higher mortgage might mean less money for days out, holidays, luxuries. Which do you think overall would give all of you a better quality of life?

I'd stay put.

We bought a smaller house to prioritise having more disposable income and I have no regrets. We don't have to scrimp on things as much as we would with a bigger mortgage. Yes I'd love a second bathroom but I love going on holiday more!
Also when the interest rates rose it didn't impact us as much it did others around us with bigger mortgages.

I’d stay put

I very much regret moving from my small but affordable ex-council house. With a bigger house comes bigger everything - higher heating bills, higher council tax, double the amount of cleaning, double the amount of maintenance. With the increases in cost of living, we now struggle to put anything aside at the end of the month - holidays and days out are few and far between.

If I had to make the same decision again, I would stay put for a few more years and save the left over money so that we didn’t need such a big mortgage when we HAD to move up the ladder.