Would you move to lower your mortgage

[Tacali]

The house we live in was bought off my DH family so he has attachment to the house. We have spent money overhauling it but even he says if it was on the market and for the money we pay a month he probably wouldn't buy it but doesn't want to move as he says he would feel like a failure and that we are taking away things from DC.

I found a house thats an ex council house. Its nothing amazing but if we kept paying what we pay just now we would be mortgage free in 4 years instead of 24 years. There's no denying it isn't the dream but neither is the house we are in just now in my opinion but he is so attached.

If you were in this position would you stay in the home you are in even if you love it or prefer to be mortgage free in a few years for an okay house?

I moved this year. My old house was lovely. The new house is still nice but nowhere near as nice. Kids still have a bedroom each and we are all happy. We have no mortgage. It’s SO freeing. Do it!

Mortgage free everytime.

Being mortgage free is great (I did it very early) but that said, there is no way I would move just to achieve that goal if it meant the house I was moving to was not what I actually wanted. Even moreso if the house I was moving from was affordable and it was purely to reach that goal.

Do it. Neither of you love it where you are. Your DH has no reason at all to feel like a failure. You'll be able to work less hard, spend more time with your children and have extra money for adventures with them. Sounds wonderful for your family.

I downsized and got rid of my mortgage altogether. It's changed my life 100% for the better.

Would depend on the area/size of the house I was moving to. Same area, kids still have their own rooms- then I probably would. What would you be giving up (garden, study, spare room etc?). I imagine being mortgage free must feel freeing (as a PP has said).

Same area. Same schools. Going from a 3 bed detached bungalow with large plot runway for atleast 7 cars(just to gauge size) out loads of work into it large seating area and astrograss area and a teenager/granny annexe where out 14 year old would go to save for a mortgage so the plan was to pay rent but we would save it for him for a deposit.
New house would be terraced 2 bed with a loft conversion for a 3rd where 14 year old would go. 2 car runway but had a garage out the back and play park tiny no maintenence garden.

Our equity would nearly pay off the smaller house mortgage.

If you can see yourself enjoying the new place and not missing the old place in any
way the yes I’d do it to be mortgage free.

I think the goal is to get the best property for the least money. Does the property you have seen offer comparable space and specifications? I can see your husband's point that you will have a less valuable asset at the end of it all, so would you then be able to save, or do something else with the money?

Surely it depends on so many things, we have a 14 yo and hope to give her the option to stay at home until she's at least in her mid twenties. That said I am only in my mid 30s so a 24 year mortgage is no bother to me. Personally I think moving from such a spacious house to a compact terrace is a compromise too far. I'd look to downsize the plot size and the detached for semi but not everything all at once. I think it'll negatively impact your quality of life.

How much is your mortgage at the moment? Again ours is only £500 pm so wouldn't make a huge difference to our lifestyle once we got a better car. If yours is £2k a month then it's the difference between working till you drop and not.

I honestly dont get the obsession with being mortgage free. It’s much more important for me to have the house I want, and I want a certain lifestyle so not willing to overpay aggressively. I am happy to go up to 25% of our income on a mortgage for our perfect home (not a compromise). It gives us a lovely life now, and we have a large asset we’ll eventually own and be mortgage free when retired (and likely a while before still). Being under 25% (and that’s quite early on, it’ll reduce) means we’re not sacrificing our lifestyle.

Mortgages just don’t scare me. Well so long as Liz Truss isn’t PM.

You can downsize any time, why not just wait until your teen moves out?

There’s a big difference in downsizing to a home you will be happy in but that’s cheaper and going for the very cheapest thing you can in pursuit of being mortgage free.

There’s got to be quite a contrast between a house that you’ll be paying off for 24 years and one that your equity almost covers now. It might seem attractive to be mortgage free but I think you need to go into it with your eyes fully open.

Personally I spend a lot of time at home and so I want a place that I love. What would you do with the extra cash? Just save it? Or spend it on holidays/cars/stuff? No judgement from me either way but if it’s the former then there’s no joy for me in sitting in less nice house keeping money in the bank.

Our mortgage just now is £782 pm
All bills come to £2100 with needing to get another car soon as we have one not financed but its nearly had it so will need replaced. The house we are in just now will need a new roof in the next couple of years and some other costs in the next few years.
Our income joint is around £4600 theb there food fuel etc.
We would never have to think about money again if we moved.

You might not be thinking about money, but you could just be displacing your frustration. Living in a smaller home that doesn’t sound like it ticks many boxes?

£1300 on bills seems like an awful lot of money - have you got a lot of debt or nursery fees? I don't think your mortgage is awful on your income but what are you spending £1300 on?

Personally for me I love my house and whilst I am working and can afford it I feel it worth my pretty large mortgage and am willing to go without other stuff. I also view my house as an investment so when I reach 60 I might sell up and downsize to give me a better lump sum so I can retire.

Thanks everyone.
Its a hard choice thanks for all your opinions. I dont really have anyone to have these kinds conversations with in real life so its nice to have other peoples views.

Nope mortagae, car finance, small loan payment, then gas and elec ,netflix l, disney, phone contract

I wouldn't move from one house I didn't like to another that I didn't like but I would start looking for houses that fits your needs and put us in a better financial situation. Moving is expensive and moving to the wrong cheaper house could end up costing you more than you saved by downsizing. I'd start looking at what you could get for your money elsewhere and how your lives could change

I would be looking at how spacious downstairs is if you are looking at being there for the foreseeable future. My parents are still living in the 3 bed semi they had when we were kids whilst upstairs they only need the one bedroom being we left but downstairs they have the same if not greater needs. They had an extension giving them a larger living room in the original house and a large kitchen diner in the extension when we were in our teens. Now we are all adults my parents have found this space more than when we were kids and living at home. We now come back with partners and two of us have children. Regularly at the weekend they can have 10 in the house Vs the 5 when we were all at home.

I moved.

Your bills vs income are reasonable. You are not struggling, so why move just to be mortgage free. Unless you hate your house don't move. And I say that as someone who is always about saving money.

I think moving to another house you don’t like is a false economy. Saving £700 odd a month isn’t particularly life changing if it means living somewhere you don’t like and will be much more cramped than where you are now. Is there a compromise? In your situation I’d look for something more manageable with less maintenance costs but that still gives you quality of life even if that means keeping a small mortgage.