Get another mortgage or stay and save?

Twiglets1 · 02/12/2025 22:17

I would be taking out another mortgage, as you say this house was intended to be a starter home not somewhere you stayed for many years.

You did really well to pay off the mortgage though!

pocketpairs · 03/12/2025 17:38

rainydecembernights · 02/12/2025 19:27

Bought first property 7 years ago, overpaid like mad and now in the very fortunate position to have paid the mortgage off.

But I’ve long outgrown this house… it’s a starter home and it was the only thing we could afford. it was never supposed to be forever. Now I would love something a bit bigger and on a quieter road (we are on a busy main road at the moment).

My husband doesn’t want another mortgage and to go through it all again. He would rather save up more money, but it will take a long time to save £100-150k when you take into account the price of houses, stamp duty, moving fees.

Has anyone stayed put in this scenario to save money to buy without a mortgage?

Similar position to you. We are in a small 3 bed semi (2 DCs), and have managed to almost save required amount, but now in 2 minds as it'll decimate our savings. It can be done.

UnlockMortgages · 03/12/2025 19:38

Mortgage Adviser here! 👋🏼

firstly huge congratulations. paying off your home in seven years is amazing. It’s totally normal to feel you’ve outgrown it, but saving £100–150k plus moving costs without borrowing will take most people many years, and house prices may well rise while you wait.

Just something to consider that hasn’t yet been mentioned: You could also consider releasing some equity and renting out your current home (let-to-buy). That would give you a deposit for your onward purchase and allow you to keep the property as an investment. Essentially then building wealth in two properties.

Staying put is an option, but if the house no longer works for you, a small mortgage on top of your current equity for a straight forward sell up and move or a let-to-buy might be a sensible middle ground? Obviously I don’t know your financial situation to confirm if this is feasible but worth mentioning!

Superscientist · 04/12/2025 09:57

We were in this position a few years ago. We had overpaid our mortgage and saved hard and we had enough money on the bank to pay off the mortgage. We needed to move for location purposes but we had the choice of moving to a same sized house that we could buy cash or get a bigger house that we would need to port the mortgage and get a second mortgage bring the total mortgage to ~£150k

We viewed both types of houses and in the end we decided to buy the bigger house. When we went around the houses the same sizes as ours they felt cramped and we would be on top of one another. By moving we had a dedicated office that would fit two desks in so we wouldn't have to hot desk with one another. We had room to build a utility room which is possibly one of my favourite rooms in the house! We have spacious rooms and we feel we can relax much easier. We moved from a 3 bed semi in suburbs to a 5 bed detached in a large village on the edge of the peak district. Not having an adjoining neighbour has been lovely as I was always stressed when my baby- toddler was getting upset and screaming. The lifestyle of being closer to the countryside has really enriched our lives.

We have been here 3 years now and should be in a position to pay off one of the two mortgages when it comes up for renewal.

What I would probably do is start saving hard towards the property you want but also start looking for that property. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You could save up half of it and then get a small mortgage.
The two scenarios are paying the amount into savings and getting interest on that amount or pay that amount as mortgage payments where you pay interest. From purely financial point of view saving first makes the most sense but from a lifestyle and personal point of view sometimes the cost of paying interest is worth it. It has been for us

snowlaser · 04/12/2025 12:12

I would upsize as you planned. I have done very similar. Paid off mortgage in 2022 on first house but then upsized in 2024 to a much bigger house with bigger garden that the kids love. The earlier you do it the more benefit you get from the new house. Whilst I get your husband's "mortgage fatigue" you are in a great position to now benefit from that work by upsizing - if you don't then you arguably have missed out on some of the rewards of your good financial discipline to date.

Frozenbiscuit5 · 04/12/2025 12:35

UnlockMortgages · 03/12/2025 19:38

Mortgage Adviser here! 👋🏼

firstly huge congratulations. paying off your home in seven years is amazing. It’s totally normal to feel you’ve outgrown it, but saving £100–150k plus moving costs without borrowing will take most people many years, and house prices may well rise while you wait.

Just something to consider that hasn’t yet been mentioned: You could also consider releasing some equity and renting out your current home (let-to-buy). That would give you a deposit for your onward purchase and allow you to keep the property as an investment. Essentially then building wealth in two properties.

Staying put is an option, but if the house no longer works for you, a small mortgage on top of your current equity for a straight forward sell up and move or a let-to-buy might be a sensible middle ground? Obviously I don’t know your financial situation to confirm if this is feasible but worth mentioning!

I wouldn't do this without weighing up all the risks and tax implications
Could you afford to pay both mortgages if the tenants move out or stop paying, tax rate is going up for landlords, you'll need saving for repairs and damage. You'll need to pay for gas and electric certificates each year, by the time you've paid for all this plus the tax it may not be worth the hassle. Lots of landlords trying to sell up at the moment. It's a risky game to play unless you have substantial money to fall back on if it goes wrong. Even getting a tenant to leave is going to be harder