Have I lost the plot or is this manageable?

[UpSticks9]

We have fallen in love with a property in the countryside (not far from where we are now) which has land. It’s our dream so I need to know if that is currently clouding my judgement.

Property would triple our current mortgage costs and would need £200k to extend and renovate.

Once bills are paid, we would be left with £1600 a month. We don’t have children but plan to have them in the next 3-5 years. It seems very doable right now but we I am happy to be told otherwise by people who have similar disposable income.

That £1600 would need to cover savings/ investments, anything child related (in the future), holidays, new cars, etc.

What about nursery fees? Can you afford the mortgage on one salary (if you weren’t going to work if you have children)? Does that include food?

I think you need to find a stepping stone en-route to your dream. How will you cope with keeping the land in check without sufficient income? Small flock of sheep? Pollarding trees on the land?

How much do you currently have after mortgage and bills and how much do you save? Then you'll know how much you currently spend, it's an easier question than figuring out a budget, they never cover everything.

Do you expect promotions before DC come along? Will you want to be SAHM? Would you expect to put in full time nursery?

£1600 is plenty unless you are paying nursery or give up your job.

We both plan on condensing hours so nursery fees would be for a maximum of 3 days. I won’t count on it but our parents are working part-time or retired and have expressed they would love to have a childcare role (again, won’t count on it for financial reasons).

We could afford all bills on one salary currently but it would be uncomfortably tight. DHs salary is set to increase in a year or two but again, won’t base our figures on anything other that current finances.

The question I think relevant on posts like this is will you manage if one (worst case, both) of you were to lose your income?

Is £1600 not sufficient and if not, why? Maybe that’s the bit I’m struggling to know. We could buy a tractor to maintain the land ourselves.

Yep it isn’t doable how on earth can you afford it. Because you can’t it is as simple as that you are massively overstretching, not taking into account savings to go wrong, the cost of children etc

We could buy a tractor to maintain the land ourselves. How do you intend to maintain the land? How much land is there?

Where is food is that included before or after?

children cost - nappies/wipes/clothes/childcare/travel costs

properties like that cost - have you done new bills for what it would cost to run it utilities/increase in council tax it isn’t just your mortgage that is increasing is it?

£500 to pollard a tree. £70 to repair a f3nce panel. How much land. Servicing the tractor? Time? We need help with half an acre and budget £2k pa for hedge and tree management. Have either of you ever driven a tractor? Does it have main drainage? What sort of land management have either of you done?

£1600 to cover: council tax, utilities, insurances, food, car costs.

£1600 before children isn’t much. 3 days at nursery will still be a chunk each month, even with the funded hours. Then there’s clothes, activities, family days out (obviously more expensive then just the 2 of you), baby/toddler classes. Also savings for DCs future and presumably savings for mat leave too.

We have around £2.5k disposable income but we save £1500pcm. We will both get pay rises (mine is due next year, DHs will be in 2 years I think).

I won’t want to give up my career nor would it be feasible. It’s not the type of industry where you can dip in and out of it. Maximum 3 days per week nursery but possibly less if family help (I won’t count on their help in our budget).

Included in the bills so won’t be used in that £1600.

Yes, council tax is only one band above what we pay now. It’s expensive but CT in our area is generally so whether we buy this house or any other, it will be eye watering.

Trees/ wood isn’t an issue. We can source this for cost price and do the work ourselves.

Both parents were farmers so I know the basics but I never grew up on a farm so it will no doubt be a steep learning curve/ reality check.

No, definitely not mains drainage. It’s a cesspit like most other properties here.

As someone with 2 kids (3 and 1) unless you expect your income to increase significantly (im talking 20k-50k gross in the next 2 yrs)

Dont do it.

I'd also double check the bills. We moved from a 2 bed flat to 5 bed house.
Insurance, council tax etc its more than you think.

You'll also most need likely need a car with a child.

We were looking at houses worth anythong between 650k-1.4m we bought a place that was "comfortably affordable"

I am very very relieved we didnt stretch ourselves as things are snug but manageable now.

What would be a more comfortable amount?

I have savings set aside for mat leave already so that won’t be an issue.

How do you want to live? Do you want to own land and have a small holding run the same car for awhile
or do you want to take your children on holidays and do activities etc change your car etc

because you don’t have enough funds to do both so you need to pick a lifestyle

I spoke to a mortgage advisor and we can actually lend twice the amount we want to so this house falls very comfortably within budget.

CT is only one band higher. The current footprint isn’t much bigger than our current house albeit we would extend so it may be bigger then.

Salary increase will be £20-30k but I won’t run figures on that based on the way the UK seems to be heading right now.

We have two cars already. One is newer than the other though so we will need to replace the older one at some point.

The £200k needed to renovate/extend - have you already factored that in, or is that to be saved up over time / bits done as and when?

I think it is doable, but it might get tough / you might live in ways that feel straitened at times.

I have less then £1600/month after bills, but I have older children (no nursery bill) and live in a small house on the outskirts of a relatively cheap city (less transport, less random house repairs, not tractor to need repairing).

Also, if you're working 4 very long days each and caring for the potential children on the other days, when exactly do you plan on doing the farm labour even if you do buy a tractor. Do you know how to drive a tractor or run a farm?

It probably is possible, but will mean a lot of work and sacrificing qualityof life. I guess you need to weigh up how much the 'dream' means to you and decide if it would be worth it.

As a rough guide...Childcare in our area in £80-120 per day for an 8am-6pm.

15 free hours doesnt cover 15 hrs at most places/anywhere. its translates to £5.30 per hour so you get a £16 reduction per day assuming its split over 5 day (woop dee dee!)

Factored in already hence the huge increase in mortgage. It’s not actually much more than our house is worth but a huge chunk of equity is being held back to do the work.

The problem is OP you see to want the house and the holidays and on that budget with children you can’t have both

My brother and his wife bought a smallholding; brother is a landscaper/gardener and can drive a tractor, and he still found doing the work to maintain the land pretty hard. How much are you budgeting for the cost of buying and maintaining the tractor?! And bear in mind that you're already thinking about condensing your work hours, and having children who will need supervising - but apparently one of you will have enough time to maintain your land on top of that (while learning to drive a tractor?)?

I think your monthly budget feels totally doable, but I think you might have bitten off more than you can chew with the land.

I would also make plans assuming you lose one income, and have a contingency idea for what would happen then. If your career isn't one you can dip in and out of, you may lose it when you have a baby. It's rotten and very unfair, but it happens.

It isn’t the end of the world not to go on holiday. We have a campervan so we could trade that in for a slightly bigger model and have UK breaks.