Planning to buy our long-term family home in London (£3M–£4M budget) would love advice from people who know the market

[Marvickk]

My wife and I are both 30, recently married, and living in London. We're starting to seriously plan our long-term family home and would really appreciate some honest opinions from people who understand both the London property market and how to structure a purchase like this sensibly.

A bit about our situation
We both work in demanding professional careers, with a combined salary of around £480k/year before bonuses (closer to £530k with bonus), and we expect this to grow over the next couple of years. Beyond salary, we each have investments and some inherited property assets a few overseas properties and a minority stake in a family vineyard came to us through inheritance, alongside cash savings and investment portfolios. Including our current apartment, our combined household net worth is roughly £9M, and passive income 140K yearly, though a meaningful chunk of that sits in illiquid or semi-liquid assets rather than cash.

We currently live in a apartment in London worth around £1.1M with no mortgage. Our plan is to sell it and add a further £1M or so in cash, giving us roughly £2.1M to put toward the new home, while keeping our other assets, investments, and inherited properties untouched. That would leave us taking out a mortgage of roughly £900k on a £3–3.5M property, which feels conservative given our income, but we want to make sure we're not missing anything.

We're hoping to start a family in the next few years likely two or three children and are already thinking ahead to private school costs on top of the mortgage, so we want the numbers to hold up over the next decade, not just look fine on paper today.

Our ideal home Requirements
A large master bedroom with a proper ensuite bathroom (big shower, comfortable space)
Rooms for future children
A guest bedroom
A proper home office for both of us
A large kitchen with an island we love the idea of the kitchen being the heart of the house
A comfortable living room
An entertainment space that could work as a small bar/music/games room for having friends over
A private garden with enough space to actually enjoy outdoor living

We're currently thinking about buying an older but well-located property around £2.8M–£3M and spending roughly £500k on renovation, rather than buying something already finished. Areas we're considering: Richmond, Barnes, Wimbledon, and Chiswick but we're open to other suggestions.

A few questions for people who know this world
1.Does this budget make sense for the type of home we're looking for, and does a ~25% LTV mortgage make sense given our asset mix, or should we be putting down more or less?
2.Would you prefer buying a finished luxury home or renovating an older property, given we're planning to have kids fairly soon?
3.Are Richmond/Barnes/Wimbledon/Chiswick the right areas for a young family, or are there other areas worth exploring?
4.Is it worth consolidating with a private bank for the mortgage given our combined assets, or does that not really move the needle at this loan size versus a normal broker?
5.What mistakes do people commonly make buying at this price range financially or practically?
6.Would a buying agent be worth it for us?
7.If you were in our position, what would you prioritize both on the property itself and on how we structure the purchase financially?

We're not looking for the biggest house or the most expensive postcode. We want somewhere that feels like home a place where our children can grow up, where we can host friends, and where we can enjoy everyday life while making sure we're being financially sensible about how we get there.

Just heads up to be prepared for a pile on…your post sounds massively like a brag and very insensitive to the vast majority of users here.
surely you should be asking these questions to a qualified mortgage advisor or financial advisor.

One would think some of these questions would be better directed to a financial advisor, given the scale of your assets, rather than seeking advise from completely unqualified randoms online.

Your financial position is in the top 0.1% of the UK. It’s incredibly unlikely many people will be in anything close to it.

Wouldn’t it make much more sense to get professional advice from experts rather than asking on Mumsnet?

From what I've heard you don't get much in the good areas London for £3-5m. But I'm sure there will be houses in the not so expensive areas. So just visit estate agents and tell them what you're looking for.

My advice is to pay for financial advice. I think you can afford it.

I think you will need an annexe for a live in nanny and a chef once the children appear. Think of good schools as well in the area.

Eugenie go ask somewhere else

Chiswick will be fine. Next!

Must be such a hard decision to make.

Ask the king if you can buy Buckingham Palace. Or part of it

You’ll probably get better advice on the HENRYUK forum on Reddit.

Given your apparent £9m of assets and ~£500k annual income, with a need for a £900k mortgage… I don’t think there are really any questions here about ‘what’s the most sensible financial decision’. You can afford the house you want, easily.

Borrowing more than you need at current interest rates, I think you could but I don’t think there’s much long term gain in that - and, if one of you lost your job / stopped working due to kids, a mortgage larger than £5k a month would feel high on one £250k income IMO.

The areas you have suggested are all nice and you can get a decent (but probably still terraced or semi) house. £500k refurb… I think you might be surprised at the cost in these areas / house type / general building costs, so go into it with your eyes wide open.

I personally wouldn’t bother with a buying agent, I know people who have used them and can’t see what it has achieved vs looking on rightmove and knowing the local agents.

re: better rates at a private bank, no idea. Typically they are good if you have a ‘complex income’ ie a mix of income streams, dividends etc and will account for that in your loan amount (where high street banks struggle to do so). But you don’t need that.

Regarding school - honestly in SW London you don’t really need to at primary age, the schools are known for being excellent.

You don’t mention stamp duty in your post, which will be another ~£300k.

Just go and look at stuff, hang out in the areas, see what you like best. Thats how to decide where you go. Maybe rent somewhere for a year first, given the cost of buying means doing it twice if you make a mistake on area is still very punitive.

Exactly, a couple of 30 year old millionaires would surely have the insight to access professional help rather than Mumsnet! I’d start with a professional house finding company, there are dozens of them in London.

Honestly, you may earn silly money but you don’t sound especially savvy. Why would you ask for financial advice on this scale on Mumsnet? There’s a cost of living crisis on, you know. A little sensitivity wouldn’t go amiss. Go and ask an expert.

Barnes or Richmond. Somewhere on Castelnau so you can walk over the bridge to Hammersmith tube if you need to get to work or meetings in central London.

Richmond has the park and good housing.

Agree you need a financial advisor as it's not just about the house, but about your overall finances.

Personally I'd pick somewhere easier to get into central London on the tube like the equivalent areas of North London, but obviously plenty of people love the areas you've mentioned and I'm sure they are great for families.

Op, You’re allowed to ask questions on this site but only if you’re on the bones of your arse and earning £3.40 and a banana skin per month to feed your 8 kids. Heaven help you if you’re doing well for yourself and just after a bit of advise because then the wolves come out and show their jealous teeth.

I’m in the north and far poorer than you so can’t assist but I really do hope someone a bit nicer comes along that can chat with you about things in the same way they would if you didn’t have quite the same amount of money but asking the same questions. I wish you all the luck.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89278383?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

This might work?

Have you considered moving up north? Your budget would stretch further in Rotherham for example

lol yes dear

I find it astonishing, and rather unbelievable, that someone with your net worth does not have access to professional advice and ia instead resorting to Mumsnet.

🤔

Just call Kirstie and Phil.

Speaking as a conveyancer, Clients of mine that are buying at that sort of price and with you income/assets NEVER buy cash. They all have very favourable mortgage rates with high loan to value through private banking. The rest of their assets earn way more interest than the interest payable on the mortgages. I reviewed a mortgage offer last week for a loan of £1m on a £1.3m property with an interest rate of 1.75%.

@Marvickk Chiswick all the way as the other ones you mentioned are too far out , not as good commute either

Chiswick Bedford area (not Grove Park as more isolated ).. you ll get a nice semi for this £££, and the properly value will increase in crazy rates yearly . Good schools too

@Marvickk It might be worth posting your budget and your requirements in the "Property & DIY section". I probably wouldn't add the intricacies of your finances, as others have said some posters do get very upset if you're not on the bones of your arse. People tend to be quite helpful over there so you will probably get a few more people offering useful advice about the areas, schools, and what you can get for your money in the places you're considering, and perhaps a few others you should also be looking at.

As for the posters getting triggered by the OP's budget, this is "Money Matters", not "Bones of Your Arse Matters". The forum isn't just for people who are struggling financially. It's for anyone with a money issue, whether that's trying to make ends meet, buying a house, investing, or spending a bigger budget.

The OP is perfectly entitled to ask for advice here and to canvass as many forums and websites as they choose. If the thread isn't for you, just move on. Nobody is forcing you to read it.