To move or not ..?

[shallweshop]

We have been in our house for 13 years now and at various stages we have considered moving but instead have decided to use the money we would spent on moving to make improvements instead. We love our house and the area its in but there are two major things we would want to change and which we keep coming back to. Firstly, we would love a bigger, sunnier garden and secondly, we share the front courtyard area with our neighbours (who are lovely and we don't have any issues but would be nice to have private front access).

The recent urge to move came from me seeing a gorgeous house for sale which had everything we are looking for. Unfortunately, despite it being on the market since October, an offer was made on it last weekend so I am a bit gutted. Anyway, have gone ahead and had our house valued but we have been told that moving costs will be around £25,000! Whilst he is up for a possible move, my DH is also being a bit negative about how difficult and stressful it will be trying to tie in a sale and purchase and keeps warning me not to get emotional about any house we might see.

I am torn between wanting to just sit tight and appreciate what we have got and the niggling urge to get the best house we can afford.

Anyone else been in this position? Any advice/experience?

What is the 25k figure for?

25k seems a lot just for moving costs!

Selling is a definitely a lot of hassle, stress and expense so if you are not absolutely set on it then I would question if it is worth it. However I think once you start looking you may realise that you can find somewhere else that would make the move worthwhile. This is pretty much what happened with me. We were very happy where we were but the niggling urge overtook the desire to stay put in the end.

The 25k includes the 3% stamp duty, Agents fees and solicitors costs.

Erlack - think you are right that if I start looking, I will probably fall in love with somewhere and then the desire to move will overcome staying put. Just a bit worried about upsetting the apple cart!

£25k are around our mortgage costs: £15k for stamp duty, £2.5k solicitors, £4k EA fees, £2k removals costs

shallweshop you are me two months ago and this has been the most stressful time in my life since we last bought/sold a place. I am never doing this again after this one either!

Its a fairly horrid process in this country designed to benefit no one.

Don't start anything unless you really want to move, you won't be able to help getting emotionally involved, and once you've got your head set on moving you can't think about anything else. Its like deciding to get a new job.

Having said that I am very excited at the prospect of our potential new house.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I think it depends on how much the move will get you in terms of the extra mortgage. It has to be worth the stress and it is likely that anything you buy will also involve compromise, like your current house.

Terrys - I am a bit worried about the stress aspect. My sister is seriously ill in hospital at the moment so I am already dealing with that stress. However, she is going to have a very long recovery process so its not necessarily a good idea to postpone a move for this reason as we could be talking a few years. Also, I think part of the reason for wanting to move is a reaction to what's happening to my sister and thinking that I need to make the most of life.

Roshbegosh - you are right that any new house is likely to involve compromise also.

Will continue to ponder ...