What to do?

[MrsBee55]

I'm not really sure what I'm asking for here but I'm just fed up and have been extremely indecisive lately so would appreciate any input.

My OH and I need/want to move house. We don't like where we are now and haven't for years. We commute over an hour to our jobs/uni and to see friends/family. The trouble is, we've been looking at different areas closer to things like jobs, uni, friends, etc for probably 2 years now and just haven't found anywhere we want to be. It's ridiculous!! We must have gone through thousands of houses online and viewed many in person but just nowhere has given us the kick we need to move.

Part of the problem, I think, is that we will need to move again in 2 or 3 years time. My OH's work contract will end then and he will be relocated to an office in the south. He won't know where until much nearer the time but it will be on a much longer contract and for a much higher wage. I am really looking forward to that move where we will finally be able to settle for a long time but just don't know where to be in the meantime as we haven't really found anywhere we want to be.

We're in the north now and our options are:

1. Stay where we are, despite feeling v isolated and disliking it for a long time. We also have a lot of money tied up in the house and it will likely need improvements made over the next couple of years, but it's an easy option.

1. Move closer to my OH's family & friends. It's a lovely village, he would be v happy. It's still an hour away from our work/uni though and I'm not the biggest fan of his mother .

1. Move much closer to either his work, my work or uni to a place we're not too bothered about but it's much more convenient.

He works one day a week in York, one day in Lincoln, the rest from home with the occasional trip to Nottingham. I work 3 days a week in Leeds and will be doing 2 days at Sheffield from September.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting from people in terms of advice but anything would be helpful, we've been stuck on this for a long time now and it's starting to send me batshit.

If you have to move in three years, I honestly think you are better off staying put and improving the house you have so that you can sell it for the best price when you have to move. Other than that, is it in a rentable location? Rent it out, and rent somewhere in the intervening years until you need to move down south? I'm guessing if he needs to be in York and Lincoln and you need to be in Sheffield and Leeds then somewhere between Pontefract and Doncaster might be a good location (close to a number of motorways, fast trains to York from Doncaster).

Hi lala, thank you for replying

Yes, we have been looking at Doncaster & surrounding areas as it's the most ideally located but we just haven't found anything worth moving for, I guess that's the problem. We like bawtry and tickhill and they're certainly much better than we are plus there are plenty of nice houses available but, I dunno, something just stops us. But that something could just be laziness!

We've looked in A LOT of places too, so it's hard to imagine somewhere popping up that makes us want to move. The thing is though, we have wanted to move practically since we bought this house as we just didn't gel with the area at all so it's odd that now the time has come and we can move, we're not!

Renting it out isn't really an option as we would then have to deal with the issues arising from wear and tear that are sure to happen soon. We also really would like to release the money we have in the house. Us renting somewhere is an option but then we do have a lot of rescue animals that we take in and that has proven difficult with landlords/ladies in the past.

Another option someone mentioned to us because it is so short term is to find a small project, like a fixer upper, in order to make a bit if money out of the situation. Perhaps that would help push us to move but then there's the possibility of things going wrong obviously oh I just don't know!

We have done an awful lot to the house we're in now and as a result will make a decent profit on it, I suppose the thought of doing yet more to it makes me a bit miserable.

If a doer upper as a stepping stone is an option, then in your situation I think I would go with that. It would hopefully give you a bit more capital to invest in a house in the south, and timing wise would probably work well with your planned move in three years time.

In that case, get the estate agents in to give you some valuations and test the market. Once you have a (hopefully) good offer, that will give you the impetus to find something and, as it is only likely to be for a couple of years, you can be less picky. A doer-upper is an excellent suggestion if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Hmmmm I do like the idea of cracking on with things and then if we get a good offer and are still reluctant to move then I think that's our answer and we will stay put.

I do quite enjoy a very basic fixer upper, cosmetic more than structural, we got quite lucky with the one we're in now as it's a 'desirable' area, so we always knew we'd get a good return. I suppose it adds to the frustration having quite a vast area optional to move to and not really knowing what any of the places in it are like. And this is after searching for a loooooonnnng time

I did find quite a good option for fixing up in OH's home-village.

What are your thoughts on moving to somewhere where your OH would definitely enjoy and be happy but you're not that keen on? It would be convenient for him for family, friends and work. Me, not so much but at least closer to work and uni than I am now.

Will you definitely have to move again in a couple of years? Having just been through the selling/buying process I really wouldn't want to have to do it again any time soon (and I'm talking decades!). Plus the cost of moving twice including stamp duty etc shouldn't be underestimated. You could gamble on the property market and sell yours and move into rented somewhere you like for a year or two? You would risk the market moving on without you but you'd be in a great position to buy chain free when the time came.

If you are relocating again in 2-3 years I wouldn't put yourself through the hell of buying and selling a house now. It could take a while to sell or just to find somewhere you like. So before you know it you would be moving again. Just wait for 2-3 years and improve the property you have.

And for relocating anywhere new I would highly recommend renting. Local knowledge of an area is so important. Committing to buying a house that could potentially be a problem or be in a problem area is a huge risk because you can end up stuck with it.

If you are really moving south in two years I wouldn't waste time and money (stamp duty x2 estate agents x2 solicitors x2) on an in between move. How about spending a few weekends travelling to the new area you will be moving to so you can get to know where you want to buy? It might help distract you from your current situation and will definitely help prepare you for the big move when the time comes.

Hi Pipn, we will definitely need to move in 2 to 3 years, yes. OH could get another job in the north but he's on a work programme that he's really happy with and the next stage will be moving to the south where he'll be at the top level in the scheme so it would be silly not to. We both have a lot of friends dotted around and it will be good for my career too.I know what you mean about not taking on selling/buying lightly, this does worry me especially when added to the fact that neither of us seem particularly eager on the move in the first place.

Bee - we shouldn't have a problem selling quickly but it is taking a long while for us to find somewhere we like and it could well be that we end up just settling on something for the sake of settling and cos we know the 2 years are running out, so this is a huge worry!

Moving - the money side of things didn't really bother us until it has come down to actually getting on with it. Again, it's just even more off putting thinking we'd need to stump up so much for something we're not that set on. It's completely different when you find a house you love, have reason to move and want to stay for a long time, the fees are just a unfortunate necessity that you don't really pay much attention to cos you're excited to move! Not so much the case here

We have spent more time than we should have visiting friends in the south and exploring areas we might move to, when we should have really spent those weekends getting to know areas in the north. If we do decide to stay I think we'd probably end up spending most weekends daydreaming around the south!