Would you buy a house bigger than you need as an investment?

[Heathcliffitsme]

I want to invest some money in a property but the money could buy something much bigger than I need eg 4 bed detached for just me!

I could quite happily live in a small 2 bed home but It's a bit of a complicated situation and I want the money safe rather than in the bank as savings. At the moment anyway.

Has anyone else done this as a deliberate move? Or does anyone else live on their own eg grown up children and still live in the family home? What's it like?

I have no experience of this but would it make more sense to buy two smaller properties and rent one out? I think I'd feel like I was rattling around in a 4 bedroom house if I lived in it alone.

Yes, but I'd buy a property that had an annexe or could be easily divided so I could rent out part of it too (as utilities on a 4 bed would be a lot more than a two)

That way your property is making money for you twice.

Yes I have considered that too but not sure if I want the faff of that plus the expense of agents fees etc.

Id buy a house I loved in my ideal location. Size wouldnt be so much of a factor if I lived alone. Any money left over would either go on a small rental, or a holiday home to rent out.

If you got a 4bed could you (or would you) Air BnB the extra rooms?

That's in response to the two flats idea.

Just going on my experience. I think smaller properties have a larger pool of buyers. Larger properties in my area are staying on market longer as I suspect buyers think it is cheaper to extend current property rather than move.

Yes true. I don't think I would sell it as quickly as a smaller property. I didn't even think of the extra living costs eg council tax, heating etc.

With changes in stamp duty for second properties, declaring a second income from rental and capital gains tax in the longer run it would need to be a very long term investment to get your money back on a rental property.

Depending on where you are in the country property investment may or may not give you the returns a savings account would even with the current low interest rates. Do you have a financial advisor?

We have a 4 bed detached house, just my DH and I. I find you grow to fill the space you're in lol, so it doesn't feel like we're knocking around in a big empty house. Slightly different motivation for the purchase in that we bought big because ideally we won't move again so wanted room for kids.

Agreed crisscross re rental properties these days. I don't think its for me.

I don't want to keep much in savings. I need it protected.

If I lived on my own I would want a 3 bed (master, spare room and study). No way I'd get anything bigger, as it's so much more work cleaning and tidying a big house!! Plus much more expensive to heat and maintain. If I had money left over I would diversify with shares/savings/btl etc. And a holiday home would be a bonus :)

No. There' just us two (no DC) and we are looking at 2 bed properties - one for us and one for me to use as an office. I wouldn't absolutely rule out 3 beds if the house was amazing and within budget, but I don't want more rooms than I need - it's more to clean, heat and more council tax!

I'm stating the bleeding obvious here, but could you not buy a more expensive 2-bed house?

No, but I love small houses and have no desire to accumulate things, clean more than I need to or pay more in utilities than I need to. I'd rather spend the extra money on experiences - days out, hobbies, holidays. We are a family of 4 in a 2 bed flat and I'm happy with that.

We are childfree (infertile but accepting of it). We brought 3 bedrooms. Both of us are expats / migrants so have parents come to visit and I'm a part time student, so we have a spare room for guests and a spare cum office for me; the second room has a daybed that pulls out to a double if we ever get desperate. We joke that each of the cats has their own bedroom

We brought 3 beds as our place would make a good rental if we move abroad - appeals to families

We downsized to a 3 bed cottage when our DCs got their own homes. It's great, the bills have halved and I hardly notice the cleaning. The cordless vacuum does the whole place!
I agree that larger more expensive houses have a smaller pool of purchasers.

Yes totally. Long term property always escalates in value, and ten percent of 200k is much less than ten percent of 500k as an example. As long as you can afford it, and it's long term, then go for it.

You also don't need to heat rooms you don't use etc, just warm them up now and again but I would say more expensive is not always more rooms, sometimes it's the area or property type etc.

For me, yes, go for the best you can afford if you can envisage sitting on it for ten or twenty years. Make sure you love it though, it is your home.

You say you need the money protected. Property has lots of associated costs and can be quite illiquid. Have you considered other types of investment that can be protected with a guarantee - they do exist. Might be worth speaking to a financial adviser.

Do you need a mortgage? When you say, you need the money protected, do you mean from family? An ex?

There are just two of us, we wanted to live in a specific village and we really liked the 4 bed we are buying. We sold for more than we are paying so we can up-grade. For us it really was - location, location.

Although council tax will be more food, etc will be cheaper than our previous location