WWYD? Very expensive house in perfect location!

[Skylucy]

I guess this is just another version of the old "house or location?" dilemma, but any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

We've been househunting since Feb, and viewed 40+ houses. We live in a beautiful but tiny cottage very centrally in a naice suburban London commuter town. DH works full-time in London, I'm at home with 2 under 2. We have a very manageable mortgage and a lovely life. But....we desperately need more space!

We saw a beautiful period house today in a fabulous central location (same town). It's not without compromise (no parking, one bathroom, no utility, generally small) but is beautiful, has good-sized bedrooms, a big garden and potential to extend.

We loved it, but it would stretch us every which way financially. We'd have £10k left in savings (and would need to buy all furniture), our monthly cash would shrink by £400, and we wouldn't be able to save.

Would you go for it?

@randommess I'm just terrified of the financial implications. We've been so lucky that DH earns enough to allow me to stay home with the children while we can still pay the mortgage, save each month and have an easy life not worrying about food shop bills, emergency car/boiler repairs etc.! I was hoping to retrain too, but tightening our belts this significantly means I can't. It's a funny one - we want to stay local to retain our lifestyle, but realistically, we'll have to learn to live here in quite a different way.

I feel quite guilty too - we saw a perfectly liveable, practical house last week that ticked all the boxes and would have been minimum £60k cheaper than this one. We're viewed it twice but just couldn't go for it because we didn't love it, and we felt we'd have to really love something to make such a huge investment.

You've got decades ahead of you.
this house sounds absolutely right for you.
You'd regret it if you don't make an offer, IMO.

It sounds like you may or may not get it even if you go for it, so worth a punt!
I think loving your house and where you live make a massive difference. And a walking lifestyle is brilliant for you, kids, teens, the planet and all of your health.
Although if what you love is strolling about to cafes and this house will leave you with no coffee budget then maybe you do need a think...

Cheapest house in best location is always the rule of thumb imvho.

Why would you need to buy all furniture?

And please don't look at it as being "lucky" that you can sahm because your dh earns a lot. Sahm for a while if that's what you really truly want - but do try and get back to work before you regret it.

@Dustydoorframes "Although if what you love is strolling about to cafes and this house will leave you with no coffee budget then maybe you do need a think..." Ha! Yes indeed..!

@bibbitybobbityyhat - we need to buy pretty much everything because our buyer is taking most of our stuff as part of the sale. I'm filing that particular negotiation under "seemed a good idea at the time..." . And I do indeed consider myself, and our family, to be very lucky that I can be at home whilst our children are small. DH doesn't earn "a lot", but it was twice what I earned, so it made financial sense for me to be the one to stay home. We didn't want to put our children into childcare while they were so young. I've no intention of staying home forever, but my 12+ hour working days 30 miles away in London aren't compatible with raising small children, and I do feel very lucky that I'm not having to juggle both worlds. SAHM life is tiring, frustrating, relentless, thankless and mundane. I question the point of my excellent degree and 10 year career slog. But I will never regret these years. Lucky is absolutely the right word.

Less space but no financial stress wins it for me. You can always get more space when you can truly afford it.

I'd be continuing to look and try to get parking. I know it mainly ticks the boxes but the lack of that would be a big turn off for me

I’d prioritise house size/school catchment over being in a central/station location and having an attractive, “period” property.

What size is your preferred house, total sq feet?

Your preferred house means no money for you to retrain - have you fully thought through your WoH options for the future? Eg if you could potentially do something using your existing qualifications, no funds to retrain would be less of an issue.

Your pension provision is also a factor to take account of IMO.

But you must already have furniture? Just use that? It’s not compulsory to fill every room immediately

Sell, short term rent, and strengthn your position by becoming cash buyers. There is oodles ofnpolitical uncertainty ahead. Prices will not rise any time soon but others may HAVE to sell.

Can you arrange a short term let on cheaper house you aren't keen on.

What put you off the £60k cheaper house, and could that be changed?

If you can settle for the cheaper house and improve it you would then be able to retrain and have some financial breathing space.

You will be committing yourself to payments you can’t barely afford. What will happen if interest rates rise or you income drops? Either stick to something more affordable or rent if you have the option of reliable rental accommodation in your area-look for rebtalsbelonging to trusts/rental investment companies (mortgaging property is a bad financial decision at the moment anyway).

So where are you going to go in the meantime? If you’re almost exchanging you’ll be moving out in a few weeks? And you have an offer accepted somewhere? So are you in a chain or not?

I take it you’re selling, going somewhere (family, renting) for a short time and the buying. Is that right? Have you pulled out of the one you’re in the process of buying?

I would buy it if you love the house, the schools and the area. You can extend the house and start saving again when you return to work. You don't need all new furniture now. Parking is not essential and online shopping is easy.

What do you mean by ‘no parking’? Do you mean only on street parking, cause that’s pretty common/not a big deal. Or do you mean you can’t park anywhere near the house?

if you love it I would go for it provided it isn't too much of a stretch. You say £400pm less, but what would that leave you after bills?

@Skylucy write down the top three pros and the top three cons for the possible new house and give each one a score out of ten. Don't twist the result and see where you're at.

Personally I'd be wary of exchanging one house that's not right for another house that's not right with no short term potential to fix. Every house has its compromises, but if you're moving for more space and it's still generally small then weigh up the extra value you get as against cost and sacrifices.

If you find yourself 'fixing' the results, then you know where you're at

Also good to list criteria and decide which are really the most important.

My top 3 were: school catchment, size of house, proximity to station. DH’s were size of house, privacy/not being able to hear neighbours or busy roads, and garden

Crikey, only just seen all these new responses! Thanks for the input, genuinely.

@PotteringAlong - as mentioned before, new furniture is very necessary! We'll be selling most of our furniture as part of our current house sale. Granted, we can beg/borrow/steal, but it will still be an expense.

@backonceagainwithaburneremail - in terms of our chain, we're very keen to press on with our sale because it's a great offer (minus the furniture issue!!). Also, we failed to sell last year when we tried before baby #2 was born and frankly, we just do not have enough space. We've resigned ourselves to the fact we have to rent.

We've almost given up on the bigger house a few miles away because the owners haven't got anywhere to move to, and are searching in 3 different counties with no plans to vacate and rent. We're just not prepared to wait indefinitely.

Parking.... such a hot topic on MN!! Yes, the "dream" house has on-street parking. Very common here (actually, we don't even have that where we currently live), but there's no permit system so the roads are constantly blocked with school run and commuter drivers. I'm not massively fussed but right now with 2 children under 2, I would find a driveway useful (and safer, when wrangling small people!).

@LoopyTiles / @StarJumpsAndAHalf - thanks for your practical suggestions. I need a dose of rational thought! In terms of working, I'm a bit of a Jack of All Trades (Master of None?!), so could definitely pick up freelance work. I was just hoping to grab the opportunity to qualify in a different field. I'm an older mum so I feel like time's ticking if I were ever to do something different!

All in all, it sounds like a gorgeous house that might be a financial struggle eleventy be our wisest move. Gah. What an emotional, tortuous business!!

"eleventy"?! *wouldn't be!!

Go for it! A lot of things buying can wait. Incomes will improve & kids will eventually go to school. There will be money.

Parking is s big issue when kids are tiny but later it is manageable so I'd say it shouldn't be a deal breaker esp if you don't have it now.

We did this recently & super stretched but so happy once we moved in. Money will be tight couple of years but it WILL ease...

If the schools are right go for it. I assume your oldest is not yet school age - when you get close to that time it will become an all consuming passion.

Would it be your forever home once extended? If so go for it.

But TRIPLE check planning permission before you buy - sounds like it might be listed or in a conservation area. If you couldn’t extend would you still want it? You should consider that from a financial perspective as well - building trades and materials are ridiculous at the moment and likely to increase post Brexit with skill shortage.

I also think that kids have loads of space hogging stuff when they are younger - highchairs, pushchairs, toys, bouncers etc and less space hogging stuff when they are older .....

Yes @another20, DD is only just 2. Schools are already very much on our minds - all the primaries here are great but they vary in size (and some are first/middle) and we'd prefer a non-faith school. Of course though, they all have a tiny catchment area.

We could definitely go into the loft (vendors have PP, albeit laid lapsed) but I'd need to check the possibility of a back extension - the house is indeed in a conservation area. We wouldn't need to extend for a while so not a pressing issue. TBH it probably isn't a true forever home, but only because when we're decrepit we'll be heading off to the coast!

And yes, as kids get bigger, their 'stuff' gets smaller, right? (Well, at least I can sell the bloody jumperoo! )