To buy or not to buy

[Neet90]

We had an offer accepted on a house yesterday buy I feel frightened and worried rather than happy.

We love our home, it's our first house, close to family, close to work, near to where we grew up, haven't outgrown it yet, its cheap and it's finally pretty much how we want it but I know it isn't our forever home as we may want another child, the garden isn't very big, it's arguably not in the most desirable of areas, our neighbour can be a pain and it's an end of terrace.

We set a budget of 325- 350k max but viewed a house reduced from 400k and offered just under 380k. My husband likes the house and thinks we can afford it at a push but I have so many reservations.

I know it was foolish to view something out of our agreed price range but on paper it ticked many boxes- detached, more bedrooms than our house, bigger garden and the pictures were flattering.

I'm worried that in order to afford it we will have to make so many sacrifices and when interest rates rise we would have to work more just to cover the mortgage increase, plus we have had to extend the mortgage term to the maximum we length we can get.

In some houses we have viewed or offered on in the past I like the layout, I can visualise where everything will go, even the Christmas trees, but with this house I cant. I'm concerned the layout doesn't work, the kitchen is and will always be too small, there is not enough storage throughout the house eg there is no space in the hallway for coats and shoes despite. I'm not sure an extra bedroom makes up for the lack of usable downstairs space.

I can see how one day it could be a dream home but because it's so far out of our budget we wouldn't be able to make any improvements. It's an older home but has had unsympathetic updates about 30 years ago such as flat roof 2 storey extension, strange patterned rendering, mdf floors rather than floorboards, ugly windows and it's outdated overall. It also has a cellar which has water running under it and has flooded before.

The new house is also further from family and my job meaning childcare and preschools or school runs will be more difficult.

The new house is in a different area which would mean our summerborn daughter could join Reception at 5 rather than 4 but if things don't work out and we end up moving again she may have to jump back up a year again as our current LA did not agree this. If we stayed local our daughter would join the nearby primary school this September at just 4 but our youngest and my niece would go their later and I quote like the idea of dropping my children off at the same school rather than desperate infants and juniors. Also the new house is a 20 min walk to the infants and juniors but doubke this for the senior school, I don't think I ever had more than a 15 min walk to school.

My husband really likes the house and thinks I will find fault in any house but my worries are practical. If this house were more affordable I'd jump at it and think ourselves lucky but it's way out of our price range with a lot of work we'd want to do, I think I'd be frustrated living in a house for decades itching to make changes we can't afford, particularly as I ideally want a nice home while our children are young enough to enjoy it not when we are retired.

I don't know what to do, we may regret not taking the plunge as it could be a phenomenal house eventually but I can see so many risks if we do. If we change our minds we will likely lose our buyer who has pressured us to find somewhere. I'm also worried the estate agents will not touch us with a barge poll again as we have not looking last year after things fell through and we decided to take a break on the hoise hunting front as we were expecting our second child.

I apologise as this is a rambling post.

I'd stay.

If you want to get your DH on board with staying, you'll have to put the house's issues in terms of his own life, and how it'll affect him. For example, the school run won't affect him (I'm presuming) but would the new location be worse for him in some way? Or the extra money/longer mortgage -- would that scupper his chances of retiring early or taking a career change (if that's one of his dreams)?

I’d stay. Other than the extra bedroom and your DD being able to defer reception for a year, I can’t see what the positives are.

Sounds like you'd be really stretching your finances to buy somewhere that needs a lot of work? So wouldn't have money to do it anyway?

I don't think I'd go for that unless there were some big promotions or pay rises around the corner.

Stuff like a 20-min walk to school or a bus ride to secondary is nit picking IMO.

I wouldn't move there either. What I would do is this:

• properly cost out the new mortgage repayments against other expenditure/income. How much is there left over each month?

• cost out the impact on childcare (time and money)

• work out what work you would have to do to the house and what work you would want to do. How much would you need for essential / desirable home improvements?

• repeat the above action and be properly realistic (we fuck this up by under-egging the budget every renovation we've done).

Then talk about it with dh and make the decision that you both can live with.

We have recently moved and downsized our mortgage. We were sick of never having money do do things and the stress was hideous. Finally, an unexpected change in our circs forced us to move and we are absolutely loving the financial freedom!

I'd be open to moving, though, but stick to a realistic budget and not view unaffordable properties.

You are bound to be nervous. It's a big change. Make a list of positives about the house.

Extending the mortgage term will make the monthly payments smaller over a longer period of time. You could fix the payments for X amount of years so you know exactly how much you will pay every month. Once you go back onto variable rate, you could stay on variable or fix again or pay off lump sums (if you choose but only while on variable rate) and the term/amount would get shorter. There will be penalties if you pay off a fixed rate mortgage early.

I think your biggest fear is moving away from family and friends. Everything else can be worked on.

It also has a cellar which has water running under it and has flooded before.
This would be a red flag for me unless the current owners have fixed this problem. It may be difficult to get house insurance to cover water damage and flooding on a property with previous history or claims.

Don't worry about the EA. They are working for the Seller. They don't care about who buys the house as long as they get the best price for the vendor. They are used to sales falling through.

Have you got the additional costs put aside to pay taxes, stamp duty, conveyance solicitor etc.?

Get a structural survey done. The flat roof and the basement need checking at least.

Visit the area and property a few times to get a feel for it. It's easy to get swept up in the excitement at first viewing. Visit the area at different times of the day/night. Visit local schools/childcare.

How far are the nearest local transport?
What are local services and community like?

It can be overwhelming so take time to think it through. Having your offer accepted is the start of a long process. It can take months to finalise the sale. Talk it through with your DH and see what he thinks

Thanks for your comments.

I'm not against moving in general but I feel that house is too much of a stretch financially so we'd have less to spend on holidays etc and wouldn't be able to save towards the home improvements I'd want to start within the next few years. My husband keeps saying it's fine but I think it will put a huge strain on both of us, especially him, to make ends meet.

I worry that if we stay, atleast until we find something that is atleast within budget, we will then be tied to this area as our daughter will then have to start school this September and seeing as I'm already concerned about how she will get on, moving schools again may be even harder on her.

Thanks for your comments LastChanceFinalOffer.
We have the money from our sale to cover the solicitors, stamp duty, estate agency fees and for this house would need to put every other penny towards it but that still leaves mortgage payments significantly larger than our current ones despite extending the term to the max to make it as little as possible.
The cellar flooded around 20 years ago and they have had a pump running ever since to keep on top of the water build up but I don't think they use it for storage as a result. I wont pretend I have a clue about water or springs etc and it would worry me so we would want it to be looked at as part of a full buildings survey.
The list of long term jobs is huge but I suppose some are practical, some are more for aesthetics or to make it a better living space etc but we wouldn't be able to save enough toward them, particularly If/When interest rates rise after our fixed term ends.

If you love your current house and haven't outgrown it yet then don't move. It makes no sense. Start putting the difference between your mortgage and the mortgage you would have to pay away in savings so that if your dream house comes along you will have savings.

Thanks FrenchFancy. The only major downside to our current home for me personally is our neighbour bit I know there's no guarantee what you will live next door wherever you go. I think my husband wanted to move now otherwise if our daughter starts school in a few months we would feel more tied to this same area.