Torturing myself by looking at Rightmove

[elprup]

DH and I have decided to move out of London in two years' time, when our fixed rate mortgage comes to an end. We have one DS who will be 2.5 when we move.

Since we agreed this, I've started scouring Rightmove for properties in our preferred location, and have seen several absolute gems come up for sale and subsequently be sold.

It's getting me down as I keep thinking that we've missed out on yet another stunning property - even though we're not really in a position to move yet! (We'd have to pay a considerable penalty if we were to exit our fixed term early). We want to buy in a rural location so there isn't exactly a glut of properties to choose from.

Is it best just to ban myself from looking at Rightmove for the next two years?

If you stay with the same mortgage company will you still have to pay a fee?

Sadly yes!

Why are you waiting for the fixed rate to run out?

As I recall we moved before our fixed rate ended. We had two mortgages run alongside each other until the fixed rate ended and then combined them.

I think if it’s making you miserable you didn’t have to ban yourself I’m afraid!

There will be plenty of houses in 2 yeasts time, don’t worry. Do you not enjoy where you are now?

Keep looking. You'll get a feel for what's standard stock and what's special. Things that look amazing now might look quite ordinary after two years of seeing similar properties show up.

Years obviously! Yeast doesn’t come into it

As a Rightmove addict I can only sympathise but not be of much help! I stopped the email alerts coming in but I still look. This was for a move that Covid has put in the back burner so just torturing myself really.

Do you not enjoy where you are now?

Yes, we like where we live now. We're just fed-up with having such a big mortgage with all the pressure that brings - and want to downsize and live somewhere with a much slower pace of life.

Can’t you port your mortgage? And what would be the fee for early repayment? I can’t see the point of waiting for 2 years for the sake of 3 or 5k for example.

Why do you have to wait for your mortgage period to expire? Can you not port it if you are desperate to move now? And remember, if you see gems selling now, more will come along when you are ready to move! OR you may find when you really start to explore properties that many houses are not as perfect as they seem - I say bitterly, as someone who is currently trying to move and finding that estate agents are doing a marvellous job of hiding the fact that a suitable house e.g. is right behind a breakers yard or next to a motorway.

Agree with others. We've transferred our mortgage to a new property each time we've moved.

We moved before our fix rate ended. We stayed with the same mortgage company and two mortgages run alongside one another. We had no penalty to pay.

I used to do this and it’s horrible. But when I was actually able to look properly, the perfect place came up! It does work out in the end.

Are you absolutely sure you can't move sooner? Have you talked to the bank? I've moved within fixed term twice and porting the mortgage has never been an issue

Yep port your mortgage - We did this to avoid the penalty and keep our super cheap fixed rate based on our Loan to value of flat. So yes we ended up with two mortgage products running with the same 'bank' on different rates. The second product was the bit more we needed to borrow to get a house.

DH agreed we could move to the countryside (my home) and I got all excited and started looking. And then he changed his mind

I feel your pain. I keep torturing myself on rightmove too.

Agree, just move the mortgage to the new property. Why wait?

Speak to a mortgage advisor and see what they suggest. I'm pretty sure you can move at any time, and if it's with the same lender there shouldn't be a fee

We’ve ported our mortgage and run two mortgages on the same property concurrently in the past as we’ve spotted a house we’ve loved and not wanted to miss it. I am sure it can be done. I don’t even recall paying anything in the way of fees either. In fact I think once the mortgage lender was quite pleased as we increased our borrowing and tied ourselves in for a bit longer...

How much is the penalty? With the current stamp duty discounts it might be more cost effective to move now.

@MadgeMak Good point about the savings on stamp duty potentially outweighing any early repayment charges.

I am a Rightmove addict !

I have a bit of an obsessive personality so I can be on there for hours.

I live in a poxy flat in London worth more than my aunt's 4 bed in Coventry. When dd goes to Uni we are moving so we can at least get a house and a small garden. She will go to Uni, I'll insist on it .

If you haven't already, you should speak to the bank, like a Real Person. You might be surprised what you could do!!

I doubt you can port the mortgage if you're going for a cheaper house - that would be early repayment wouldn't it?

@Goyle

I am a Rightmove addict !

I have a bit of an obsessive personality so I can be on there for hours.

I live in a poxy flat in London worth more than my aunt's 4 bed in Coventry. When dd goes to Uni we are moving so we can at least get a house and a small garden. She will go to Uni, I'll insist on it .

@Goyle

I hope DD isn't a newborn!! 🤣