Larger house big mortgage vs Smaller minimal mortgage

[Ruralbliss]

I should be able to do this as I'm a Solution Architect by trade and spend my days analysing pros/cons of various options of which cost is usually the determining factor.

A new house has come on the market which looks like it would meet our needs/location etc but smaller rooms, floor space, one less en-suite & less deluxe than the one I made an offer on yesterday. It is also 45% cheaper so would mean monthly mortgage much much less plus the vision of being mortgage free sooner than in my dotage

I've woken up feeling a bit ambivalent/sad about the original more expensive house each day. It's really not me as very high end deluxe features and fittings plus a teeny urban astro turfed garden. My daughters are however really into it but since when did kids get to choose the house.

I'm a single mum so the idea of being better off really appeals but not sure at the cost of being in a smaller space with noisy/messy teens.

In the absence of another friend up I'm yet again reaching out to wise MNrs for a WWYD poll.

Hard to say without seeing the details I know and everyone is different.
I'll report back after a viewing if anyone is interested in what my gut/heart tells me is the right house out of these two for us next.

Shame there is so little choice on the market to buy right now!

Go see the smaller house for sure!

Definitely go and see it. It will either be far too small and you’ll realise the house you’ve offered on is the right one for now, or it will be perfect and then you can change things. If you don’t go you’ll be left wondering!

Bigger house is possibly a better long term investment at this point though, if you want to consider things from a financial efficiency point of view - you can always downsize once the kids are away from home and the larger sale price then might get you nearer to no mortgage at that point too..

I'd go smaller personally
With the details you've given definitely

Definitely the smaller one, or at least not the other one. They aren't the only 2 houses out there. Pull out of the first and find another way forward.

Thanks all and yes @Ohdeariedear that's a been my line of thinking that this next home is a temporary pit stop while my youngest still at school - the move is a relocation for her as currently doing three hours driving for the school runs.

Happy kids, happy me plus benefits of things like not having to get rid of loads of furniture from current house as it appears to all fit in the more expensive house. I'm also drawn to a house where I can be far away from them when needed (often!) like when working from home and they've got mates round.

I'll go and see the mortgage free option tomorrow. Apparently there's been A LOT of interest since it came on yesterday says estate agent so I'll have to make a decision pretty swiftly I think if I want to swap from one to the other. I bet I won't want to but as noted here it might make me more into the one I'm currently buying if nothing else.

I'd go and see the smaller one to get rid of the "what if" feeling- I'm a terrible one for not being able to shake that feeling once I get it.

I'm a single parent too and would want to know if a less financially risky choice was available.

Smaller all the way for lots of reasons. Large mortgages hang over you like an anvil, large houses require significantly more upkeep.