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Original poster

To move or not to move - wwyd?

32 replies

Leafygreentea · 06/09/2022 21:42

Hi all, so we made an offer on a house several months ago and it got accepted but due to the people further up the chain and several issues with them deciding what they want to do, it's taking forever. As time's ticking on, my partner and I are beginning to wonder whether we're making the right decision. We keep going back and forth with it, so I thought I'd ask on here and see if you guys could give us some new perspective.

We currently live in a house that we own outright. It's 3 bedrooms, semi detached and an OK size to raise children in - as in, manageable if we keep on top of putting things away and keep the variety of things we own to a sensible amount. There's no separate area or room to use as a playroom so all toys etc are in the lounge which obviously takes up most of the space! It has a smallish garden and over the last 5 years since we moved in, we've made it 'home' and are comfortable.

The new house is the same amount of bedrooms, detached. It's quite a bit bigger downstairs and has a playroom but upstairs is pretty much the same size as our current home. Mortgage will be approximately £850 a month but council tax/bills etc will be quite a bit more and house insurance is 5x the amount we currently pay.

We have 100k in savings which is why we'd like to invest in a new property, rather than having it sat in the bank, depreciating.

The government website says the new property has a very high risk for flooding, though the estate agents have told us this isn't the case, as the flood map just needs to be updated. We'll get our solicitor to do extra searches on this.

Do we stay in a smaller house (downstairs, at least) with no mortgage, keep saving and buy something bigger in a few years once we've saved a bit more and maybe find a 'dream' house, or do we invest the money we already have now, pay more each month but have the bonus of extra living space?

OP posts:

Original poster

Leafygreentea · 07/09/2022 09:16

Bump

OP posts:

senua · 07/09/2022 09:23

This is the same old, same old property question.

Q: do I go for house A or house B?
A: there are more than two houses in the world. Keep looking.

Diamond7272 · 07/09/2022 09:25

Very high risk of flooding = run

I wouldn't trust alny estate agent to tell you the truth here as it is not in their interests and there is no comeback on them anyway.

Sounds like a lot of grief and expense for not much better, with significant risk. Your life also seems financially secure now, don't give that up given whats coming..

AKnitterofThings · 07/09/2022 09:32

I would always live mortgage free if possible.

Bramshott · 07/09/2022 09:34

As your kids get older there will be much less clutter downstairs.

CheeseMaiden · 07/09/2022 09:38

any risk of flooding is a major red flag, especially if you throw global warming/rising sea levels into the mix.
I would find somewhere else.

TwoBlueFish · 07/09/2022 09:49

I lived in 2 houses with playrooms when my kids were young and they didn’t really use either of them. Yes it was a place to store the toys but they wanted to play where the grownups were. Then they switched to playing in their bedrooms.

high risk of flooding would make me very wary.

Unless it’s your absolute dream home then I’d probably pull out and find something else.

DeborahVance · 07/09/2022 09:51

Don't buy a house that is a flood risk!

YourUserNameMustBeAtLeast3Characters · 07/09/2022 09:51

senua · 07/09/2022 09:23

This is the same old, same old property question.

Q: do I go for house A or house B?
A: there are more than two houses in the world. Keep looking.

Agree. I looked at a house that I knew had flooded previously (didn’t realise until I went to view!) and I also knew a huge amount of work had been done to reduce the flood risk in the area - it was only a stream it was next to, I’m not talking major river.

A few months later (after we’d picked a different house and moved!) there was a once-in-a-hundred years (ie every 5-10 years now) rain/foooding event. It didn’t flood but it would have been close, the council were frantically clearing debris further downstream. It would have been hell living there and watching the water rise.

dressupinyou · 07/09/2022 09:53

I find it difficult to believe that you can't get more space downstairs without needing to up your budget by 850k and take on a big mortgage.

Jmaho · 07/09/2022 09:54

Is there a massive price difference between the properties as you have £100k in savings and a fully paid off house yet mortgage on new place will be £850 a month? Or is it just a short term mortgage?
Honestly as things are right now I'd stay where you are. Mortgage free with £100k in the bank is a dream!
If your house is big enough for you then surely that's enough?

Jmaho · 07/09/2022 09:55

dressupinyou · 07/09/2022 09:53

I find it difficult to believe that you can't get more space downstairs without needing to up your budget by 850k and take on a big mortgage.

It was £850 a month mortgage not a £850k mortgage

meateatingveggie · 07/09/2022 09:58

There doesn't sound enough extra house to warrant all the extra cost imo

toastfiend · 07/09/2022 09:58

I wouldn't buy the house you are currently looking at. Significant increase in expenditure for not much more space (is one extra room in the house really worth £850 a month to you?) plus associated flood risks just doesn't seem worth it to me. The estate agent's job is to sell you the house so I wouldn't necessarily take their word for it that it won't flood, either, especially not with more extreme weather events expected in all our futures.

I'd still look at moving, space is important to me and we're moving because I want a playroom (I had one as a kid and used it all the time) and will turn that into a snug when DS is older and might want space to chill out away from us sometimes, but we've taken a long time to find a house that delivers that extra space plus additional benefits that make the big mortgage increase worth it. I'd keep looking, it doesn't sound like this is the right property for you, but the right one will be out there. There are always compromises, but this just doesn't sound like a great cost/benefit ratio.

FruitPastilleNut · 07/09/2022 10:00

Regardless of the specific house, in your situation I wouldn't buy right now.

Whether there's a big market crash like some predict or a much more modest 'correction' - it's likely you'll pay less for any house this time next year than right now!

Tessasanderson · 07/09/2022 10:04

If it was me i would sit tight for another 12-18mths. Your in a good position and whilst your £100k isnt really working for you, it is going to be earning interest now at least.

The next year or 2 is going to be quite difficult for everyone. We dont know what is going to happen to the housing market but it is already starting to stall in some areas. Once the real increases in energy bills and job difficulties kick in you might find the landscape of house prices changes dramatically and you have the opportunity to make a really good buy for yourself.

The thing is, in your position you cant really lose. You should be pretty well insulated from the difficulties that lie ahead and if they do come you are in a good position to deal with it. If it doesnt materialise (Say the government sorts it out or the war in ukraine stops) then at least you are buying on a solid footing.

My guess is that there are going to be loads of people who purchased bigger houses at top of their budget (Overpriced) trying to get out of their houses in next 2 yrs. Negative equity is going to be rife imo.

RidingMyBike · 07/09/2022 10:05

The flood risk raises huge questions - is it just that it's close to a river or is there a known issue with surface water flooding etc? If so, ask what mitigations have been put in place. The EA just wants to sell you the house so don't trust what they say about it.

I wouldn't move just to get a playroom. We've found DD (now 6yo) prefers to play near us, so a big living room type space worked better. We 'zoned' it with a kallax type unit which made clearing up easier. What did become a factor was her needing more bedroom space by the time she got to 5 ish.

Original poster

Leafygreentea · 07/09/2022 10:14

Jmaho · 07/09/2022 09:54

The price difference is £220k and it'd be a 25 year mortgage. Reason being we'd need to keep by around £40/50k for a new bathroom/carpets etc and creating a utility room as the current owners haven't done anything to the house in a good few years.

OP posts:

GoAround · 07/09/2022 10:22

I would touch anything with a flood risk. If you want to move to something bigger then keep looking. But personally I wouldn’t spend £850 per month to keep toys out of sight! We were in a similar situation and have stayed put but done a loft conversion which gave our 5YO a bigger room so she can keep a lot of her toys up there, which is preferable to a playroom as a lot of her favourites (Sylvanians, Lego eyc) are potential choking hazards to her young toddler brother!

Original poster

Leafygreentea · 07/09/2022 10:22

FruitPastilleNut · 07/09/2022 10:00

Regardless of the specific house, in your situation I wouldn't buy right now.

Whether there's a big market crash like some predict or a much more modest 'correction' - it's likely you'll pay less for any house this time next year than right now!

This is what we're hoping - maybe more time will see a better property come up for us that suits us a bit better.

OP posts:

Original poster

Leafygreentea · 07/09/2022 10:25

GoAround · 07/09/2022 10:22

😂 That really made me laugh.

This is why I'm so glad I started this thread - I feel like our minds have clouded over with all of the overthinking but the replies have really helped put things into perspective.

OP posts:

QuebecBagnet · 07/09/2022 10:32

Could you extend where you are to get more downstairs space? Will be cheaper.

Jmaho · 07/09/2022 10:47

Leafygreentea · 07/09/2022 10:14

Show quote history

In that case I'd definitely stay put. I wouldn't put my whole savings into a house with a flood risk and that needs £50k spending on it just to get a detached with a playroom and to have a fairly big mortgage when currently mortgage free
I'd stay put for a year and so then see where you are then. No scope to extend or re configure current house?

Sapphirensteel · 07/09/2022 10:59

High flood risk is a big no. You’re buying years of stress , worry and possibly huge expense and upheaval.
Can you build a playroom/sunroom where you are? Or extend into the loft? Not ideal as a playroom but tbh a playroom isn’t used much beyond 7-8.

Elieza · 07/09/2022 11:01

Honestly I don’t understand the English house buying system as I am in Scotland but can’t help but feel that you’ve rushed into buying without giving everything full consideration and doing your due diligence prior? It’s not a wee thing you’re buying it’s a whole house!

I’d have thought flood risk should have been fully investigated by you before you bought. The sellers team WOULD assure you all is fine after all! Don’t trust them. Investigate yourself now. If what they say is true you could be quids in…But only if the insurers reflect the changes maps in their quotes, which they may choose not to.

With global water levels rising I’d suggest you don’t want the house long term. Perhaps a year and then convert the loft or something to add value. And sell. Hopefully future buyers will be able to get a mortgage on it by then, although the flood risk could still be an issue if maps are not updated like the estate agent said (if that’s even true).

House prices are about to fall due to the recession. So you could end up in negative equity if you pay over the valuation for a larger house? Small houses will be more desirable so will hold their price better. That’s what happened last time.

I’d personally stay put for a year to see what happens. Could you build a playroom conservatory or something that could be a cheaper fix for the lack of playroom? Or an outhouse room that could be the playroom/toy storage area (always desirable as an outside office or mancave when selling if it’s done right, not cheaply, with proper planning permission etc)?

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