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Original poster

Investing in a big property?

14 replies

Disneyblueeyes · 25/03/2023 19:00

We're in a position where we have a nice 4 bed detached house. Good ish neighbours, nice village but not picturesque. Only 3 of us with no plans to expand.
However husband wants more garage space and I want a bigger back garden. We'd like nice views, more space round the house, etc. Nicer village/area.

DH has just sold his company so we are in a position where we could buy a property with all these things and potentially be mortgage free as well. However we'd be spending almost all of it.
DH has said investing in a forever home is a good idea. But we've also thought about staying where we are and getting a few buy-to-lets. Or holiday lets. Or just sitting on it all and building interest across different accounts.

Is it foolish to put best part of a million quid into a dream house? Especially at the moment? For context we have found our dream home, but not made a move on it yet. Should we wait for the prices to come down?

OP posts:

HealthyFats · 25/03/2023 19:05

This is not really something anyone else can answer. But some things to think about-

What do you have in the way of savings, pensions etc?
What sources of income do you have?
How old are you?

In terms of buying or waiting, I generally take the view that the right time to buy is the right time for you, and that you shouldn't try to time the market- you are buying a home and, as long as you plan to stay there for a reasonable length of time, dips in the housing market aren't a problem.

Original poster

Disneyblueeyes · 25/03/2023 19:12

@HealthyFats thanks for your reply.
Savings good. Pensions good. I have a teacher pension currently but only part time. DH pays alot into a private pension. Already got investments in stuff like premium bonds, shares in the company etc.
There won't be any changes to disposable income/lifestyle as our jobs aren't changing.

I'm 33 and my DH is 35.

OP posts:

HealthyFats · 25/03/2023 19:23

Well, it sounds as if things are going well and I’d be tempted to go ahead with the house, provided you have your eyes open and accept the price may dip temporarily. But it does depend on your attitude- which one would make you kick yourself more-

you buy the house and then the property market temporarily drops
you wait for the drop and then there’s nothing you want to buy

As I say, I’m someone who takes the view that a house is primarily a home and only secondarily an investment, so prioritise getting the home you want rather than potential for growth. But other people take a different approach.

Wanttobeyou · 26/03/2023 04:40

We decided to go along the investment route with buy to let's, which I managed for 10 years, but then we realised living in a property we weren't fully happy in was ridiculous when we could afford better. For us it came down to quality of life.

We sold a couple of rentals and just bought the dream house, I agree with the PP saying don't worry about market dips, the right time is when the right one comes along.

TheTeenageYears · 26/03/2023 06:19

If you go for the bigger house now and are mortgage free but with the same incomes could you put away whatever you can over the next few years and then consider possible holiday or buy to let?

Original poster

Disneyblueeyes · 26/03/2023 10:43

@TheTeenageYears yes easily. We've got quite a bit invested in other places and both still working so can definitely continue to save.

OP posts:

SetebosMoon · 26/03/2023 11:41

Don't underestimate the positive impact of living in your dream home. I would definitely buy the house. Managing other property can be v stressful and not always work out.

We bought our (larger) dream home a few years ago and we don't regret it at all

good96 · 26/03/2023 13:16

What’s your plans for the future now you sold the business? Working for another company? Reason I ask is, many people (myself included) invest in BTL property to give them financial stability when they retire. You could always buy a couple of BTL properties and rent these out (whilst you won’t see much return straight away) when you come to sell in the future, you will see a good profit providing the market is right. Considering that you are mid 30s too, although great to be mortgage free at that age - you could get a small mortgage and then pay that off over the years and still have your dream home… getting the best of both worlds!

Proudofitbabe · 26/03/2023 13:40

I would always go for the dream home as long as it's affordable. And you'd be mortgage free! At your ages you'll continue to work but how much would you need to earn with no mortgage to maintain? Downsize when you retire, give some of the equity to your kids to get them started, and live off the rest. No brainer! Well jel.

sst1234 · 26/03/2023 19:47

Buy the house. You can afford it.

brawhen · 26/03/2023 22:34

You're still so young - buy the house, you have years to enjoy it! You can downsize in 30 years time if you need some for pension.

We are 46 & 52 and up sized to a large property last year (more rural, garden project, area we liked, 'handsome' victorian house). We could do it mortgage free, so it feels safe enough to do - but does mean the majority of our wealth is in this property. We know we will almost certainly sell in 20 yrs because the maintenance will be too much work, but we absolutely plan to enjoy the experience until then. (Will also come up with a plan whereby one of the kids wants to take it on somehow so we can stay here 😂)

TizerorFizz · 26/03/2023 23:27

Buy to let attracts capital gains tax on the profit when you sell.,Your own house doesn’t. The government is planning to bring in no fault eviction. If you want to sell, you won’t be getting rid of the tenant to do it. Therefore do not get a buy to let. Ditto applies re tax on a holiday house.

Just buy what you want to live in and enjoy it. Or maybe do 50/50 and get an investment portfolio. We did this.

chloechloe · 27/03/2023 08:41

Dream Home all the way!

Buy to let and holiday rentals are hard work and get taxed. We rented our old house for a while after moving abroad and tenants are a PITA as they expect the tiniest thing to be fixed straight away. We ended up paying managing agents to deal with it, as otherwise it’s a lot of work, and very unpractical if you’re not in the area.

We also had a holiday home which we later sold, mainly as we had issues with nightmare neighbors. Everybody is different but for me a holiday home was a lot of work, as when you’re there you have maintenance work that needs doing, plus you have to shop, cook, clean etc. For me I prefer to have everything done for me when I’m on holiday!

We’re now putting everything we have into our dream home which we’re building. We have 3 kids and figured we’d rather invest in an amazing family home that we can all enjoy every day. Putting money in the bank makes little sense IMO as you will always get better long term gains investing in property.

senua · 27/03/2023 09:40

DH has just sold his company so we are in a position where we could buy a property with all these things and potentially be mortgage free as well. However we'd be spending almost all of it.
You have created the money once; you can do it again. Even if everything crumbles to dust them I'm sure that you, dynamic people in their early thirties, can do a bounce-back. Enjoy the fruits of your labour and buy the dream house.

But get yourself an IFA anyway.

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