I was in the same position as you about 5 years ago. We looked for bigger houses for our blended family. Interestingly even the estate agent, showing us around a 6 bed house, said ‘ oh we upsized like you and within a year all DC’s had moved out’.
Without doubling the mortgage, houses we looked at weren't really any bigger. Instead we converted the one we are in, spending about £100,000 of savings adding a loft master suit and a full refurb. It also meant we could add the ‘treats’ rather than the basics, double ovens, fire pit, luxury seating in the garden etc etc.
Now, 5 years later I look back on the decision. We have saved up to replace the lump sum spent. DC’s are living elsewhere and there are very few occasions when they are all here ( never in 5 years). We can manage three of the five DC’s at a time, with partners, in bedrooms - plus a sofa bed for a fourth DC, in a study.
Five years on, our extended house is more than an upward struggle to clean and heat. Can't imagine the six bed, plus larger gardens, plus redecoration and
maintenance.
I am just about ‘done’ at work, pressures in the public sector are massive. Many of us want to leave, change careers, or retire early. Of my colleagues, I am one of the few that have paid off my mortgage and can make a choice to leave. Actually, having that choice makes me stay a little longer and think about reducing my hours. There is not the pressure to have to work fulltime, which the proposed £2,000 per month mortgage would have meant.
Post retirement we want to travel, we can lock up the house and off we go.
The last 5 years have gone really quickly. If we had bought bigger, we would already be considering having to sell, financially and lifestyle wise. An upheaval that would be very sad given the efforts we’d have made.