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Original poster

Bigger House Vs Mortgage Free

59 replies

Owlgirl14 · 05/04/2024 23:03

We had the option to either stay in our 3 bed semi with only 4.5 years left on the mortgage and would be paid off by the time we're 41/42.

However we now have a baby and needed more downstairs space so are moving. At the beginning I reluctantly wanted to move but I know it will enhance our life and we can afford it.

Just out of interest I wondered what people would have chosen given the same situation.

OP posts:
ThreeEggOmlette · 05/04/2024 23:16

Yes possibly, but...
are the properties in the same area? Garden bigger? same distance to support networks? shop in walking distance? Transport links? school catchments? Etc etc.

All these would affect my decision more than just downstairs space.

PuttingDownRoots · 05/04/2024 23:18

Is this your first child?

I live in a 3 bed with 2 nearly teenagers, plus husband. Its plenty of space really. We also run a business from home, plus DH sometimes works at home too...

fourelementary · 05/04/2024 23:20

Room downstairs beats bedrooms space any day for me. We moved from a 1970s semi to an 1890s tardis (looks smaller from outside but is huge inside! And it is my forever home. So I’d have moved too.

Businessflake · 05/04/2024 23:21

I’ve been mortgage free since I was 40. Would love a bigger garden and bigger bedrooms for the kids but there is no way I would go back to having a mortgage.

Powderblue1 · 05/04/2024 23:22

I'd move!

Ilovebees · 05/04/2024 23:24

@Owlgirl14 I would surely stay ! Just imagine few more years and no more morgage to pay and how much money you’ll save !

Whalesinthefleld · 05/04/2024 23:39

Whichever gives you the best quality of life.

Twiglets1 · 06/04/2024 04:13

It’s unusual to be mortgage free by 41/2. I did what you are doing which is move to a bigger house to get more space plus get a detached house. Don’t regret it at all though I won’t be mortgage free until my late 50s & husband early 60s.

It’s a personal choice though.

Seaitoverthere · 06/04/2024 04:21

It depends very much on you and what you value. We went for a bigger house and it won’t be paid off until late 50s /early 60s but no regrets. For others that wouldn’t be the right decision, such an individual thing.

SleepingMermaid · 06/04/2024 04:43

How much bigger and more expensive is the new house? It's hard to say without knowing how much of a stretch the new place is and how long your new mortgage term will be

We converted the left on our 3 bed and now have 4 bedrooms which is plenty for 4 people. The house does have two big living rooms downstairs and a decent size kitchen, two separate living spaces as kids grow older has been important to us

LindaDawn · 06/04/2024 08:14

I would move cos you are still young enough to increase your mortgage and you need more downstairs space.

PracticallyPerfectedIt · 06/04/2024 08:18

In your shoes just starting out with your family and at your age I would move and get a mortgage. As long as you feel your jobs are secure and your lifestyle would be manageable with a mortgage. Presumably it could be quite conservative?

We are also in a quandary although from a different perspective. We're in a big/expensive house in a smart part of town with a big mortgage. There are houses in our town that we could buy outright that would be totally adequate. Our finances are changing over time and I have started to crave the security of the adequate-but-mortgage-free house over the fancy house.

KatPurrson · 06/04/2024 08:35

Mortgage free then save the mortgage payments to move whilst staying mortgage free.

wesragt · 06/04/2024 08:46

There's a long thread discussing this in AIBU I think it is, people have different approaches to finance and risk. I'm personally on the upsizing side of the argument, assuming payments are comfortable. You've done really well to be mortgage free soo early (these days) but I've done family of 4 in a 3 bed and I can tell you we are much happier in our bigger house even though we have less disposable income. Big enough bedrooms for the kids, separate play room/teen lounge for them so they don't hide in their rooms, office for me, space for DH's hobbies. All of that feeds our overall happiness.

Plus it's a bigger asset down the line.

Pinkpinkpink15 · 06/04/2024 08:53

Too many 'unknowns' to say for sure, but if it's a realistically affordable mortgage & gives you a more comfortable home then I'd have moved too.plus it increases your asset whereas you may not have saved/invested the equivalent money.

i hope you are happy with the decision you have made.

Spendonsend · 06/04/2024 08:59

I always think what else would you personally do with the money?

So for some people having a space you use every single day is worth a lot. And they hope the house value goes up and they can downsize at a later date and it stops them frittering money away on consumables.

Others think its better to not keep moving, paying interest and to have money for pensions, savings, holidays.

Its not really a right/wrong thing. We moved whrn we could have paid the mortgage but the parking and garden we moved for are something i am happy paying to use.

K0OLA1D · 06/04/2024 09:03

There is no way I'd move. I'd kill to be mortgage free in 9 years. We live in a 3 bed semi with 4 cats, a dog and 2 pre teens. Loads of space. Just think of all the extra you could do not paying a mortgage.

Norhymeorreason · 06/04/2024 09:24

Whalesinthefleld · 05/04/2024 23:39

Whichever gives you the best quality of life.

Yes, there's no right answer to this - only you know how you feel in your current house, how your lives would look if you were mortgage free, and what a bigger house could offer you. Good luck, it's a great position to be in.

WelshNerd · 06/04/2024 09:25

We went for the bigger house and thankfully did so just before interest shot up. Increased the mortgage from 45k to 175k.

A friend of mine is still in her "starter home" and now talks of how much she wants to move but can't overcome the dread of increasing the mortgage by another 100k+.

As long as it's affordable I don't see the issue personally. I wouldn't stay in a house that's too small just for the "feeling" of being mortgage free and forgo all the benefits of living in a nicer house.

CandidHedgehog · 06/04/2024 10:32

Personally, I would have stayed, saved the mortgage payment after paying off the mortgage and then moved in 10 years or so.

Having said that, what you’ve done is a perfectly reasonable choice made for good reasons and there are pros and cons for both choices. You’ve done what you think is right for your family and you obviously know your family circumstances so enjoy your new house!

Edited to say: I tend to catastrophise when it comes to money. This is not a good thing. It means I make very conservative choices financially when being a little more daring would, in hindsight, have benefited me more.

AyeupDuck · 06/04/2024 10:44

We chose staying in a 3 bed semi, it meant we were mortgage free in our late thirties. Do not underestimate how much it changes your life. No housing costs for years means we can both have early retirement by 60 no problem. We invested some and also had many a fabulous holiday. We could also do stuff like buy DS his first car.

distinctpossibility · 06/04/2024 10:48

We were mortgage-free and moved to a bigger house. We pay about £600 pcm for a £180k mortgage now. Worth every single penny for the quality of life it's given us. We are overpaying while the rates are low, we were just lucky with timings there. Being mortgage-free was nice; I think maybe we don't miss the financial security aspect as I returned to work after nearly a decade out at the point we moved so our (modest) lifestyle hasnt really changed.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 06/04/2024 10:53

Is this baby likely to be an only? If not, I’d definitely move. A 3-bed was fine for us when we just had DD1 but we now have DD2 and DS as well. It’s a squeeze. Doable but a bigger house is the goal for us.

In your situation, I’d move.

shockeditellyou · 06/04/2024 10:56

We were in the same situation and moved to a much bigger house. I love it and am so glad we moved.

That said, we have a really long fix at a very low interest rate - in part chosen because we were stretching ourselves.

We spend so much time at home, I think it’s worth it. Kids have their own spaces, DH and I have a study each and we have great kitchen/diner and living spaces.

Caravaggiouch · 06/04/2024 11:00

I won’t be mortgage free till at least 50 and so being clear in early 40s is tempting. But you’ve also got to be happy living in your house, and more downstairs space is a big plus when you have children, ime. The experience of the pandemic/lockdowns really brought this home for me. We’re home birds really anyway, not into spending loads of money on travel etc., so spending a bit more and having more space at home is the priority. I also have no desire to give up work yet and being a SAHM didn’t appeal so there was no pressing need to be mortgage free.