Should we move?

[Mightypups]

We moved to our current house in 2022. From the outset I've not really liked it - not keen on the area and the house needs more work than we're able to afford certainly for now. My DH persuaded me at the time that we'd enjoy the space.

Would it be crazy to move now to a cheaper smaller house that needs less doing to it? This is the only way we'd be able to afford to move - I expect we would sell at a bit of a loss as prices have gone down and we'd have to factor in stamp duty etc.

My DH thinks it's a mad idea as we'd be losing some of the equity we've built up and we should wait until house prices go up again before selling.

We have a young son who will start school next year so I think it makes sense to move ahead of that rather than waiting. But I'm not 100% sure

It's hard to tell. Do you miss your last home/ location/ friends.
What's so bad about your current area?
How much cash would you lose if you move. Can you afford it?

There isn't a right answer to this really. It's about priorities. If you move now, would your son be going to a different school than the one he'll attend if you don't move? If so, then the 'lost equity' and transaction costs might well be a price worth paying to ensure he gets settled into school without the disruption of having to change schools in his first few years. But if he'd be going to the same school either way, I'd be tempted to wait it out for at least another 2+ years.

The current area isn't terrible really. I guess I just miss our old house which was a new build so needed less work and it was also closer to transport links and a high street.

If probably would mean a different school if we moved. Although depending on how far we moved we could maybe keep him in the same one and drive him there.

How about stamp duty? The cost of that twice in a couple years plus a loss might tip the balance.

I think if it wasn't for stamp duty we would almost definitely do it! But the costs do mount up. I suppose it's not definite we'd sell at a loss but I suspect it's what would happen

Not the right answer, I know, but you pretty much bought at the top of the market if you moved in 2022 and there's potential to sell at quite a considerable loss now from then (obvs depending on type of property, where you are etc). Especially if the house needs work - with the way costs for trades has gone up, it seems like dooer-uppers are the hardest thing to sell at the moment.
You could well be in the worst possible position where you are then trying to compete in the smaller, done up part of the market which means you could be selling low, but buying high, which is far from ideal.

That said, new build estates that I've seen are clearly really struggling to shift houses at the moment and there are pretty amazing deals to be had there at the moment - for all people talk about a newbuild premium, where I've been looking, I'd say newbuilds are undercutting the standard house market - and developers might pay your stamp duty and all sorts of costs, which could soften the blow a lot.

It's a really tough time to move at the moment though - many are struggling to sell, buyers are not getting their mortgages and dropping out after months of conveyancing, people are SSTC but then unable to find something suitable to buy, so you'd be entering a super-stressful period if you do try to move. It's a lot to weigh up!

I could have written this post.
we bought in 2022, house needs loads more work than we expected, and it was all a bit of a compromise. I think we should move, he thinks we’ll take too much of a loss for it to be worth it because we’ll have bought at the peak, and be selling at a low.

have you seen a house or some houses that you like? We couldn’t decide if we should just move. So now we’re open to moving but only for the right house. We discussed the things we really don’t like about the house and what sort of things are ‘must have’s’ and if houses come up that suit we’ll view them. In the meantime, we’re fixing up what we can or discuss what sort of work is required.

Sorry you are in the same position! It's not the easiest.

There is one house I/we like that's come on the market and I'm hoping we can view it. It's not perfect but has lots of benefits over where we are currently.

Maybe moving for the right house is the answer. But of course around here all the good ones go to people who can move quickly.