To sell or not?

[Firstshoes]

We are just coming up to the end of a lovely 1.6% five year fixed mortgage. We are mid 50s and will have 12 years left with monthly payments being around 850 on the new rates. Everything has gone up and our house is old and not greatly energy efficient so very expensive to run.

It is becoming a struggle lately and there's not much left each month and obviously we aren't getting any younger. However our house is in a nice area and we have been happy here for a long time. We brought our kids up here and they still live with us although are young adults now.

We have been thinking of selling for a while. We had it valued yesterday and where we live we would have enough equity to buy something outright that would be suitable for our needs but on a cheaper road with no view etc and may be a tad smaller but with sufficient bedrooms. We have a lovely open view at the moment which we would miss too. I am so torn. The security of owning outright is extremely appealing as I'm getting older. Who knows what's round the corner health wise once you are in your 50s and if one of us got too ill to work it would be a real struggle for the other one.

Also one of my adult dcs has autism which means she will be with us a while so the security of knowing she'll have a home forever until or if she decides to move in the future is also a very comforting thought.

We need to make a decision and get the ball rolling really. I'm not looking forward to the buying/selling process either! Would you move or stay? Please help me decide.

I'd stay and try to pay the mortgage off a bit earlier.

How many kids do you have and when will they leave? I know 1 is staying with you. The thing is, if you sell now and pay out for that, will you need to downsize again in the future? If so, I think I’d wait and do just one move

I’d likely stay, you always have the option of downsizing if things do really become a struggle.

Are any of the adult DC still at home able to contribute a little more to the mortgage?

Try not to get too caught up in the valuation and how much equity that will mean. Ours was valued in November at more than we expected. We are aiming to downsize.
Houses over a certain price bracket are slow to sell at the moment. Things are meant to pick up in Spring.
We have had no viewings at all yet (one booked but cancelled) despite estate agents saying it is immaculate and will sell. We have reduced twice but sitting tight for now.
Maybe see what interest/ offers you get. I’m guessing the views would be hard to leave.

We will be struggling a bit with the higher monthly payments for the mortgage and the increase in council tax. Even the water will increase by ,a fair bit come April. It will be impossible to pay the mortgage off any quicker. Unfortunately the DCs can't contribute. One is at uni. She does work part time but she needs that income for herself. The other dc can't work and does contribute a little each month but she doesn't get much. We wouldn't be looking to move again after this even if they both leave home as the new place certainly wouldn't be massive. It is the thought of no mortgage and lower bills that is so appealing!

I’d sell if you think you can get a reasonably quick sale. The downsides are that you are selling at a low market. However, Life is short, and too short to be beholden to a mortgage with the promise of jam tomorrow. It stands to reason that your current house will become more valuable as time goes on but by the time you’ve scrimped for the next 12 years to own it, it’ll still need the work/maintenance and still be energy inefficient. You’ll move from being in your 50’s to the latter 60’s age bracket when you might not have the energy to move when you need to the most. I say this thinking if my late parents who were vastly different in their health (unexpectedly) by the time they’d got to nearly 70 from my age now (similar to your own).

An extra £850 pcm (before energy saving) buys you a lot of experiences/travel and time with your kids without the worries of a volatile mortgage rate. You've enjoyed the views I’m sure but realistically, how much of your day is spent gazing out of the window?

Start the decluttering process now and make a plan for the little jobs that would put viewers off. Prepare the paperwork you’ll be asked for in the sale process (Fensa certs/planning/gas safety etc). Whatever happens, you’ll benefit from putting the groundwork in.

Reading the OP and update I think I would sell. Downsize and have a few years to build some savings while still working. It's a slow market through from what I have seen so waiting until the spring may be a good idea.

Thank you everyone for responding.

The agent yesterday said the market is really picking up where we are and he's confident it won't take too long to sell....but I know they would say that probably!

Your post is exactly how we feel. I lost both my parents at young ages to cancer and I work around it too so both myself and DH are a bit YOLO in our way of thinking. We would much rather spend money on experiences and the thought of knowing that if either of us were to get sick the other could manage the bills is a comforting thought. We are still terrified we will sell and regret it though ! I really wish I was more decisive.

I agree with putting in the groundwork. Use the time to keep an eye on prices where you are and where you might like to be. Make a list of priorities like off street parking and a downstairs bathroom for future proofing.

If you think one child will continue to take a lot of support, I would certainly look at downsizing and maximising pension contributions - again future proofing because if, one day, dc moves into supported accommodation, you will want to support the best you can with that, too.

Thank you. Yes we would definitely be able to finally get some savings if we sell which would be lovely!

Another good point. Thank you.

There was one house I regret not buying even though parking would’ve been impossible. There was one house I thought I’d always miss, but the road was insanely busy. There will always be remorse. But, the peace of mind you will have is priceless and will outweigh any lingering regrets I think.

FWIW, I’m thinking of selling the house we thought would be our forever home, but the truth is, we don’t need a house of this size and none of the kids will be staying enough to justify keeping it. Perfect when they were here, pain the arse to upkeep now they are no longer here. DH could probably retire and we could spend the next stage of our life spending the kids inheritance around the world 😉 Not sure I will, but I think after years of corporate world/child rearing/caring for elderly (&difficult) parents stuck in unsuitable houses does make you think differently to the previous generation. Go for it I say, knowing you’ll always be a little bit wistful but less skint!

Haha thank you. A little bit wistful but less skint we can definitely cope with

@Firstshoes id start looking for a smaller cheaper property that you’d like to live in and do the sums. We want to downsize for similar reasons but literally can’t find anything in our area, and don’t really want to move far. If you see a house or flat that floats your boat, it might be worth selling at a loss to buy it.

If your daughter won't be able to live independently, you might want to set up a vulnerable person's trust to put some money in to continue to support her after you have gone?

Thank you. We have been looking since we started thinking about this and are fairly confident we can find somewhere I think. There is an area very near us that we like and property is cheaper there compared to where we are now so I am hopeful. DH is also pretty good at decorating so although we don't want to do major work we can decorate ourselves if we need to.

I really hope you find something you love.

I really wish once we make the decision to sell and buy the process wasn't so daunting!

Another great idea. Thank you. We'd certainly be able to do this if we move

The market is particularly tough at the moment, less interest, more messers, more uncertainty.

But it sounds like a good time for you to move and end your mortgage.

Is your house sale ready? In this market, houses either need to be in brilliant condition (as in, recently renovated) or significantly cheaper to sell.

Not recently renovated. It's in okay condition, clean and tidy and nicely decorated. The estate agent reckoned we really don't need to do anything to it before marketing. We will touch up paintwork though. He also reckons the market is strong here but no idea if that's true.

We won't be able to reduce much at all though as we won't be left with enough to buy. I suppose all we can do is try and see what happens. If it doesn't get much interest after a few months we will probably take it off, remortgage on to a 2 year fixed and see where we are after that.

Haven’t read all the posts but my gut reaction is to stay in your house. It’s will be so scared and stressful to move to something else that is clearly not so nice. Can your adult children contribute some more.

Why don’t you wait and and see how you get on with the higher mortgage payment and bills 1st, then review. Are there any household bills you could cut down on.

I am all for having peace of mind. In similar situation. Do your numbers carefully. There are a lot of (unexpected) expenses associated with any move - EA fees, stamp duty, conveyancing, movers, the new house may have hidden issues that could be costly and stressful to rectify, travel time/ cost to work.

We have looked at monthly figures and have cut out any unnecessary bills but it would still be very tight and leave very little fun money if we stay.

We have factored in fees, stamp duty etc and we think we'd be able to cover everything. The only problem would be something falling through and leaving us out of pocket which I know does happen but I may look into getting insurance for that. As long as our new property is okay on survey hopefully we would be able to cope with any other repairs as we would have no mortgage.

Start stalking rightmove, make a note of each new property and how it goes - price reductions, under offer etc.

You will see if the market is strong and who the most efficient agents are.

If you can’t reduce (which the majority of houses need to in this market) then your house needs to be top notch. Not just in decoration but also layout and style. Being tidy and clean is fine but people want to be able to move in and live in a modern home.

Unfortunately all EAs are salespeople and will say what it takes to get you on their books. They’ll rarely tell you that your house needs work or that it’s worth less, hence why so many houses are reducing - they’re not getting what EAs told them they would.

I would spend 3-4 months updating your house, repaint all rooms, new carpets (if tired at all), majorly declutter, nice lighting, tidy garden with range of plants, clean fences etc. then go on the market early Summer with the lowest price you can accept - with the aim that you’ll get what you need.

If you don’t want to do the work, I would wait until the market is better. Honestly it’s brutal out there. I’m coming from a place in the SE that’s also high demand.