Take on a bigger mortgage aged 50 to move areas?

[Berlin2018]

We are in the fortunate position to be able to pay our mortgage off in the next year and a bit. We moved to the area when the children were small to be close to family who are sadly no longer with us.

I really hate the area and have done for some time, my friends are all a 30-60 minute drive away, there’s a huge amount of construction work going on and it has just never felt like the right fit for me, e.g not very diverse/very different voting outcomes etc We always drive to somewhere else to go out for dinner/go got a walk etc

However the house is big enough for the older teen DC who will probably be with us for the next 10 years or so and the house itself is nice. To move somewhere I’d rather be is likely to be less convenient for college/uni for the kids for the next 2-3 years and will involve taking on a mortgage of £200k to £250k more to get a house big enough in the areas we are looking at.

Stay put seems like the sensible option, more disposable cash, better for the DC etc. Anyone been in a similar position? Am wondering whether I should wait until kids are older and DH and I can downsize to a different area.

We are in an almost identical position so will be reading replies with interest!

I feel like DH and I have been round this conversation times, it’s helpful to get other opinions and decide once and for all!

I’d do what’s best for the DC at this stage and stay put. It will be really inconvenient for college etc if not close.

I agree with the PP, if you can hold out for the next 2-3 years so as not to disrupt your kids education I'd do that and then move (and save up a bit for the next house). As for your question though, I see no problem getting a bigger mortgage in your 50s as long as you think you can service it. You can always sell up again in your 70s if it gets too much. :)

I probably wouldn't move if the DC needs to be close to school. But I moved to my (it will be eventually) perfect home older than you and took out a larger mortgage. It's been the best thing ever! I love the house and the area despite having to modernise it all. I wish I had done it years before.

i think the question is more (1) how
would dc feel about the move, and (2) how unhappy are you? If you can afford the mortgage and unhappy I’d personally take on the extra debt to be happier, but it would
Depend on (1) and (2) and only you know the answer to those questions

Buy a house for now to enjoy. You can always sell later in life for the next chapter when you're ready. Life is for living. A 25 - 30 year mortgage doesn't mean you have to stay and not sell up in that time period. If you do sell, you just settle the outstanding mortgage balance via the sale of the property

I’d never take on a mortgage that size at your age, sorry. You are assuming you can carry on working but what if you’re made redundant and struggle to find another job or one of you falls ill? Ageism is rife in the employment world.
i would stay put for a bit for the kids and then move elsewhere to a smaller house and no mortgage, more in a place you want to be

@Renoonabudget Really helpful to know you took on a bigger mortgage and didn’t regret it. We can afford it but it would obviously reduce our disposable income and mean we could save less, whereas being mortgage free is quite appealing. We would definitely downsize when we come to retire.
@choccychipcookies1988 We can make it work for the kids if we choose more of a compromise location, which we are open to. Next summer the youngest will finish school and wants to leave and go to college, so could pick an area which would allow them them to walk to a college. The eldest will be starting uni (most likely to go to local city and stay at home), so would just be a longer train journey from very convenient 10 min journey to more like 30/40 mins and more of a walk to the station. DC are both open to the move, although to be honest we’ve been talking about it for so long they probably think it won’t happen.
I really don’t like our location but to be honest the bigger mortgage vs being mortgage free is the main issue for me.

That seems a big jump to get a similar house. I would take out a bigger mortgage at this age but £200/250k does seem like a lot - although it may not be dependent on your income. Is there a compromise where you like the area more, but it’s still good for opportunities for dc?

@Hdpr vs @LadyLolaRuben is why I’m struggling I think. We are both naturally financially conservative. We have fairly secure public sector roles so I’m less worried about redundancy but have seen people hit by illness and having to reduce hours/ give up work in their 50s. We’d ideally like to both retire at 60 too. On the flip side life is short and 10 years stuck somewhere I don’t like seems feels miserable.

£200-£250k is for a house that gives us everything we need, we have an extended 4 bed semi with 2 bathrooms/utility/ space for us both to work at home etc but would ideally like a detached with similar size rooms/space so you are right @Gardendiary there probably is a compromise that would be less expensive. Food for thought.

How old are ypir DC?

15 - taking GCSEs and 18 starting uni next Sept.

What does your 15 year old think? Will you have to top up 18 year old at Uni?

I would not do this.

Every move requires cash, fees, stamp duty or whatever the next tax decision is.

But work out the actual difference to your projected income with the mortgage. You are at an age where you really need to be considering your retirement plans and not taking on more debt.

I’m coming round to this point of view @PensionMention. I do pay extra money into my pension to take it 2 years early without actuarial reduction and we both pay into AVCs but we would like to increase this to make retirement at 60 more comfortable.
I think I just need to get my head around staying put until the kids leave home. The upside is better holidays once the mortgage is paid off!

Surely it would be cheaper for the kids to live at college for 2-3 years than to take on such an extra amount on a mortgage?

Im in a similar position but under different circumstances. Im also public sector. I sought professional advice. I told them my reservations. They advised to just insure my income against illness etc so im protected. And that if it doesnt work out I can downsize/sell up.

Our mortgage is paid of , nothing on earth would convince me ,in this current climate to take on another mortgage
We,d move area definitely,but only within the finances we have at our disposal
Plus being 50 ,will you get banks to actually lend to you

College is not university. It’s possible to live at university but not college (unless it is a boarding sixth form). So that might be an option for her eldest I think but not her youngest.

I’m 51 and moving to buy again with hubby. Eldest has already left uni and moving out soon, 2nd is going to uni and youngest about to start high school. I,m not a fan of my area either hence why I,m moving. We have been here for over 15years but I could never settle hence why we are going now . I’m not worried about continuing to pay a mortgage this age , I feel my own happiness at this age matters more where I live. Just like someone else said about the professional advice which I got too, make sure you have income protection or downsize if needed..

Lady Lola, those income protection policies have a very poor reputation. They only cover very specific listed illness or condition. I had to take ill health early retirement at40 due to a chronic condition that would have made working life a misery and realistically impossible.but was not listed on such policies.
Luckily my private sector employer had very generous provision and it needed confirmation from my consultant that I was unable to work. In effect my full works pension began 23 years early
.Hope things work out for the posters, but I would not risk my financial future on an insurance policy. So for op would give it 5 years, save and buy the smaller hiuse

You are looking at potentially high expenditure as you get your children through uni in addition to a mortgage. Versus putting away maximum savings into a tax efficient SIPP - look at rebel finance - in fact do the course on you tube and your feelings one way or the other will probably tell you what to do. I would be salting away as much as possible and would look to downsize into the nice area when the kids have flown the nest.

We could get a mortgage on our wages at 50, I think you can take mortgages until 70 these days.
Eldest DC is ND and doesn’t want to move away for uni. Very likely they will both stay at home for a long time, hence we’d need the next house to work for all of us for the next 10 years or so, and then we’re moving somewhere smaller whether they want to move out or not 😂.
I know work offer ill-health retirement and we do have some critical illness insurance.