Are we doing the right thing with this house purchase? Help me see if there are any flaws or if we’re not being sensible!

[leedsarea]

I’m 53, DH nearly 60.
We outright own a 50 year old large 4 bed semi. Kids left home and are settled. So we thought we’d put our house on the market and downsize a little. We live in a beautiful area and really don’t want to move outside of about a 1 mile radius.

Weve done a lot to our house over the past 26 years, 6 years ago we put in a new kitchen, double glazing, 2 new bathrooms, cloakroom, plastering etc, spent around 40k.

Everything we are looking at locally to ‘downsize’ into is too small or too old and we’d have to start again with renovation etc so we’ve looked at a new build development locally. A house has come up for sale that is 6 months old - the owners are moving due to an unexpected job loss / change. We love the house and even though it’s another 4 bed it is actually a bit smaller than ours but the bonus is it’s detached.

The only slight issue is that instead of releasing a bit of cash that we were hoping to do we will have to dip into our savings for 30k. It still leaves us with about 50k savings but I’m so worried about taking such a big amount out potentially a year or two before DH retires. I’ll be working a while yet and we can easily save 1k a month is we are careful so with a bit of focus we can make it back up in time.

DH thinks it makes sense as the house is only 6 months old and so it almost future proofs us from big maintenance bills. Our current house will probably need a new roof in our lifetime plus a new boiler in a couple of years. We’d also need to rebuild our boundary walls and new fencing etc. The new house is almost brand new and the kitchen was upgraded etc.

It seems to make sense to move but are we missing anything in the thinking? We have decent pensions so I think we’ll manage ok in the future. The council tax band is two higher than where we currently are and of course there are these estate management fees that will kick in once the development is complete.

Any thoughts please?

100% this. ^ Stay where you are @leedsarea I am assuming some people have been poking at you for having a 4 bed house with only 2 of you, but it's no-one else's business. Your current home sounds fab. Just stay!

I would also wonder why someone is selling a brand new, new-build house after 6 months. Job loss/new circumstances? Really? This may not be true. It may be that the new-build, new house is shit. A lot of them are.

I've known a number of people do what you're planning, (in your age group/kids left home,) and they've bitterly regretted it.

As I said, I would stay where you are if it was me.

and you can normally negotiate a big chunk off a new build as they want them sold as quickly as possible after they are completed.

My other concern is the estate/maintenace fees are likely to get very hefty.
You also mention the school being a nuisance where you currently are. This new estate will be more family friendly than where you currently are so that problem moves with you even if it demonstarates itself in a slightly different way.

and new builds still need maintenance.

I think this is the wrong property for you OP. keep looking, there is no rush. Perhaps even look in a slightly wider area. You may be pleasantly surprised.

There is no way on earth I would downsize now without being able to release any money and when I’ve got to pay more money to actually move to a smaller property. That’s just absolute madness. The market is not good enough to move in your circumstances at the moment, I don’t think.

Sounds like there are two things going on.

1. You have fallen out of love with your old house (and it's not working for you anymore - or with your eye to the future.). So the decision to move is a valid one.

1. You have found a new house but it is more expensive (so not freeing up funds as the eye to the future would suggest). You think it needs no work, but no house ever has never needed any work. The kitchen will start to bug you at some point because it's not the layout you would have chosen, or the style you really love. And - this is the big one - you want to move away from potential child noise/primary school - and yet you are choosing an estate! Classic fertile ground for the street-playing, ball kicking, car revving, neighbour congregating vibe (all perfectly OK things btw - apart from the car revving maybe) but not on your wish list.

Solution? Do 1. But don't do it to 2.

Surprised they want the same price even with the upgrades. New builds tend to lose money when 2nd hand.
I understood your dilemma until you said it’s on the edge of the village and you’ll need to drive everywhere. I’d stay put.
Are there really no other alternatives in the whole village? Lower maintenance and smaller but still central. There’s no rush.
Or wait for the sellers to come to you offering it for £30k less in a few months! Have they had any other interest?

Some of these replies are crazy. The OP is 53 and her DH is 60!
Suggesting bungalows and worrying about room for a stairlift etc.
You are not old OP, if you prefer the new build just go for it. Nothing will be perfect but everything you have said suggests that is what you want.

This. Can you join the Facebook group of the new estate (you might need to be a bit sneaky) and do a search for issues that have come up since everyone moved in? New build quality can be very poor. We have moved into a 5yo house and it’s fine, but part of me wishes we had gone for an older house (20y) we looked at that seemed in better condition.

Is this intended to be your final move to see you through old age or can you finance a further move afterwards? This one sounds like it isn't ideal for that period of old age when you need a downstairs bath and bedroom and easy access to facilities.

On face value you don't seem to gain enough for the cost to you.

Before you commit the £30k I would ask whether that downstairs loo is genuinely wheelchair-sized or just looks it, and whether the integral garage has a step up into it, because a lot of new-builds do and it quietly kills the "we'll convert it to a bedroom later" plan. The stepped garden and needing the car for everything are things that get difficult in fifteen years, not the boiler.
Quick tip: get the Rightmove or Zoopla floorplan and check the loo and doorway dims against a wheelchair (about 80cm clearance) before you even view again. Full disclosure, I help build a tool called Senso wearesenso.com, feel free to use it. Have you asked the current owners for the plans yet?

@leedsarea I would 100% steer clear of anywhere with estate management fees.
They will only ever increase. Not ideal if your initial plan was to downsize / save as you look to head into retirement.
Also Google any / all developers.

This doesn't seem like the perfect move for you. Converting a garage is expensive, I had quotes a couple of years ago and they ranged from £25 - £35k plus of course you have all the upheaval. You really need a new build bungalow. Even if it looks good there will be issues you need to tackle. At your stage of life it's best to plan for the future. The last thing you need is to have to move twice.

We moved a couple of years ago when we were late 50s . We wanted to retain a decent amount of space so although the plan was to "downsize" the house we moved to has the same number of rooms but the layout is better so we actually use the dining area and lounge and we each have a study. The garden is much smaller and easier to manage and most importantly the house us within walking distance of shops and we are close to the bus to medical centre. Where we were before was at the bottom of a steep hill and we needed to drive everywhere. The new house is also better insulated and cheaper to run but we didn't free up any cash as it cost as much as the sale price of the old house.

We wanted to future proof as much as possible as don't really plan to move again - it's costly and stressful. For those saying you're too young to think of "old age" - couple of months after we'd moved dh was diagnosed with a heart condition which would have made managing our old garden impossible or very expensive. Recently a friend was hospitalised unexpectedly for 8 weeks so I'll health is no respecter of age.

I think the new build is not quite the right house. I can understand the desire to move and I think you're right to consider it but in your shoes I'd keep looking.

At your ages you could well be in the next home for 30+ years - there will absolutely be work to do, even on a new build. I would not pay to downsize to a less convenient location. I’d invest that money in my existing home and look at the future proofing options. You can fit a small footprint lift in many detached houses.

If you want to make that kind of move I’d take more time and possibly look at properties such as the derided chalet bungalow or at least a property with more of the space downstairs and scope to have a downstairs bedroom/bathroom.

Does the morning/afternoon school congestion cause you practical problems or is it just annoying? The commonest complaints I hear from people buying on new build estates are parking (the lack of) and rising maintenance fees. Quality of build obviously varies also.

Do you know the current owners personally to know their situation or are you going on EA/their claims?

Having moved house eighteen months ago, this sounds like a lot of hassle, stress and money to really achieve very little

If if you are happy where you are and have great neighbours then I would stay put. When you said downsizing I was expecting you to be moving from a four bed to a two bed. Not from a four bed, to a four bed. Is that even downsizing?

Like I said, if you are happy and have good neighbours, you can’t put a price on that. The other house owners are moving after only six months, that’s a red flag for me. You’ve been given an answer as to why but it doesn’t mean it’s the truthful answer. An EA will tell you what you want to here

This isn't the move for you.

I wouldn't move.

I am suspicious of new homes. I don't think that it is safe to assume they won't need maintenance fairly soon.

In contrast to old homes most new homes are constructed of a timber frame not block or brick work.

Plasterboard walls are nailed to the frame. While such new homes meet building regs I think many will require extensive work in about 2O years and overall their lifetime will be shorter than traditional houses constructed prior to the second world war.