Difficult second album

PersonalJesus

Hi folks,

To set the scene, I'm 32, I currently own a 3 bed property by myself in a cheaper but largely trouble free area of Belfast, with my long term girlfriend of 8 years. I bought the property about 4 years ago and have updated, modernised and decorated and is to my eyes a lovely house to live in. The mortgage is pretty small, and in theory i could clear this in the next 5 years, being mortgage free a good few years before im 40 (ive consistently overpaid the mortgage since i took it). I can be at work in the city centre in 15 minutes on my bike, have a lovely park close by, however its a bit more old school belfast round these parts (if you get what im saying). We're both happy here.

A mile and a half down the road is my hometown of Holywood, which is one of the nicest, and most in demand commuter towns. A property has come up that is larger 4 bed 1.5 bath house, convenient to the town and public transport to the city. The town has pubs i can go into, and a nice laid back ultimately middle class feel. Its beside the 2 best primary schools in the town and one of the best grammars in the country, and although we dont have kids at the moment it might happen in the not too distant future (maybe). We have had an offer accepted on the property in principle subject to the sale of my house, or anyone coming in above me, but the vendor seems to be genuine in selling to us.

I have a valuer coming to my house today, but by my estimation it will be a 80 - 90k difference for us to move to the new house and do some work to have things as we would like. The mortgage would be joint between the two of us, and the repayments for each person would roughly be the same as im paying myself now.

Appreciate this is more of an opinion based thread, but hoping some dispassionate strangers can help give me things to think about so... should i stick or twist?

TLDR Should i move to a bigger more expensive house in a nicer area, or stick for a while, pay off my mortgage and enjoy my life.

biko

For me, without actually planning to have kids soon I'd stay put. Your current house seems to be large enough to accommodate a small family.

That said, you wouldn't even ask if you didn't want to move to Holywood, so if your GF is on board by all means move

PersonalJesus

Ultimately i think we will move there at some stage in our lives, and GF is keen to move there too. I guess its down to if the stress and extra expense is really worth it when we dont need to move.

Sleepy

How's the situation vis a vis civil partnerships in the UK?

In Ireland, your girlfriend would have the opportunity to claim an ownership stake in your house once she'd lived there for long enough so moving to the new place would formalize that to some extent: you'd be able to show the percentage of the deposit and mortgage she'd paid should things go pear shaped at some point down the road.

I'm not sure if it's the same in the UK but I'd consider that a "Pro" for moving to the new place were you in the South.

nicelives

I'd move to the house in Holywood, the difference in value is relatively small when spread over years and your quality of life while you're paying it would seem to be much better. Life is for living.

PersonalJesus

The situation re: claims on the property in the UK depend on the circumstances really, in regards to was their help with deposit from non owner, help with mortgage payments etc. in our case the full deposit was mine, i bought most of the furniture and appliances, while she pays "rent", which i use to overpay the mortgage and improve the property, so their may be some claim to it, but arguably the division of the value would lean more heavily my side i believe.

In terms of the property we are looking at buying, we have both compromised some things in it, because there is very limited housing stock in the town of its size and location. i.e. theres no car parking and limited back garden space (although whats there is presented really nicely), those werent deal breakers as we dont have them at the moment, and we only run a car between us.

typically 3 bed semis with drive and garage go for £210 - 230k+ and hold and increase their value well as its such an in demand area. Whilst the property we are buying is terrace, its below 200k. i know the street extremely well and there are residents that have been there for 30+ years and any that come on to the market sell or rent very well.

the fear of missing out is strong!

the_syco

How close to the sea are you now, and how different will the weather / fog be in Holywood? Also, is the airport used much, and if so, many jet aircraft?

Moonbeam

I would move to Hollywood,it seems to be where your heart is and a good place to bring up kids.

PersonalJesus

I can walk to the city airport from my current house in 10-15 mins, we use it a decent amount as my GF is from England. After 4 years here the aircraft noise doesn't really bother us at all, and theres no flights between 10pm and 6.45 am (although they do have expansion plans to run more aircraft to european destinations, whether that effects operation times is another matter). Current house is close to the harbour. But neither locations have a noticeable amount of fog.

Had the valuers at the house a couple of days ago and they reckon ill achieve a bit less than i had hoped. If i cant achieve a figure where im not effectively out of pocket by making the move then it is in my mind difficult to do. We're both pretty prudent, although maybe me more so, when it comes to financial commitments, so even though the new places mortgage is on the lower end of what we could borrow, the historically low interests rates here wont last for ever and id hate us to see us have to significantly alter our lifestyles to furnish debt.

PersonalJesus

BTW holywood is one train stop from the city airport, or about 5 mins in the car. Theres not much noticeable aircraft noise there though.