Starter home or forever home?

SuzieBlack

Am I mad to consider buying a starter home in my early 30s? I am a female and would like to buy a property. I could probably afford a forever home, should I go ahead and do that? It's a bit scary to buy a house and trying to think will this be appropiate if I have kids in a few years time. I am currently single.

LirW

Go with whatever suits you best. No you're not mad for considering a "starter home". I know the mentality in that regard changed a lot since a lot of people want to buy and stay there for a very long time but if it suits yourself and your lifestyle, totally go for it.
I know how it feels overthinking if it is the right decision and what if... but trust your guts a little bit.

SuzieBlack

Thanks LirW, yes maybe i need to listen to my gut a bit more and not overthinking or trying to predict the future!

PhoenixParker

There's no harm in buying a starter home but make sure it's somewhere you could feasibly live with a young child and a partner if that's what you want out of life.

It doesn't have to be your dream family home but a big two bed apartment vs a one bed gives you flexibility for life changes.

SuzieBlack

Thanks PheonixParker. Yeah that's a good idea...somewhere that has flexibility.

bmwguy

I am lucky enough to have a house suitable as a forever home (not my dream home but it will suffice) but loads of my friends are in what they classed as starter homes and they are stuck there at the moment and also for the foreseeable future due to the negative equity they are in. Loads and loads of them. Either in 1/2 bed apartment or a house in a location with a huge commute (midlands to Dublin).

1 guy managed to buy a forever home on top of his 1 bed apartment but himself and his wife would have significantly higher incomes than average. The rest cannot sell and trade up.

I know we have had our crash but nobody knows for certain 100% if we will have another one or not. Personally I don't think so, certainly not to the same extent as the last one but I wouldn't buy a starter home with the intention of trading up just in case.

Use the HTB scheme to your advantage and get the right property, you can only use it once and I have a feeling it will be scrapped soon as there is evidence it may be pushing prices up. But that's only my opinion, not fact there are other elements at play too (lack of supply being the real driver)

Wesser

Hi suzie I am in the same situation as you.

I have found a really nice house 3 b in a good neighbourhood that I can afford. I would gave lots of cash to put in it including a new kitchen i also badly need a new car and I want to have a rainy day fund put aside.
On the other hand there is a gorgeous house that I love in a gorgeous neighbourhood right at the top of my budget costs 50 k more than the other house but it needs alot of work probably 50k to bring it up to scratch which I simply don't have and so yeah I could do it up slowly over the years but it would be a long drawn out painful process that would probably involve borrowing more money and in the meantime I'd have to live in a decrepit house for possible years.

So I'm gonna go for the first one as it offers me ease and peace of mind while future proofing me in case of family in the future. It also has a garden so I can extend if I need to........ again future proofing me . It also means I don't have to borrow more and I don't like the risk of borrowing so happy out.

But yeah it's a really hard decision I thought about it for weeks .

Villa05

bmwguy wrote:

I know we have had our crash but nobody knows for certain 100% if we will have another one or not. Personally I don't think so, certainly not to the same extent as the last one but I wouldn't buy a starter home with the intention of trading up just in case.

I would go with the forever home seriously considering a 10 year fixed mortgage rate to guarantee current repayments into the future.

You can be sure there will be another crash as 10/15% annual price increases are unsustainable. I just can't say when it will happen. There will be warning signs close to when it does occur.

Best of luck with your decision

catrionanic

We bought a starter home two years ago. Small two-bed terrace with no garden, but only a 10 min walk to Stephens green and in a very desirable part of the city.

We now have a little baby and would love to have another in a year or two, but we are limited because our house is so small.

Bear in mind that when you do move on to a forever home, you won't be a first time buyer and hence will need a 20% deposit. In Dublin, that is a LOT of cash. If you would be relying on the equity of your starter home increasing due to rising house prices, that's a bit of a risky strategy.

ECO_Mental

They say whatever house you buy always think before you pull the trigger, would I be happy here forever if circumstances changed. Yeah that 1 bed aprt five mins from temple bar is great when young free and single but you won't be that way all your life. Now chances are you could sell on and trade up etc but who knows.

I bought a 3bed semi-d in an estate in 2006 with no intention of staying 3/4 years until my house in the country was built. I am still there now kids have to dropped to training school if I was out in my fancy house in the country side I would be on the road full time so we are staying put. That said I have to....100k neg equity has a bit say as well. Now the house is bit smaller than i would like and small enough backgarden but it's in great location so even though I didn't foresee us staying here I am more than happy now.

The_Conductor

Do not buy somewhere you can't imagine yourself living in long term- if your circumstances were to change.

Keep in mind- a 'starter home' imagines there is someone else out there willing to take it off your hands (presumably at a profit to you- however, this may not be the case).

The country is littered with tens of thousands of people living in wholly inappropriate or unsuitable housing- predicated on an assumption they were going to flip them down the road and move to their 'forever home'. Unfortunately- most of them never will- myself included- I'm lucky in that I bought a 3 bed townhouse- so at least my children have their own bedrooms- and its in a good location- there are plenty in far worse positions than me.

Disavow any illusion or notion of 'starter homes', 'forever homes' and the like. If you can't see yourself living in a location longer term- don't buy. Don't get a starter home with the assumption of selling up and moving down the road- don't buy, period.

Honestly- whoever came up with the term 'Starter home' or 'Forever home' deserves to be put up against a wall and have sliotars flung at them by all those who are stuck because of their belief in the terms and what they supposed them to mean.

Wesser

The_Conductor wrote: »

Do not buy somewhere you can't imagine yourself living in long term- if your circumstances were to change.

Keep in mind- a 'starter home' imagines there is someone else out there willing to take it off your hands (presumably at a profit to you- however, this may not be the case).

The country is littered with tens of thousands of people living in wholly inappropriate or unsuitable housing- predicated on an assumption they were going to flip them down the road and move to their 'forever home'. Unfortunately- most of them never will- myself included- I'm lucky in that I bought a 3 bed townhouse- so at least my children have their own bedrooms- and its in a good location- there are plenty in far worse positions than me.

Disavow any illusion or notion of 'starter homes', 'forever homes' and the like. If you can't see yourself living in a location longer term- don't buy. Don't get a starter home with the assumption of selling up and moving down the road- don't buy, period.

Honestly- whoever came up with the term 'Starter home' or 'Forever home' deserves to be put up against a wall and have sliotars flung at them by all those who are stuck because of their belief in the terms and what they supposed them to mean.

I agree with what you are saying. But what if can't afford your dream home? And will never be able to afford it? My dream home is in howth Hill!!!! Well its not actually but it is something and somewhere that i simply cant afford. That is never going to happen. I could wait 5 or 10 years until the next crash but in a way my life is now and it makes sense for me personally to buy now, I'm at an age where I want my own place and it's cheaper than renting!!! My life needs to move from a place of constant upheaval to a place of calmness and security.

I think we need to start thinking about the concept of acceptable but imperfect home but one that future proofs you at the same time. My father tells me I cannot expect the perfect place but I need to accept a good enough place and be content.

The place I am looking at is a 3 b with a garden in a good neighboorhood . It is what I want for life? No ......but it future proofs me and full fills my needs.

Needs versus wants ........????

andekwarhola

Just define a starter home as a home you'd ideally like to trade up from eventually but not one that will affect your future life plans if you end up stuck with it.

We bought a house in an area that we like and hoped to trade up somewhere else in the area and I can't really see it happening now but our house is still big enough for our family and in an area we want to stay in so while not ideal, it's OK.