What's too big a house?

bilbot79

Folks,

Currently have 30 year mortgage paying out 660 pm. Tend to overpay by 2300 pm aswell. House worth 430 and want to upgrade.

Seen a great gaff for 700. Big 4 bed with 2 reception rooms etc. We can buy it and be at 30% of income on mortgage and still overpay a bit.

Thing is, we might not manage to have kids. Is it a total waste to spend 700 on a 185 sqm house we like when we will probably not need all that space? When I see gaffs worth 500, they are half the size and half as nice.

The upside to not spending big is we would be debt free in 5 years instead of 10+

What do people think?

Lumen

Risks aside, it's mostly a consumption choice.

The interest on that 230k is about 600/mo.

Do you want to pay 600/mo to live in a nicer house?

185sqm is a nice size. Comfortable without feeling like you're rattling around in it.

Addle

If you love the house and can afford it, then buy it.
You don't have to use all those rooms as bedrooms.

The_Conductor

It really is something that you are going to have to figure for yourself.
What do you value more?
A more salubrious house- or being completely debt free earlier?

You've found a nice house- couple of reception rooms, nice size, nice location.
Is it somewhere you can see yourself living longterm- or are you likely to view it as a stepping stone to something else- a retirement in the sun or something?

There are a myriad of pros and cons to all these things.

You don't *need* a massive house to bring up kids. I've a 7 and an 8 year old in a 90m2 townhouse in a good location- but we've no garden.........
Yes- its nice to open up options- however, being debt free is probably (from experience) far more valuable to you if you think you might like to have kids- than is having a large 4 bed with a few reception rooms.......... Talk to a few parents- my childcare costs came to over 2,500 a month for a while- from net pay- and thats just childcare costs- you'd be baffled at how many other bills you have. And don't imagine that children's benefit- or free GP visits mean anything in the scale of things- your expenditure will leave you baffled as to where the money is going..............

If children may be on the horizon (and you need to make sure you're singing off the same hymn-sheet as your partner!!!)- being debt free is something that you simply can't ascribe a value to. The 4 bed house- with the 2 reception rooms etc- is a status symbol.

I'd go against the grain- and suggest that if you decide you're *not* going to have children- get the 4 bed house and do with it as you will. If you might like to have children- get your finances fully in order and clear any debt- because you're going to get a financial shock if/when they come along!

testicles

This post has been deleted.

The_Conductor

testicles wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The average house being built in Ireland at the moment (Ireland as a whole- not Dublin) is 154m2. The average size of an apartment being constructed in Ireland (nationally again) is 76m2 (this is Q1 from the CSO).

It depends on the location- but 185m2 is significantly larger than most houses currently being constructed.

My 3 bed townhouse- is 85m2- though you wouldn't want to try swinging a cat in it.

Wanderer78

Do you really need a bigger house? I'd be more inclined to become debt free ASAP, anything can happen in life, and debt can cause severe problems if a major change occurs

PhoenixParker

A house that's "big" enough is only about 20% the size of the house. The rest is about 40% having the right storage and 40% state of mind.

20% because some houses are just going to be too small to meet some needs. Once you go much past that realistic minimum your stuff will expand to fill the space available. If you focus on space youll never have enough.

What benefit does 4 bedrooms and 2 reception rooms really bring you? How much do you pay in decor, maintenance and mortgage interest just to have that space available? How else could you spend the money? What else would make your life easier and bring you more joy?

A great gaff, doesn't mean it's a great gaff for you.

bilbot79

Some good food for thought there folks, thanks. I guess the cost of kids if they do come is a big factor and if I knew for certain it would happen it might change things but it could potentially be 'just us' unfortuantely and if it is I'm thinking a lovely gaff is in order.

One other thing I thought about is the extra cash could buy a bolthole somewhere nice too.

I'm flabbergasted by cost of kids though, what a problem to solve if it does happen!

whippet

Kids are the biggest expense you will ever have .. not a house.

6 years ago I moved from a 900sqf house to a 3500sqf house ... it was a shock to the system .. from realising I actually had no furniture to put in to the house to heating the place during the first winter!

I

davemie

There are lots of other issues to consider than just the size of the house. Location, energy usage, heating demand / insulation, commute, nearby shops, upkeep, property tax etc.

There is no point moving to a large cold house an hours drive to work!

In addition, having all of your eggs in the same basket is a risk. If you ever need money in the future, would you need to sell the family house, or would you have a second nest egg?

If you are happy with the house, done your research and can plan for a few unforseen expenses, go for it.

Mrs OBumble

Location, location, location.

That's what really matters.

C3PO

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Location, location, location.

That's what really matters.

I would agree with this!

Lumen

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Location, location, location.

That's what really matters.

Trite.

Location is a major factor in the market price of a property, which factors in the broad appeal to a large number of people.

To an individual purchaser there is more value to be had buying in a location which the market dislikes but the individual likes.

For instance, a cyclist or motorcyclist might choose to in an urban or extra-urban area that is badly served by public transport, because public transport is not valuable to them.

e.g. don't buy a property along the Luas route if you've no need of the Luas.

The counter-argument to this is that buying in an undesirable location is likely to deliver poorer capital gains over the long term, but IMO this is mostly rubbish since (a) in the long term we're all dead, and (b) you're paying for that thing you don't value by sacrificing things that you do value, which is just stupid.

This is why I ended up buying a larger house in a place which for most people is barely commutable, rather than a smaller house in the "best" location according to the market.

I have no idea what the long term value of my house is, neither do I care.

gargargar

It really is about your priorities. Some people are obsessed with being debt free. Not really an issue for me. Happy enough to pay away at a mortgage and enjoy consumption now. Obviously you want to have a pension but beyond that I wouldn't be bothered overpaying. So for me I would go for the nice house.

As for overpaying on your mortgage is it the best use of excess money? If you are a higher tax earner you could pay extra into your pension and make huge tax savings as opposed to avoiding what is a relatively low interest rate (I'm guesssing).

LirW

Oh god, it really depends on what your own taste is. What do you wanna use the rooms for, what are you planning to do with the house, where is it located, you get me.
Now personally I couldn't imagine having a house that size, my own has 100 with a converted attic and this is about the maximum we're willing to maintain. No way in hell I'd like to furnish, heat, clean, maintain a house of that size if I have the choice. But that's me, my requirements aren't yours. We have two kids too, so everyone has their own bedroom but when you're out and about the whole day really you don't feel to cramped in it. Plus we're not really people for clutter.
When you think down the line when you get older, could you see yourself spending your retirement in a house that size and using all the space you have? Could the size of the house ever become a burden if it's just the two of you?

You seem to earn well enough, so if you need a bit of a change if the size would be too big, that you change things around at your current house? Being debt-free on your own house after all is very re-assuring if times would ever get tough but that depends if that's your ultimate goal.

Too many variables there but I think there's a lot of good input in this thread.