When moving is worth it / even if you can't upgrade much?

Pulsedriver

Pulsedriver

Pulsedriver

Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2003
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UK
Hey folks, so have lived in a 3 bed semi for nearly 10 years, family of 4, occasionally 5 when the step daughter stays over - and I have always thought a detached house was something I wanted to have, it's not that our neighbours are a problem, it's just I don't like the idea of being 'attached' to another house and having to worry about soundbar being too loud or the kids running up and down the stairs loudly etc.
Anyhow, there is a possible chance we could move to a 4 bedroom detached house, for a fairly 'low' cost in terms of moving (less than 50k) it's in an area we know well, and disruption would in theory be minimal.
The only thing that concerns us, is we won't have much free money, certainly not for the first 6 months or so, to do things up, and the house is very dated, in that it's had the same owner from new (late 60's or early 70's build) so it needs modernising.
Obviously I would want to get the artex skimmed as a priority - ideally before moving in, as that is one of the messier jobs - (PVA/not scraped) I am not too concerned about the asbestos element in that era of home, because our current home is a similar era, although I did notice the garage ceiling looked like Asbestos Insulation Boarding, not that I plan on drilling into it, but anyway - has anyone made that switch, I know you buy a house for the potential, and of course the pros should clearly outweigh the cons, the bedrooms are similar size (plus an extra room) but the downstairs is way bigger, and we gain a downstairs WC which we don't currently have.
 
Personally, I would. It sounds like you and your family would be much happier.

As long as you can manage it financially and plan accordingly, go for it. Sounds like there's potential to make your money back in the future too by modernising the house. A little bit of "slumming it" while you get things to how you like it is good for the soul :D.
 
Yeah i'd pay basically whatever it took to be detached, it's an amazing feeling to never worry about making noise in your own house when you've come from a semi to a detached.

It makes you realise just how much your house was holding you back before.
 
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Pulsedriver said:
Hey folks, so have lived in a 3 bed semi for nearly 10 years, family of 4, occasionally 5 when the step daughter stays over - and I have always thought a detached house was something I wanted to have, it's not that our neighbours are a problem, it's just I don't like the idea of being 'attached' to another house and having to worry about soundbar being too loud or the kids running up and down the stairs loudly etc.
Anyhow, there is a possible chance we could move to a 4 bedroom detached house, for a fairly 'low' cost in terms of moving (less than 50k) it's in an area we know well, and disruption would in theory be minimal.
The only thing that concerns us, is we won't have much free money, certainly not for the first 6 months or so, to do things up, and the house is very dated, in that it's had the same owner from new (late 60's or early 70's build) so it needs modernising.
Obviously I would want to get the artex skimmed as a priority - ideally before moving in, as that is one of the messier jobs - (PVA/not scraped) I am not too concerned about the asbestos element in that era of home, because our current home is a similar era, although I did notice the garage ceiling looked like Asbestos Insulation Boarding, not that I plan on drilling into it, but anyway - has anyone made that switch, I know you buy a house for the potential, and of course the pros should clearly outweigh the cons, the bedrooms are similar size (plus an extra room) but the downstairs is way bigger, and we gain a downstairs WC which we don't currently have.
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Sounds ideal..

It's always a stretch, but this always gets easier with time and detached is certainly worth it for your mental wellbeing if you do ever have concerns you might be annoying the neighbours..

The chance to add value by modernising also appeals to me..

I'm not seeing the downsides..
 
If you’re able to move without a huge cost to change then I’d say go for it! If you’re only tight for 6 months, that’s hardly anything in ynr grand scheme of things. We are looking at the dream house, but the concern is that whilst we could technically afford it, we might have to make some fairly brazen financial decisions that are somewhat uncomfortable for more like a 5-10 years, if not longer if we’re talking about extending a mortgage beyond retirement age and relying on pension to pay off some capital. Then again, Victorian detached houses that are walking distance from both our work aren’t super common at any money.
 
I'd move in your situation, you'll be better off in the long term for multiple reasons and the ability to plan your life/enjoy your day to day without too much concern for neighbours is a gift.

Half a year of financial discomfort and a bit of work cannot match up to how you'll feel after a year or two and the benefits you'll have. You mention the need to modernise, which makes me think you'll be getting the property for a chunk less than it's worth and you'll add a lot of value to it in a short space of time.

You'll probably come out on top in terms of wealth in the end, and your kids if you pass it down to them absolutely will.
 
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I think only you can answer the question unfortunately.

I will say though, that I have a detached house and enjoy living here. I also have a flat in a block for work, the only way I can stay sane in that shared space is knowing I have a house to go to. I know a semi is much better than a flat but there's still compromise. I would also say that if it were up to me and money was no object, I'd live in a cabin in the woods up a mountain.
 
We live in a bungalow and had old people round us.
When one died the bungalow was bought by a young couple with a kid - You have never heard so much noise as that load of idiots made.
So being in a detached place didn't make any difference.
Fortunately he got a 4 bed detached for a good price and buggered off- I did feel sorry for his neighbours.
Go for it- a detached is so much better and we once moved to a house we liked with just 30 quid in our pockets. We put ever penny we had and payed a cash payment to get the lowest mortgage we could.
 
We find ourselves in a very similar situation. Is your current house on the market yet? Do you need to sell that first in order to buy? Before we had any offers on our existing property we soon realised it was pointless putting offers in for other properties as they were all looking to proceed asap!

Good luck with it all.
 
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e36Adz said:
We find ourselves in a very similar situation. Is your current house on the market yet? Do you need to sell that first in order to buy? Before we had any offers on our existing property we soon realised it was pointless putting offers in for other properties as they were all looking to proceed asap!

Good luck with it all.
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Sorry for late reply, we have sold ours, however the offers on the one we want are not getting accepted, as they had an offer that was higher - but from someone who hadn't sold... What they want, it's worth I think, even though it does need modernising, but the problem is, our offer was literally right at the top of the budget (including max mortgage that I could get) and borrowing 'some' money from parents, but we are still 5k short, and I just can't bring myself to keep asking for money it seems rude, and just entitled behaviour - its a frustrating situation - the mortgage isn't super high, it's just because of my job (Company owner) they don't like people like us, so don't lend as much!
 
Thats a pain in the backside, if its only 5k more and you really want it though, I'd ask family/friends without hesitation! Not sure what's happening with ours atm, solicitors have gone silent. They're waiting on an enquiry on the one we are buying - its freehold but there seems to be an lease for it which has been flagged up somewhere, they need some clarification on that and possibly need it resolving through land registry which sounds like it could take a while.

On the other side, our buyers solicitor is being very difficult to say the least, hinting at the buyer that it could cost him 'thousands' to get a boundary line changed on land registry. He actually emailed his client who fwd the email to the estate agent who read the email out word for word to me. Chatgpt however tells me this case is about as straight forward as adverse possession gets and solicitors arent even needed!! :/

Its been around 11 weeks in total and we're going away mid July so I'm just trying to forget about it, if it happens it happens. If not, I'll be looking to do up a brick outbuilding we have here and hopefully add 15-20k value to the house if it has to go on the market again possibly next year. The one we're currently in the process of buying ticks every box and I dont think we'd ever look to move if we got it, will see what happens.
 
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Pulsedriver said:
Hey folks, so have lived in a 3 bed semi for nearly 10 years, family of 4, occasionally 5 when the step daughter stays over - and I have always thought a detached house was something I wanted to have, it's not that our neighbours are a problem, it's just I don't like the idea of being 'attached' to another house and having to worry about soundbar being too loud or the kids running up and down the stairs loudly etc.
Anyhow, there is a possible chance we could move to a 4 bedroom detached house, for a fairly 'low' cost in terms of moving (less than 50k) it's in an area we know well, and disruption would in theory be minimal.
The only thing that concerns us, is we won't have much free money, certainly not for the first 6 months or so, to do things up, and the house is very dated, in that it's had the same owner from new (late 60's or early 70's build) so it needs modernising.
Obviously I would want to get the artex skimmed as a priority - ideally before moving in, as that is one of the messier jobs - (PVA/not scraped) I am not too concerned about the asbestos element in that era of home, because our current home is a similar era, although I did notice the garage ceiling looked like Asbestos Insulation Boarding, not that I plan on drilling into it, but anyway - has anyone made that switch, I know you buy a house for the potential, and of course the pros should clearly outweigh the cons, the bedrooms are similar size (plus an extra room) but the downstairs is way bigger, and we gain a downstairs WC which we don't currently have.
Click to expand...

Skimming the ceiling does not have to be messy. Asbestos isn't a problem at all, unless you disturb it. These are minor issues. Go for it!
 
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