Trying to decide is buying a bigger house is right for you? Check out this post for reason why buying a bigger house may be right for you.
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post on the fact that I want a bigger house, but I’m not going to buy one, and I explained why (read that post here). In this guest post, Maria from Handful of Thoughts shares why she made the opposite decision and why it was right for her family.
Maria is a new momma and the creative mind behind Handful of Thoughts. She paid off her mortgage in under five years by adopting the financial freedom mindset. As a new momma, Maria writes about navigating parenthood and her journey to financial independence. I’ll let Maria take it from here…
Ever catch yourself looking at real estate porn? You know, browsing through home listings or drooling over people’s home pictures on Instagram? Buying a bigger house can be a dangerous thing to consider. It’s one want that can totally derail your budget and financial independence plan. But it doesn’t have to. Like most things, buying a bigger house can be done on a budget.
I love looking at houses; online listings, in-person showings, and open houses. But I like to think I’m good at removing emotion when looking. I can admire a nice home without wanting to move into it. I realized a long time ago that my home will never look like a show home or what you see on Instagram. And I am totally okay with that.
When it comes down to it, I don’t want the bigger mortgage and bills that come with buying bigger house.
Buyers’ Market
That’s why when my husband suggested we casually start to look into buying a bigger house he was surprised that I agreed so easily.
Pragmatically, I knew we were in a buyers’ market that was slowly showing signs of an uptick. If we were going to eventually need an buy a bigger house, now would be a good time to look.
I also knew that a different home would be in our future. I loved our home, it was our first home. It was comfortable and we had great neighbors. We had paid off our mortgage years ago so it was truly our home. Upgrading my home meant I would probably have a mortgage again.
Not Just Buying a Bigger House – Buying a More Functional One
So why the need to change homes?
With a growing family, our home just wasn’t functional anymore. I didn’t really want a bigger house but knew something had to change.
I didn’t like that my little one had a patio door in her room to the back deck. We backed onto a ravine so security could eventually become an issue. Yes, there were things we put in place to make the room secure (like these sliding door locks that I totally recommend), but the patio doors were an increased risk compared to a regular window.
When my in-laws came to visit and help with childcare they had to sleep on an air mattress (albeit a deluxe one). Because they got up multiple times at night they liked having their own bathroom. Our house only had two bathrooms, one upstairs and one in the basement.
The only problem was there were no bedrooms in the basement, just a built in office and large family room. So when they would come to visit we set up an air mattress for them in the large family room.
This was not a good long term solution. We knew that we would eventually be asking for their help with childcare. It wasn’t fair to ask them to come and visit and help and then sleep on an air mattress.
As the primary cook, my husband’s biggest problem with the house was the kitchen. We had an eat-in kitchen but it was difficult to have enough room to seat four people at the table. There just wasn’t enough space for our kitchen to feel comfortable.
Looking at Bigger Houses
So we began looking for a new more functional bigger house. I was adamant about wanting to stay in the same area. My husband didn’t think we could find what we wanted in our area and was willing to look in other parts of the city or pay more to stay in our area.
I was not.
Even though I knew we would need a new home. I didn’t want a big fancy home and all the bigger bills that went with it. I was not looking forward to higher property taxes and utility bills. We didn’t have the time or energy to clean more space. None of these things excited me.
The only things that excited me in the process were actually looking at homes and the increased function our new home would have.
Being a real estate investor I have a couple of realtors that I’m familiar with and have worked with in the past. I reached out to one of them and asked him to set us up with an online search.
The online search was set up and I was regularly emailed properties that fit our criteria. There were a lot of search results but very few that I wanted to view in person. I was very picky in the selection process. If we were going to move to a bigger house it was going to be the right house. I planned on being at this next house for a long time.
The Bigger House
Strangely enough, the very first house we went to look at ended up being the house we bought. But it wasn’t an impulse purchase.
There was no “love at first sight” or anything crazy like that. We actually went to view it a couple of times before deciding to put an offer in on the property.
Over a period of a few weeks, we went back and forth with the sellers in order to agree on terms that worked for everyone. At the end of the day, we got a great home for a price that we were comfortable with. The sellers were able to sell the home in a timely manner so that they could move into their dream home. It was a win-win.
That being said, the property was far from perfect. It was painted multiple colors and wasn’t staged at all. Both may be reasons as to why we got such a good deal on it.
But we saw the potential.
We knew that we would have to get a good price on the property in order for it to work for us. We planned on doing some major renovations to the property and wanted to make sure it would still fit into our budget.
The Renovations
Now that all the renovations are complete and we are living in our new home it feels awesome. I now have room for a kitchen table that seats more than two people comfortably. My little one has a window in her room and not patio doors. My in-laws have their own suite in our basement that could potentially be rented out in the future for increased income.
When people come to visit they are surprised that our house isn’t bigger or fancier. It still doesn’t look like a show home or what you would find on Instagram.
Although we had major renovations done there was nothing crazy posh about them. Our kitchen is nicer but still very basic. The walls are now a uniform color.
Why Buying a Bigger House was Right for Us
My family is on a path to financial independence but we aren’t willing to deprive ourselves of what we love in order to get there. Throughout our journey, we have learned to adopt what I call the “financial freedom mindset”: enjoying today on the path to tomorrow.
We love our new home. Since moving in our daughter has slept through the night, every night which is impressive for her age.
Yes, buying a bigger house meant taking on a mortgage again and therefore possibly delaying our transition to not having to work. But we still bought a home well within our budget that is much more practical for us.
The happiness we have gained from our new bigger house is worth the potential extra few years of work we may have.
Buying a Bigger House Final Thoughts
I never wanted a fancier bigger house, just one that was more functional. The new home is, in fact, bigger than the previous one, but only by about 150 square feet.
Moving to a bigger house was the right decision for us. Our previous home was just not functional anymore. We were in a buyers’ market making it a good time to buy if we needed to. Because of this, we were able to get a great price on a home that fit into our budget.
We bought a home that will be functional for us for years to come, one that we can continue to grow into. The new bigger house is in a great neighborhood with awesome schools so our children can easily grow up there.
Purchasing a new home was about function and not lifestyle creep. We easily could have bought a much bigger house with a huge mortgage. We probably could have afforded it. But that’s just not our style.
Because we converted our previous home into a rental we now have a mortgage on our new bigger house. Just like before, we plan on paying this mortgage off as soon as we can; hopefully under 5 years like the last one.
What do you think? Is there a big major expense you are contemplating? Are you looking to buy a bigger house?
