What would YOU do re houses etc

Well I live in Auckland, so im used to being 30 minutes away from most things! lol

Actually I live in West Auckland (Henderson) and my parents live in West Auckland (West Harbour) and it would take me a good 20 minutes to get there.

It would depend on the commuting part .. I cope with commuting much more than DH so to me if would be better to be closer to his work than mine.

As long as the new house was in a good area, I would probably go for the new house, then you can always move back into the previous area after a couple of years after building some equity.

If I didn't need to move (i.e. current house right size, don't need to downsize mortgage etc) then I would stay put and save for a house in the same area if that is where I wanted to be

We recently bought a house that needs work (DH has just started adding another 70m2!) but it is in the area that we want, has more land and obviously room to make the house the size we want. Unfortunately it is about 20mins from my parents (we used to be about 5mins away) and further from DH's work. However we really like the area and there are so many more advantages to living here. But if the area wasn't right then I would never have bought here. I think it is best to live in the area you like rather than the house, you can often make changes to a house

I agree that if you don't need to upgrade your house yet, (for size etc) then I would stay in your old house.

Are there any other advantages to the area that the new house is in apart from DH's work?

I'm also in Auckland so find commuting to work normal. I have a 30 minute drive every day, and DH spends 50 minutes on the train.   But for us it was worth living where we are to be near our families.

Option 2 sounds like you're already in a more established area, so your property prices are more likely to increase? I'd stay unless you really felt like you needed to move right now.

It depends on the overall quality of life really.

Will you be slave to a large mortgage with option 1?

Will the drop in commute time for DH/Increase in commute time for you affect your family interactions positively/negatively?

Umm dunno we live in Auck central and have for roughly five years as both DP and I worked shift work in town and driving or bussing from East Auck to Central sucked lol

I live about 20-25mins from mum and dad and DP lives about 30-40min from his famly they're out west though and we live about 15-20min from town and work so its all kinda equal we also spend more time with my family so are better off closer to mine then his

I know a few people who live in Rolleston who love it there but it wouldn't be my first choice either. It just seems so far away and isolated! It wouldn't be a difficult decision for me, I would be staying where I was (no offence to anyone living in Rolleston). On the garage thing, really depends on how much it is going to eat into your savings and how much it is going to increase the value of your property. Maybe you could get some expert advice there.

Edited by LittleSal

Thanks guys your thoughts and tips etc have helped!

It was so hard because we really were on the fence about it all - but after reading everyones advice - I actually do agree that we wouldnt really be gaining anything - well apart from a new house - but then that isnt the be all and end all when we are already living in a warm enough, nice enough house.

So looks like we will stick it out for another couple of years I guess! Least now I can convince DH that I NEED the wooden blinds right lol

I have been having a similar dilemma. Im in chch too and we have an older house we have been doing up. Its super close to the kids school, and right in the middle of our family and friends with lots of friends within walking distance BUT.... I want a new house!!! to buy in our area is way out of our price range so not an option for many years so do we sit back and just put up with having this house or do we sell and move out of town. I love north like ohoka, clarkville etc... but its so expensive and if we were going to move out of town then we might as well go south cos my family are in prebbleton, halswell and hubby works in hornby but I dont really like Rolleston. We built a house and sold it out there and yeah it was nice but to far out. I also worry abou the kids. we are involved in sport, hubby is on committees for cricket and rugby so we would have to come into town all the time plus when the kids get older and start wanting to come into town they would have to either bus or drive and when they get to drinking age I dont really want to be living so far away that they couldnt afford to taxi or would risk driving in 100km zones after a few drinks. I know thats a long way away and people deal with it but its still somethign to consider...... so yeah i know how hard the decision is... I change my mind on a daily basis, especially when i drive up my horrible driveway (its just a mess, stones etc... not a proper driveway) I think how much i would love a nice new pretty house!

my aunt is a realestate agent and we were talking about the added value of garages and decks etc because we are about to put up a new garage and a large deck and apparently they do both add a bit of value to the house.