Dilly of a pickle!

That is quite the pickle – life is made up of a balance of enjoying yourself, and working hard.  For some people, it's all about the money, while for others the money means much less to them.
What I usually do is analyse the situation and do a case study.  Try and be as realistic as possible, and work out what is the profit of moving.  Think about the net value add from a renovation, the additional cost of the mortgage, factor in some interest rate increases as well.  When all is said and done, you should be able to work out that your idea is going to make you $xx.xx.  When you then weigh up the cost to your lifestyle in moving, you then think to yourself – would I do this to my lifestyle for that amount of money.  If you're not sure, then you have to think about it some more – if it's a resounding YES or NO! then you have your answer.  But you can't make a decision without sufficient facts, cold hard facts, especially when you're deciding between the money and the lifestyle.

It's not worth the hassle of moving just for the sake of moving and living in "your own place".

If the numbers stack up on the property as an investment (when it comes time to move out) then it could be a good idea.

If you are moving away from what you know and enjoy for little or no real monetary gain, then why do it?
Don't forget to factor in the costs of moving (time and money) as well as the addition of STAMP DUTY to the cost of the property. on $500k there is about $25k in stamp duty. How many months of rent does $25k buy you?

Your husband may perfer to pay a little extra for a better life style and enjoy the area you live in. Perhaps that money you have could buy a positive cashflow property with growth potential?

Just my thoughts.

I'm of a different opinion. Do all your sums $$$ first. I have been an investor for over 25 years (12 IP) and have always lived in my investment properties but for the past 3 years I have been renting. I now live in a waterfont home worth (when I moved in) approx $1mil and I pay $510pw. Since the GFC it's now worth approx $890K. If I purchased this home 3 yrs ago and paid interest on a $1mil loan to the bank, you do the sums — it was much cheaper for me to rent. Keep in mind the owner of this place has to pay  body corp fees -$60pw, Land Tax- worse if he has it in a Company or Trust, council rates, replaced hot water system, replaced air cond, replaced dishwasher etc etc.   Instead, I ended up buying  2 x IP in the past 3 yrs.

If you buy the property in a Trust or Company you just wiped out the biggest tax advantage —- CGT.If you put this in your own name ITS TAX FREE, no CGT when and if you sell.   

I have friends who for the past 10 years retired to the Gold Coast and moved 4-5 times buying and selling there PPOR making $100K – $150K profit everytime and not pay one cent in TAX. They are still retired and selling there current home for over $2mil.

I remember when living in one of my IP I was paying over $5,000pm interest, plus land tax ($9K pa), body corp fees (over $10K pa), council & water rates etc, etc and I spoke to my neighbour who happened to be renting and paying $520pw for exactly the same apartment next door. I woke up to myself that day and rented my place out for a whopping $980pw and moved next door.

I now realize why my accountant said to me one day

Just another angle on things!