Personal Finance

I'm in my mid-40s and paid off most of my mortgage - is it silly to move to a more expensive house later in life?

Aaron Webber

Published: November 30, 2024 6:30 am

24/7 Key Points

• It doesn’t make sense to sell a home you’ve paid off just to move to a nicer place.
• Selling your home or renting it out depends a lot on your location and financial situation.
• Also: Take this quiz to see if you’re on track to retire ^(Sponsored)

Does it make sense to move to a more expensive house later in life after paying off your first home? This is not a question many Americans get to ask themselves these days, as fewer and fewer people are able to afford a home let alone pay one off. But for some of the lucky few who can, it can be a complicated question to answer.

We found one person who was struggling with this question and sought help from the Reddit community. Here is what they had to say.

The Question

In September of 2024, the author of our post went to r/ChubbyFIRE, a subreddit for people who want to become financially independent and retire early, with their question. The author said they were in their mid-40s with more than $4 million in investments and living in a home worth $1.3 million. The author is considering moving to a new home but isn’t sure if it’s worth it. They can rent out their current home for about $4,000 per month.

The reasons for moving include retiring to a nicer place and being in an area for a better school for his kid.

The Community Response

Most people who responded to the author were very skeptical of their idea to move at all. One of the most popular answers said that they shouldn’t move or sell their home unless they had a much more compelling reason. There are easier ways to get your child into a better school without moving to a new home. Housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years, so in order to afford a home that is better than the one the author is living in, they will have to spend at least around $2.5 million, as anything in the same price range as the current home will be smaller and lower quality.

Most of the other answers recommended the author sell their home if they are dead-set on moving. Being an ethical landlord takes a lot of work and attention, and in a place like California, it almost isn’t worth it at all. The author would be able to sell their current home for quite a bit of money and make a sizeable down payment on a new home (likely with the proceeds of the current home being tax-free in some situations). A person with this level of wealth doesn’t need to make an extra couple thousand per month and probably couldn’t do it without driving up rental prices in the area or doing a bad job.

In the end, many of the remaining comments were confused as to why someone with so much money, a high salary, and living in such an expensive neighborhood is asking a bunch of strangers online about what he should do with his home, especially since his only good reason was to get his child into a better school. It was probably a better idea to just stay where they are.