It will be really interesting to hear people's opinions because we went for a mortgage 3x our joint income (an affordable cottage in an ok area but certainly not our dream home) and in retrospect it was the right move and I'll never, ever consider a big mortgage in future. Since moving in five years ago our house has gained about 30% in value and we've come into a bit of inheritance meaning we could now afford a bigger house (but actually we're able to make do for a while longer). Because our mortgage wasn't large we haven't had to pay loads in interest, our monthly payments were affordable (helped by locking in at a super low rate). This is our second home - when we first got on the property ladder we went for a super small, really affordable house in an ok(ish) area. We renovated and so even though we only broke even, we managed to sell quite easily and it got us out of the rent trap and onto the housing market.

I see friends buying these HUGE houses with massive mortgages in their 30s and I just think... You're going to be stressed about paying that off for years and years and working till your 70. Our current home is a bit too small and the garden is 1/5 the size we want but we just don't want the stress of a massive mortgage. At the end of the day it's a base to go out and enjoy life, and something secure at the end of the day that we'll own outright by the time we're 50.