We bought a house in the city with a 2.75% mortgage rate. After a few years, we feel trapped and want out.

• We bought a beautiful home during the pandemic, securing a historically low mortgage rate of 2.75%.
• Though it's great, we're already struggling to deal with all the stairs and parking limitations.
• We want to move, but it's hard to justify switching to a way higher interest rate on a new mortgage.

My husband and I bought what we thought was our dream home in 2020. It had everything we wanted as twentysomethings in the city — convenience, charm, great views.

Over time, however, our needs have changed, and it's no longer the right fit for us. The only problem? We bought it shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when rates had plummeted to historic lows.

In fact, we locked in a 2.75% mortgage rate — so now we feel trapped in a house that no longer checks all our boxes.

Our house has some of the best views in the city

Don't get me wrong: I love our house.

It has a beautiful view of downtown Cincinnati; it's within walking distance of a wide range of restaurants, bars, sports stadiums, and theaters; and it's an old, historic home with lots of charm.

We love the hardwood floors, the historic brick, the old (nonfunctional) fireplaces, the pocket doors, and the large roof deck overlooking the Cincinnati skyline.

We spend mornings out there sipping coffee and reading, and nights having beers and entertaining friends while enjoying the view.

We can even see fireworks downtown — from our bed! But all these perks came at a cost.

However, it's quite challenging to get inside the house

You've got to work hard to get those incredible views of the city.

From street level, where we and our guests have to park, you've got to climb up 34 concrete steps to get to our porch. From there, you've got about 10 more steps to get to the front door.

Once you're inside, the house is split into three levels (plus a basement with laundry). That's a lot of stairs.

Although our knees can take the strain for now, we're worried about how we'd come and go regularly when we're in our 50s and 60s. Some of our older family members are already unable to visit our home because it's simply inaccessible given their health.

Taking out the trash is an annoying chore, and we struggle to carry groceries up to our kitchen. I'll never forget the time I dropped a 12-pack of Diet Coke and the cans went cascading down the steps like exploding slinkies.

We've also had issues with having new appliances and furniture delivered (and getting the old ones removed).

When our old Great Dane had a surgery that kept him from walking, we had to have a friend help us carry all 220 pounds of him up those steps when we brought him home.

There are other problems, too

The steps are a big pain in the neck, especially when it snows, but there are other reasons we regret buying the house now, too.

Without a driveway or private spot, we must rely on street parking. Sometimes, the only open space is a quarter of a mile away. We feel even worse when our guests have to park that far from our home.

We've got a large front and side yard, which is a blessing in the city that we don't take lightly. However, we also have to mow that yard, part of which is a steep hill that ends at a retaining wall with a sudden drop to the sidewalk below.

I've almost fallen multiple times — and I'd likely have gotten severely injured if I had.

We eventually paid a landscaping company $11,000 to plant easy-to-maintain groundcover that helps us avoid risking our lives just to cut the grass.

We're ready to move, but we feel trapped

As we've gotten older, we've started to want different things: a quieter home outside the city with a little more land and a lot fewer steps.

But that 2.75% interest rate is really hard to let go of, especially with mortgage rates as high as they are. Last I've seen, they're hovering around 6%.

As a Certified Financial Education Instructor and personal-finance writer, I know just how much of a difference that makes long-term.

For instance, when I last checked, the median sale price for a home in the US was about $411,000. Assuming you put no money down on such a house, you'd pay roughly $193,000 in interest over a 30-year fixed loan with a 2.75% rate.

And if that rate jumps to 6%? Total interest costs amount to more than $476,000 — that's more than the cost of the home itself!

When I look at those numbers, I have a hard time agreeing to sell our home and buy another at a much higher interest rate.

For now, we're taking our time as we plot our next move

Ultimately, my husband and I know we still need to move. All it takes is one broken ankle, and our house suddenly becomes an intimidating obstacle course.

Plus, we want our older family members to be able to visit, and we'd like to enjoy the peace of a more remote location.

To move without a major financial impact, we're prioritizing purchasing a much cheaper home than our current house. By selling our house for a nice profit, and then buying something more affordable, we hope to counteract the higher interest rates.

Finding a cheaper house that still checks all our boxes won't be easy, but we're in no major rush to move. When we bought this current house, we moved fast and impulsively.

This go around, we want to take our time and find a place that's perfect for us — perfect for us now and 20 years from now.

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