Regret buying house?

Question

Has anyone bought a house and then realised that they had made a dreadful mistake - too much needed doing to it - horrible neighbours etc etc.
What did you do about it ?

Answer 1

Sell and move to another house.

Answer 2

Yes - we never really liked our second house much, for a variety of reasons, and moved on after a couple of years. At first, you think that you will get used to the drawbacks, but the reverse happens - they just begin to irritate you more and more as time goes by.
If there's something you don't like, but can do nothing about (the neighbours, for example), then you lose your enthusiasm for doing the place up. You realise that, even when you have got the place up to your standards, you are still not going to be happy there.
Obviously, you have already admitted to yourself that buying the place was a mistake. Start planning to move - even if you can't afford to for a while, the planning will make you feel better. Regard the work you have to do on it from the angle of "this will make it sell better", rather than "this is how I'd like it to be". - that way, you put a more positive spin on it.

It's a shame that you can't try houses out before you buy them, but you do have to weigh them up very critically. If you have any reservations, don't buy. Neighbours are a problem - how do you know what they are going to be like? You could try doing what I did, and (before buying) stake the place out a bit at various times of the day, and knock on a door or two a bit further up the street. Say you are thinking about buying, and chat a bit about the neighbourhood and the neighbours.

I hope you have better luck next time.

Answer 3

Its a tough one because often there is so much money at stake.

We bought our current house without a survey because we knew so much needed doing, and we knew a surveyor would just worry us !.

Knuckle down and get on with it is the best advice.

Dodgy neighbours is another problem and there is little you can do about it. You can more but there is no proof you'll move to a better place. In this case, i'd improve the house to ensure i got my money back and move, life is too short to fester for years.

The best advice is to buy on location, you can fix a house but not where it is.

Funny thing is, my first house was my favourite, it was a 1-bed starter. Now i live in an 8 bed country house, but in many ways the 1-bed was a better property. Just goes to show what i know !

Answer 4

You should just settle first. When i moved into my flat, admittedly its not MINE but it is for the start of my life, i initially hated it. I would rather be in a hostel as the gay neighbour down stairs makes blo*dy noises with his other half all night and at weekends, Its so cold in my bedroom and i needed to do alot of decorating to it. But its been 8 months, it looks lovely. The neighbours were easy enough to sort out. He was taking the Micky, i ain't got no probs with Sh!tstabbers, none at all, infact i got plenty of friends that way inclined, but he was way too loud, so i wrote him a letter to calm it down and he did. So now i ain't got no probs, maybe you should stick it out, you can have things more under your control soon enough and that will make you feel more at ease.

Good luck. and if you really cant settle, move house. Maybe the equity in your house rose so you made a little money in the process hey!!

Answer 5

Still there and crying about it! You're stumped because if you sell it, without the work doing to it, you're not going to profit and could in fact loose out. The only way is to stick in and do things gradually.

Answer 6

I have just bought a house and it appears to be haunted. I dont have to live in it but think i will have to get the priest round.

Answer 7

Flip it. Put on a coat of paint, fancy up a few things, and sell the sucker.

Answer 8

sell it