My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Property/DIY

House buying regrets...is this normal??? :(

135 replies

Becaroooo · 16/01/2012 10:45

Been in our new house for 6 weeks now (moved in on 2nd December)

I had an accident (fell down the stairs!) 3 days after we moved in and so spent 2 weeks immobile (couldnt realy walk or drive - very frustrating!)

There have been a few issues;

The boiler didnt work properly (its not old either!) - very little hot water. (have to bath the dc at PILs and we have to have showers)

The kitchen hob didnt work properly - have had to replace it (£200).

Then the conservatory roof started leaking....a company came round 3 times before it seemed fixed (£300).

Not a great run up to xmas really Sad Anyway, new year and all that, right?

Except

The boiler guy is coming out tomorrow to clean and try and sort boiler (£600)

The conservatory roof is leaking again so needs looking at again.

We have no savings left. These bills will have to go on the mastercard. Its mine and dhs 40th b day this year - were planning something special. Not going to happen now.

Just keep thinking - if we had stayed in our (too small) rental house we would have £20k in the bank, the LL would sort any issues and we would be able to go on a nice holiday and have no CC debt.

I know IABU and silly...this is a nice house BUT the shine has really been taken off it for me and all I can see are the problems and things that need doing.

I actually thought about asking dh if we could do a bit of decorating and put it back on the market in the spring!!! I didnt...he would go loopy Sad

Come on...give me a kick and tell me I am being silly!

OP posts:
Report
londonmackem · 16/01/2012 10:58

It took me about 6 months to feel 'at home' in our new house. We have not spent anything on it though. Once everything is fixed you will feel better.

Report
ShatnersBassoon · 16/01/2012 11:00

I felt the same when we moved into our current house. There was nothing to enjoy, just horrible surprises and unexpected expense.

I'm happy now, but my stomach still lurches when I think of all the money we had to fork out to make it comfortable. I've said we're buying a brand new house next time, so if things do go wrong we won't have to foot the bill.

Report
flatbread · 16/01/2012 11:01

Welcome to the world of home ownership Grin. Buying a house is only the start of the spending cycle, as we discovered to our shock when we bought our first home. The way to think of it is as forced savings. One way or the other, the LL fixing your boiler would come out of your rent. This way you are investing in your house.

Report
FriggFRIGG · 16/01/2012 11:03
Report
smalltown · 16/01/2012 11:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

smalltown · 16/01/2012 11:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Fizzylemonade · 16/01/2012 12:59

Becaroooo, it is disheartening. My last house we gutted from top to bottom so by the time we sold it, it was everything we wanted it to be.

We moved to a much bigger house, forked out for stuff that we had expected to and some stuff we didn't. We have been in almost 2 years and we are living with a lot of inherited stuff that is not our taste at all.

Check out my kitchen on my profile and see why I want a kitchen extension just to get worktop space. This is a 4 bed ex show house so why is the kitchen sooooo tiny?

I think you have to remind yourself why you chose your house in the first place, remember what you fell in love with, that you are in charge of paint colours and the way it will look eventually.

We are saving again to do the kitchen extension after paying out to convert the double garage into a playroom and store 6 months after we moved in. It was worth it now we have done it but denying ourselves every month as we were saving was hard.

Report
confusedperson · 16/01/2012 13:22

I can assure it is all normal. It took me 1.5 years to get used to my house. For the first 1 year there were lots of major issues with leaks etc, so I guess it added to the negativity. However, I am even liking it now (never thought I will be able to say so!) and I am afraid, by the time we need to move I might be loving it!
So yes, it is all normal. Sort out the issues and settle in with the help of candles, pictures, flowers. The right feeling will come.

Report
Becaroooo · 16/01/2012 13:53

Oh I know IABU. I know I am. I just cant help it

I dont want a new build...my sis bought one 5 years ago and has had lots of problems with it Sad

AND new builds are tiny inside, arent they? Been on rightmove as there is a new development being built in the village and the room sizes are just Shock

This is a nice house....3 double bedrooms (was a 4 bed), converted garage for playroom, conservatory (shame about the leak!), large 23ft front room, wc and utility area BUT it just doesnt feel right yet.

Need to decorate the front room - magnolia EVERYWHERE atm!!! - and paint the conservatory and then it might feel better?

Thanks the for the replies!

OP posts:
Report
Pootles2010 · 16/01/2012 13:58

It'll come right in the end, especially when it feels like yours - and it really is yours! Your landlord could have booted you out of the old one, and you weren't in control of things like boilers, wheras you are now. Just sit tight - January is always crappy anyway.

Report
Becaroooo · 16/01/2012 13:59

Yes, it is pootles and thats probably not helping my mood either!

Not really painting and decorating weather, is it?

OP posts:
Report
Sidge · 16/01/2012 14:10

fizzylemonade you don't need an extension, you could move that radiator and use that blank wall for wall and base units and more work surface. What a waste of space!

And Becarooo why will it cost £600 to clean and sort the boiler? You can get a new one for that! I understand why you feel down though, you haven't had a honeymoon period in your new home, where you feel all warm and fluffy and feel the benefits of moving. It will get better, you are mobile again and can make the most of your new place, the hot water will get fixed, the conservatory won't leak any more, and you won't be shelling out money like this for long.

Don't worry too much about painting over the magnolia yet, get an idea for colour schemes, get the cushions, curtains, rugs etc sorted so you have a warmer, more colourful room to relax in. It will feel homely before too long Smile

Report
BloooCowWonders · 16/01/2012 14:15

We moved mid -Dec and it was a full 4 weeks until it even began to smell like my home, not some one else's.

It really is a long-haul. Maybe keep thinking back to your reasons for looking to buy in the first place?

Report
Becaroooo · 16/01/2012 17:21

I think part of the issue is, like one of the posters above, we gutted our old house and it was just as we wanted it (albeit in the wrong location!!) by the time we moved.

Maybe thats it...going from a house thats "done" and all the issues sorted to one thats "not done" and lots of issues left? That being said, I am v v disappointed in the issues we have had here...this house was only built in 1985 and our old house was built in 1955 and yet we didnt have as many problems there!!!

Am planning the wallpaper for the front room - got the paint for the conservatory already!

smalltown One of my main concerns is the money we are shelling out for these tradespeople - who we have dealt with before - and yet things arent getting fixed/any better. Dh doesnt understand why I am so upset that we are still paying out money for stuff that should have been fixed 3 weeks ago!

Blooo yy to the smell!!! It doesnt smell "right" yet IYSWIM??

Fizzy have you taken your room dimensions to ikea/magnet/wherever and let them rearrange the room for you? Moving rads and even windows is much easier than an extention, believe me! Smile

OP posts:
Report
imogengladheart · 16/01/2012 17:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

guinealady · 16/01/2012 17:32

I remember waking up on the first morning after I'd moved into my house, looked out of the window and saw the garden all full of sunshine, and thought 'Yes, this is definitely my home now'....it was a lovely feeling.

However, if you'd asked me a few hours later when I discovered the gas had gone off, the garden was full of dog poo, the oven was broken and there were carpet moths crawling out of every crack and cranny, I might have had a different answer!

It was definitely a few months before I really felt settled in there - once the moth infestation (and, as it turned out, ant infestation) had been dealt with and the living room at least was looking respectable, I really began to feel it was mine. Would definitely focus (once the boiler/leaks etc are sorted) on getting at least one room looking nice and 'finished' and then whenever you go in there you'll get a bit of a 'lift' every time you look at it. That's what I had when my living room was sorted, I could kind of ignore the grotty kitchen and bathroom until I had the money to deal with them.

Report
Becaroooo · 16/01/2012 17:36


Hi imogen

Is putting your house back on the market possible for you now?? Its awful living somewhere you are not happy - I did it for 12 years - and nothing we did to the house helped in the long run - although it did make it a lot nicer to live in!!!

Been hyperventiliating a bit the past few days as I have been worrying that loads of great properties will have gone on rightmove after xmas...but they havent - yet! Smile Nothing there we havent already viewed/too expensive or not suitable...sigh.

My sis has told me that we "got a lot of house for our money" here and in a way she is right - 4 bed detached with conservatory, converted garage and back garden and off road parking for 3 cars - but I am still sitting here thinking "what if......you know?

Sigh....need to get a grip really.....
OP posts:
Report
flatbread · 16/01/2012 20:13

We spent a lot on our house five years back. Seriously overpaid. And the renovation is so expensive as DH wants things done to his standard and doesn't want to compromise. It is slowly turning into a lovely home...although I think that if we had bought a small, cheap place we could enjoy holidays and be more carefree.

But I guess it is the grass being greener on the other side thingy. When we rented, we hated the fact that we had to take permission to have pets etc. I think the rental laws need to change and become more tenant friendly.

Report
Becaroooo · 16/01/2012 20:20

I agree...as it stands LL can just up the rent whenever they feel like it with not much notice! If the interest rates creep up a lot of tennants will be getting nasty shocks, sadly. Although for a decent sized house round here renting is no cheaper than a mortgage!

OP posts:
Report
MiddleOfTheStreet · 16/01/2012 20:28

oh becarooooo... winter anywhere is cold, grey and frosty. just wait until spring. flowers will poke up. everything will be green again.. (not just the grass every where else) Smile

Report
MiddleOfTheStreet · 16/01/2012 20:29

we, meanwhile are still on the "middle of the street". our sale has fallen through over the weekend Sad, now keeping fingers crossed we will find a new buyer before we lose our dreamhouse...

Report
Becaroooo · 16/01/2012 20:34

oh thats too bad mots Fingers crossed for you x

OP posts:
Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Dorothyredboots · 18/01/2012 10:04

We moved into our new house last Thursday and are having some problems - basically the underfloor heating isn't working. DH is an architect and assured me it would be cosy, even he is a bit fed up about it and even more fed up that the lack of heating is not dampening my enthusiasm for my new forever home. We have a mountain of things to do - everything is loose, wobbly etc etc. I loved the house when we viewed and I love it now but I rather envy the chap who bought our house as I know he will be cosy...Mind you we bought that from new and spent the next 12 months with a stream of workmen at the house sorting out 'snagging' - felt like more than snags to me. And we didn't exactly tell him about the mice we sometimes found in the kitchen either, so everyone who moves gets a surprise or two I reckon!
Keep calm and carry on. I baked something to cheer myself up the other day - after spending a few hours cleaning the oven Grin. All part of life's rich tapestry.

Report
Becaroooo · 18/01/2012 10:07

Sad Sad Sad Sad

Boiler now doesnt work at all so have no heat or hot water.

New boiler inc fitting and inc work done and parts on other boiler - £2k

We have no money left Sad

I hate this house Sad and I hate the bastard vendors who sold it to us knowing the problems and knowing we had 2 young dc Angry

OP posts:
Report
ragged · 18/01/2012 10:13

So sorry to read all this :(.
Could you rejig the mortgage, perhaps borrow more on it just to get the boiler sorted?
£2k sounds very high for a new boiler, though am no expert.
Home-owning is expensive, I wish that was more widely known.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.