Buyers remorse - house I want on same street! Can I sell?

[daisy2212]

Hello everyone.

I have a classic case of buyers remorse and I need help. Well, I say classic, but there's a twist. It's not just that I wonder if something better might have been out there - I know there is.

The house on the end of my road - bigger, better, nicer aspect, better scope to extend and add value - went on sale two weeks after I moved into mine.

I bought mine just before Brexit and all the houses in the local area have subsequently lost value.

As a result, the house at the end is in my price range, only £35k more than I paid for this one.

But mine has probably lost value. I am not sure I would get even what I paid for it.

I bought in June this year.

I paid around £20k stamp duty and around £3k in fees and other things.

I have spent £2000 already on damp repairs and carpets etc.

Yet I cannot stop thinking about the house on the end. I feel like I would be happy there, whereas with this one I am settling.

The other one is more like the sort of house I saw myself living in.

If I get to buy that one I will have to try to sell this one at the same time.

I will be in a chain. I will be throwing away £30k.

I might be able to scrape together another stamp duty but it would be seriously tight.

Is this madness and a total waste of money, or could it work out?

I know that one has more potential to make money. Whichever I stay in I plan to extend into the loft to add value.

With this one I am in I would add one bedroom and think about moving in a year.
With the other I would add 2 and stay longer, I think.

But would I effectively be eating into my own investment by buying again so quickly?


Would it set me back in the long run?

Is it better to just add the lift to this place then look for a similar one to the end house in a year? Will I be able to afford it?

Please help me! I can't think of anything else - I am obsessed.

Thanks so much.

[SweetGrapes]

No advice - but my sympathies! It's horrible when you keep thinking things like this.
Probably best to give it time...

[Floggingmolly]

You say the other house is now in your price range. But yours will have devalued also...

[daisy2212]

Yes - it has I think. I believe I will get slightly less than I paid for it, but it was at the lower end of my price range. So effectively with my salary I could afford the other one, but I will have to pay out legal fees, searches, solicitor and stamp duty all over again.

is it madness to even think of selling so soon?

[Floggingmolly]

Probably... But if your heart is set on it? Life is too short not to grasp the nettle. Hope you get full price for yours

[lalalonglegs]

It is madness but if you can afford to absorb the loss, why not at least see if you can get your hands on the other house. If it doesn't work out, at least you tried .

[phoria]

if you can afford it, i'd go for it. sounds like it's a house you could stay in for a long time so it'll only go back up in value.

[KickAssAngel]

If you intended to stay there I would say go for it, because 30K over a lifetime isn't that much. But you say you'd extend, add value and then move in a few years anyway.

Think of it this way: If you plan to work on your current house now, add value & move on, just get on and do that asap. Make the house as good as you can, then sell it quickly to get your profit. Next time round, look for a house just like the one on the end of your road.

See you current house as a stepping stone towards what you really want. Spending 30K to do a tiny step up when you've just moved is mad. Even if you somehow added 50K to the value of your current house (really unlikely) it would still be a massive dent in the profit.

If you want it for a home to live in - go with your heart. If you want it as an investment, make a rational decision.

[BikeGeek]

The only thing I'd caution, is that people may be suspect about you selling again so soon after buying and offer accordingly.

[Muddle2000]

If you are saying Brexit influenced prices do you think there may be more
price reductions coming?
If you did buy the other one and it fell in value would you be miffed?
Or would you think never mind this is my forever home?

[CotswoldStrife]

If you have a mortgage for your current property, it is unlikely that you could get another one within 6 months - however, as it normally takes around 3 months to sell a property you might just manage it!

If you are looking at it from a financial investment point of view, I can't imagine that paying two lots of fees would make the second house purchase profitable - sorry. Why where you only planning to stay in your current one a year?

[albertcampionscat]

There's always going to be a better house.

[Stevefromstevenage]

You sound like this is more an investment house than a house for life so I would say no, don't do it. Get the most value out of your current house and then prioritise the positives about the house on the end of the street in your next home because they are obviously very important to you. It would be a waste to invest all that additional money in the short term on a very short term home.

[Gizlotsmum]

Maybe the first step is to get an evaluation of what your property is worth, then you know where you are starting from...

[daisy2212]

You're right, getting a valuation is the first step... It would be such a feat to sell mine and get that smoothly!

[daisy2212]

I went to see the one on the end and it's bigger and has much more scope. Rooms double size and doesn't need anywhere near as much work

[OrangeFluff]

If it's a forever/long term home, then do it!

If it's a short term/investment house then it seems like a lot of money to throw away. Don't let your heart rule your head.

[RandomMess]

Don't suppose you have the funds to turn the current one to a letting opportunity and live in the other one...?

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

did you always plan to stay in house 1 for a very short time, or is that part of your buyer's remorse?

Would house 2 be a house you genuinely planned to stay long term (not just say 2-3 years rather 1 year).

Unless house 2 genuinely has potential to be a 'forever home', I think you'd be barmy to move.