Did you buy your house with your head or heart?

[FrostingfromaSpoon]

Hi,

We're currently considering moving house and have viewed a few houses to see if it's worth going on the market, so very much at the beginning of the process.

I've seen some very nice houses, in budget, nice area, little compromises, but for some reason they just haven't felt like home. Our current house very much does feel that way, but the area just doesn't. It's not a bad area, just dull. Saying that, as soon as I walked in the house it felt like home and we compromised on much more than we thought we would because of that feeling.

With all that in mind, I'm starting to wonder if for this move we should start listening more to our heads, given that we never really settled here because we didn't connect with the area - just the house.

Be interesting to hear your thoughts and personal experiences.

TIA

Definitely head - we had a list of none negotiables based on what we were unhappy with in the house we were in before. I did love it too though! We had a short list of about 3 and chose based on what best suited our needs/wants.

I go with my gut feeling. You walk in and get a good feeling or a bad feeling.

Head.

It was a practical move, in budget, full on box ticker although the garden isn't as large as DH would like, it is still large and very beautiful.

The location was one we knew and we can manage with one car - everywhere else would have meant two cars.

But we saw and loved several very impractical houses that needed renovation.
I'm glad we chose the sensible option.

Head. I needed a 2nd toilet and bigger 3rd bedroom.in the same area.
Never liked it. I've won't even list it as "home" in my phone contact list. My old house was too small but it had nice views over the houses and nearby road, this house doesn't and it feels very isolated in a crappy estate.

Head. It was the cheapest house in a nice street, needed a load of doing-up, and was all we could afford. Then a few years later, exH and I split up, by which time I was just about able to afford to buy him out. Still here living in the same house (which I still don't really like very much) 30+ years later.

Heart for me, but I would only love a house if it was a practical choice as well. I had admired my current house for many years, from outside, before we bought it. I knew before we viewed it that I would want it after viewing.

I like the look of character homes but I can't be fussed with a needy house.

I prefer having a home that doesn't demand constant fettling, in an area where everything I need is to hand, I don't need character.

So, it's head over heart for me.

Last house, Head. It was a big bungalow in a big plot. It needed cosmetic work but we were young and energetic. We were hoping to start a family and it was in the same large, and very popular, village as my parents who would have been delighted to help with childcare. I hated it. I’m not woo, but it had a really miserable atmosphere. We sold it nine years ago, and it’s been sold twice more since then- much more often than any other similar house in the village.
This house, most certainly Heart. It’s in the middle of nowhere, a major money pit and hell in winter, but I’ll have to be carried out of here in a box!

Head, but I have grown to love it. I feel like going with your heart often involves overlooking some massive drawback, or this could just be my view of love and relationships seeping in.

I bought once with the heart and never again. Loved the house and the area but it had all sort of issues that we ignored because we loved the house. I am going for a new build next even though I love the character of older homes!

Head. We looked at houses within our budget in the area we'd chosen and picked the most sensible one. On my own, I'd have made a different choice, but DH said the older, bigger house I liked needed a lot of money spent on updating and DD3 said it gave her the creeps. Twelve years later, the house and I are still not in love with one another but we have a relaxed and drama-free relationship.