to feel gutted that I've lost half a million pounds

[pollyisntere]

I sold my normal house in a scruffy part of London 10 years ago to move to Wales. I made a bit but not that much. I've just seen that it sold 5 months ago for half a million more than I got for it. I feel like such an idiot, that would have been half a million tax free. Gutted:(

worse off

Yeah but on the bright side you've avoided living in the toilet of the UK for 10 years.

I can understand though.

I'd rather not have the half million than have to live like a hamster on a wheel in London for even a week.
Count yourself lucky OP, Wales is so lovely and laid back after London, surely.

we bought at the previous peak in SE London, sold in the 2008 dip. Made enough to cover our moving costs and bog all else. Would have made bazillions more if we'd sold today (basically would have doubled our money).

however, selling today we wouldn't have been able to move our jobs out of London, as they all dried up after 2008, so it's all theoretical.

Well if we could all predict the future the world would be a very different place. I'd move on, there is nothing to gain from 'what ifs'.

Consider the people who are forced to sell their houses at a loss, at least you made something. And you moved to Wales which is much better than a 'scruffy part of London'. Rentals can cost a bloody fortune to maintain and mortgage in the first place, never mind the damage that can be caused by tenants who don't look after the property. It could have cost you half a million in the last 10 years.

Well. Frankly, I think it's not unreasonable to have a moan about what could have been. My in laws held on to their ordinary home in London: it's now worth £3 million. They did nothing but live in it, it hasn't even been updated since the 80s. There are a lot of people who lost out of incredible house price increases by selling in London and buying elsewhere relatively stagnant. Ok, so you didn't actually lose any money, but you could have sold a bog standard london house and moved mortgage free into a great house in Wales by now. I don't think you are being unreasonable to think "what if?", you're allowed a little moan surely?

Easy gamer
Born and bred Londoner here

I can think of many worse places to be honest.

I'm still laughing at fight-or-flights brad Pitt disclosure!!

It's threads like this that make me want to never sell up in London. Even though one day we want to move to the countryside, we will rather rent out our London home and rent somewhere in the country rather than stepping out of the London property market.
The problem with selling up and moving out is that it's usually a one way journey - once off the London property ladder there is usually no way back.

regret is destructive. Wales sounds fab.

Yeah. Like Wales.

Yeah but on the bright side you've avoided living in the toilet of the UK for 10 years

What an ignorant statement

Didn't you know that house prices go up?

You havn't lost it you nana, you never had it.

We had a house in west London.
Dh bought it 25 years ago just when it was coming out of Rachman territory. We sold it 10 years ago, making a good profit on it but nothing indecent.
Looking at Zoopla this evening, the house three doors away is now on for £5.3 million.
Utterly bonkers.
We left the area because it had changed beyond belief.
I couldn't have brought my kids up there; we are now just outside London in a lovely village with fantastic, normal friends.
Do I regret the fact we could have made a shedload by staying? Sometimes perhaps but I would have hated being there, we probably would have divorced and my dcs would be nowhere near as happy as they are now.

I mildly regret that I have never been able to afford to buy (or live) in London and therefore have never made vast amounts of money on property rises. Those who can afford london in the first place are laughing if they ever move out, I know people who have done this and been mortgage free by 40.

But fair play to them, there are loads of people worse off than me, I do own a house with a mortgage which is unlikely to every increase in value by much due to where I live, but it's my home, not an investment and if it sees me out my years I shall be very happy.

Wales is bloody lovely! What part did you move to?

Us too, and any other Londoner that sold their house 10+ years ago.

I had a million share in a company that I paid 3.5pence for that are now worth £35 each and I sold them to help my husbands business at 50pence each . It took me a VERY long time to get over it.........but I did ...... Eventually

The people I bought from sold me a house for £90, up from £60. They made a 3rd. I sold it for £300 so I also made about a 3rd. I fully expect that it will increase in value for the current owners.

Sorry to hear that damn

I suppose if it's all you've ever known fair dos. I've visited all over the UK and London is the rudest place I've been to. Took me a week to stop coughing at the least afterwards.

That's the way the cookie crumbles, 50 years ago my parents sold a house for about £5000, 6 months later the whole area went for development, millions, even in those days! You can't do anything about it, don't let it get to you! X

Oops. 2 3rd. Zzzzz!

I think some posters are taking the OP a little too seriously. Lighten up guys the OP is allowed a moan.

Most of Wales is fab

I'm never selling my london house. My parents made millions in property (though not in the UK) by holding onto every scrap of land in various countries. I'll be learning that lesson.