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:(

Do you have children? Were they conceived since you left London? If so, then if you'd kept that house then they almost certainly wouldn't exist. Millions of sperm and all that.

One of the things I really like about having children is that I no longer regret anything that happened in my life before September 2012. (When ds was conceived.) It was all meant to be so that we can have dd and ds.

Was it in Peckam?
Clapton?
Walthamstow?

You know i was always renting in the cheap areas and many times i came close to buy the flat i was renting and i didnt. They were costing peanuts then because nobody liked those areas. Some friends who bought (with 2% deposit) now sell them for a million.
When i look at zoopla i want to bang my head on the wall.
I remember saying i live in Hackney and people were going 'Oh my God, Hackney??'.
Who would have thought eh?

Dont worry many people spy on their old houses on Zoopla OP and feel the same.

Where was it? Please, i am curious.

I bet it's Clapham! Or Brixton.

Houses are for living in, not business. Many years ago I sold a house for 68,000 pounds, the very next year it was worth twice that and ended up worth 350,000 pounds, before starting to fall in value. I think we are just lucky to not be in negative equity like the person who bought my house for 350,000 pounds.

I am so glad we kept hold of our house in London. Surely you knew that house prices would keep rising in London? It is a desirable place to live. You take the chance of major losses when you move out to the sticks where fewer people would actually choose to live.

You've got a house though right? To live in?

OP, you haven't missed out on £500k, you've forgotten to take inflation into account.

If you sold your previous house for, e.g. £1m ten years ago, then in today's prices that would be almost £1.4m. So on that calculation you'd have missed out on just over £100k, which given that you've had ten years of no hassle with tenants seems like a bargain to me!

I was joking a bit, but still it is very annoying. Can't believe prices in my ex shit area (leytonstone) as so expensive now.

Flight re Brad Pitt - funny was the wrong word: dead jealous, intrigued, impressed, nosy Parker - spill the beans, you bitch!!

I know it's gutting BUT on the positive side you have a home and a lovely environment. There are plenty staving or homeless or people living in awful situations across the globe.

Wasn't it fightorflight who said on the Kym Marsh thread that she once saw a man ejaculate into his own mouth?

Oh my god, it wasn't Brad Pitt was it?! What other stories have you got fight?! And are you Sinitta? no, seriously

It is as it is. No point thinking too much about it, you'll drive yourself mad.

13 years ago when we were looking to buy a house, we viewed a brand new development. The houses were v v cheap, and the developer was offering a further discount, loads of free stuff etc. We were tempted but ultimately didn't pursue it as we didn't like the area.

Within a year the houses were being sold for almost twice the price. We could have made £100k in a year. Gutting. BUT we wouldn't have got the house we did buy, would have paid moving costs twice etc. Those houses haven't really increased in value since that big jump interestingly, so long term we'd have been worse off.

My dad grew up in a 4 storey house in Islington. He later rented several (at the same time) similar houses and sublet rooms as bedsits. He could have afforded to buy the houses outright but didn't see the point (!)...each house would be worth millions now. But c'est la vie!

Perhaps you can take comfort in the fact that you weren't in a position to make a more serious contribution to the insane house price inflation that's fucking up this country.

You don't miss what you never had!

I personally wish house prices would have only risen in line with wage growth since the 90's as children are now finding it so difficult to buy.

Tax man ends up taking 40% of a lot of it anyway if you have a house worth millions and if not that a care home!

You only need income in life. As long as you have that each month and it covers your outgoings, then there is nothing to worry about.

But you didn't have it to lose in the first place!

Once my dad bought two lines on the lottery, the first 3 numbers on the first line and the last 3 numbers on the last line matched the winning numbers.... He didn't lose 5 million, he just could have won if he'd decided to chose those numbers on one line.... You didn't lose half a million, just you'd have been half a mil up if you'd have stayed in London!

We sold our London flat 15 years ago, so I imagine we've also missed out on about half a million. We'd probably have made a huge amount of income if we'd stayed too (DH was on a ridiculous deal).

TBH it's never occurred to me to wish I'd stayed. I hated living there and was just glad to leave. I'm not sure what value you'd put on quality of life, but I wouldn't have stayed there for that amount of money.

You can't lose what you didn't have, you daft haporth.

That is the same as me saying (true story) I nearly nearly nearly bought a flat for 35k which has now sold for 350k and waaah waaah I've lost all that money. But I didn't buy it! You chose not to keep it, you had the appropriate value at the time!

And ten years ago... really? You need to start looking forward not back or you will cause yourself so much unhappiness. And count your blessings. You sound like a right ingrate, particulary with the housing situation being so dire for so many people at the moment. "I had a secure roof over my head and sold it and got another one....but now I feel regretful, ten years later".

I'm actually more annoyed now than when I started this post!

Yes the op's post mildly irked me too and her inability to see that she can't loose what she never had.

your post makes no sense. you haven't lost anything.

it's like me saying I've lost £3million because I didn't buy a house in Notting Hill 25 years ago when they were going for £100k

I feel your pain. I know it is irrational.

12 years ago I had 68k, that I could have spent on a 2 bed rental flat in SW London, on a buy to let basis. The flat I had in mind was "just" £110k, so my mortgage would be miniscule. Today 2 bed flats in the area are between 500k and over a million for the high end ones.

Try not to think about it.

Think about what you did instead, and the lifestyle you gained by moving. And how you did not have to deal with the crap that goes with being a landlord! And if you had not lived in the property for 3 years prior to selling, you would pay tax.

I hope the last 10 years of your life has been happy!

Or like me saying that I've lost mega millions because I didn't buy Google shares 15 years ago.

Yeah, that too!

Haven't read full thread but I can top that ! I had a million shares for a company that I helped set up and I sold them at 50p to help out my ex partner with no contract for repayment . They were at one point £72 but I think are now £32 . Took me a lot of therapy to get over that !!! You have to let it go or if will way you up

After 5 years, she’s probably let it go now.

@ihopeyousteponalegopiece

but imagine what it is worth now