To just sell the house

[wanderlove]

We have just bought a 3 bed cottage. I think I hate it. As we’ve moved in it’s become apparent that it’s in a much worse state than we thought. We knew it was a doer upper but the stairs need replacing and there’s obviously been flooding and all the wooden floors are warped. I just feel a terrible knot in my tummy in the house and that it has a bad energy. It doesn’t feel like a happy home. I hate that the bedrooms are on separate floors so that we are separated from the kids. It has a lovely big garden and I feel better in there but otherwise I just feel like we have made a massive mistake. Should we continue our plans to do up or would AIBU to just sell on as is?

@wanderlove

We do have the funds for the extension and a builder booked in for the summer. We plan on doing the other stuff but by bit as we save up. We’ve got carpet ordered for the first bedroom and also bought the paint etc so I think it may feel better when we have at least one room that feels nice.

Definitely do one room perfectly, going all out – not blowing the budget but not skimping or choosing the cheapest everything “because it’s just to sell”: do that room as if it’s your forever home. And see how you feel then.

It’s awful when there’s not one room to escape the renovation and you don’t feel “home”, but the first one gives you the glimpse of what the house could be like one day, and a respite from the horrors elsewhere, and acts as a bit of a carrot when you’re thinking “I hate DIY/calling builders/researching” because it shows you how worth it the effort is.

Our house was fucking horrible when we moved in, and it’s lovely now. We’re moving for other reasons and had the estate agent who sold us this one round to value it and he didn’t recognise it as the same house!

I live in a cottage. It has beautiful oak floors, exposed beams, a lovely fireplace with a multi fuel burner, patio doors, etc.. BUT when I bought it it was damp, mouldy, had dirt floors, omg the bathroom was hideous, the fireplace was blocked.. it was dreadful. It took time, it cost money but I picked everything myself down to door knobs and finger plates with gorgeous flowers on. A do-er upper is hard but it is worth it!

You'd have trouble selling within 6 months to anyone other than a cash buyer, as most banks won't issue a mortgage to a property changing hands so quickly.

I'd contact the surveyors and ask for their comments re the stairs (although what makes you think they need to be replaced - has another surveyor advised this?).

I'd give it a bit of time to settle in and plan the works that definitely need to be done. Spend as much time in the garden as you can and appreciate that while you adjust!

We are in a similar position , moved around 5 months ago to a 3 bed detached bungalow . I loved it when we viewed it and had an offer accepted straight away , so all was good . A couple of weeks after moving in I started to really dislike the place for no real reason and it's carried on . The whole place needs decorating , new carpets etc but nothing major . I have zero enthusiasm to do anything to the place , it just doesn't feel like home to me at all , that feeling is getting worse by the week really .

It's in a really nice village and a very friendly road but I get a feeling it's just not where I want to live

@PiscesScot

You'd have trouble selling within 6 months to anyone other than a cash buyer, as most banks won't issue a mortgage to a property changing hands so quickly.

I'd contact the surveyors and ask for their comments re the stairs (although what makes you think they need to be replaced - has another surveyor advised this?).

I'd give it a bit of time to settle in and plan the works that definitely need to be done. Spend as much time in the garden as you can and appreciate that while you adjust!

Nonsense! I've worked in retail banking and specifically within mortgages for over 20 years. Extra checks are done if the home has been owned for less than 6 months but that's it. Never had an issue with a mortgage offer or the legal work.

Flooding? Is it on a flood plain? How did the survey not pick up warped floors?

@HereComesTheSum

It may not be your experience, but that doesn't make it nonsense.

From: www.halifax-intermediaries.co.uk/print/criteria/mortgage/default.aspx?isfad=0

Sub sales and back-to-back transactions
Sub-sales and back-to-back transactions are not acceptable.
A sub-sale occurs when a property is bought and then sold on within six months, i.e. the borrower is buying the property from someone who has themselves bought the property less than six months before. The date of registration at the Land Registry is how we determine the length of ownership.
This means that the current vendor must have owned the property for at least six months before we can accept an application to purchase that property.
A back-to-back transaction is a type of sub-sale where the intervening seller buys from the original seller and sells on to the borrower on the same day or within a few days. We also regard as sub-sales, cases where the seller acquires the freehold (or superior leasehold) title to the property, which they then immediately sell on to the borrower by the grant to them of a lease (or sub-lease).
The following cases are exceptions where it is acceptable for the property to be sold on within six months of acquisition by the seller.
Where sales are by:
• A personal representative of the registered proprietor; or
• An institutional mortgagee exercising its power of sale; or
• A receiver, trustee-in-bankruptcy or liquidator; or
• A developer or builder selling a property acquired under a part-exchange scheme.
• A registered Housing Provider (Housing Association) exercising a power of sale.
We will also accept inherited properties where the applicant is a beneficiary but has not owned the property for 6 months. Applications where the applicant is not a beneficiary of the inherited property and the beneficiary has owned the property for less than 6 months are not acceptable and must be declined. The conveyancer will be responsible for ensuring the application meets the acceptable criteria.