To not be excited about buying my first home

[Beafortea]

I'm a first time buyer and have been saving for 15 years for a house deposit. I've viewed about 12 places over the past couple of months. And I'm so disappointed and disheartened by what I can afford. I'm considering an offer on the best flat of the bad bunch I've seen so far, but I'm not remotely excited about buying it or moving in. It needs so much work and is in a slightly rough area with nothing much going on. Other than having two bedrooms I've compromised on everything else I would have liked (no parking, no bike storage, no balcony or communal garden/outdoor space). The bathroom will need gutting immediately, it's vile. The kitchen will need doing as soon as I can afford it. Oh and the communal/entrance stairwell smells of urine.

Isn't moving into your first home meant to be exciting and happy?

I wouldn't go ahead, unless it was an up and coming area and new management was about to take over.

Why would you do it , has someone got a gun to your head? It would be madness. It smells of piss for goodness sake and sounds like it had nothing going for it.

Would it be possible to investigate a buy to let elsewhere and carry on renting in the area where you need to live?

I wouldnt buy it, honestly it sounds like you hate everything about it and whilst you can redecorate it the area will always be rough with nothing going on.

Keep looking, you will eventually find something you like

Are you really definitely restricted to your current area? Perhaps you can find something to be excited about elsewhere?

If I was you would hold off for now or look elsewhere

There must be a better option out there than a communal hallway that reeks of piss

Here's a Q - if the agent told you that the vendor had accepted another offer, would you feel any disappointment?

If the answer is no, this isn't the place for you!

I can barely afford to buy - house prices are going up so much that I'm afraid I won't be able to afford to buy at all at this rate.

I'm also keen to buy because my current rent and bills have become ludicrous. Looked at finding somewhere cheaper but other places are even more expensive. A mortgage and bills would be much more manageable.

i would not buy a place I hated

are you buying alone, or with a DP? Kids? Are 2 bedrooms needed?

I went through this. When I moved in and he'd gone, I looked around at the windows, the dodgy electrics, the wall mounted heaters that didn't work, the damp climbing the walls and thought - what have I done!!!???

However I learnt SO much. I got the windows done, cleaned and painted it all, sorted the damp, got the loft boarded and lit. Over the years it became the sweetest flat. People's eyes bed to light up. It started off a pig but I made it what it was and was happy there, and sold for a profit plus all the mortgage payments, and now can do better.

My advice is, if it's all you can afford, crack on. Let the years of mortgage payments build up in your back pocket, and work to make it better and pretty and homely. It's not ideal, but that's life.

Don't buy a property that you don't like and are not excited about. Be patient and keep looking.

You have done an amazing thing saving for 15 years for a deposit don't rush now.

Are there any decent shared ownership opportunities which might provide a nicer home?

A hallway smelling of urine would be too much for me.

My first flat was a scruffy maisonette in a middling part of north London. But the fun was taking somewhere grotty and turning it, with the help of a Crown colour chart, into somewhere a bit inspired.

Don't mind the work, you'll be paid back for it when you sell.

I wasn't excited about buying my first place it was literally just a rung on a ladder.

Fast forward to now I have changed everything and it's massively increased in value.

You have to start from somewhere. Without changing something really drastic (like career or location), get what you can afford now then upgrade when you find a partner, your property has increased in value or you have more savings l.

And sort out the urine smell yourself. Take control and make it all better. We had a communal hall and stairs. I painted it, bought mats and fake flowers for the top few steps.

@Winter2020
I'm very wary of shared ownership. Three people I know have done it over the years. They've all had horrible experiences, and have found it difficult to sell.

I understand why you want I start paying off your own mortgage rather than someone else’s.
However, I would caution you about buying an ex-Local Authority (council) flat. They do not appreciate in the way “private” properties do because there are just too many drawbacks. The type of neighbours you’ll have and a whacking great bill for cyclical major works, at least every 7 years. Councils also waste money willy nilly so you could find your service charge bill doubling.
My zone 2 London flat has depreciated in 6 years, whereas smaller flats nearby which aren’t ex-LA have gone up £80-£100k.
Think carefully!

If this is realistically all you can afford, and price growth keeps on outpacing your saving rate, go for it. Just see it as another step in the right direction to eventually get to the type of place you want and can be happy in and proud of.

Came on to say that the whole concept of a house being "the one" and the process of buying being joyous and exciting is a myth. Or it definitely died once house prices increased to the point of being unattainable without decades of saving. There are some people who see checking Rightmove daily as a nice hobby and love house shopping, they are not first time buyers in the current market and I could make a good guess they aren't in a low age or income brackets either!

Buying a house nowadays is potentially the most expensive mistake you'll ever make, and that comes with pressure and stress.

I'd recommend being level headed about the purchase and if the flat you've found is a sound investment that can provide the home that you need now, and you have the funds then it's sensible to get off the rental market.

That being said it sounds like there's a lot that needs improvement with the place you're considering, if you're not a 'doer' then you're potentially setting yourself up for years of misery. Can you expand the area you're looking in, or potentially relocate?

I wouldn’t do it. The fact the flat needs work is fine you can spend time and money slowly fixing it up, view it as a shell.

However the fact it doesn’t sound like you like the area and there is potentially dodgy neighbours due to the urine would defer me.

Keep looking OP. The market is picking up now in terms of supply so prices will start to stagnate/come down soon. Don't buy a place you have such bad feelings about, you'd only regret it. Plus, you get one shot at being a first-time buyer which is often an enviable position to be in as you're chain free and can get better mortgage deals. Don't waste that.

Can you even get a mortgage for this flat ? They are usually advertised as cash buyers only as nobody wants to lend on them.
Keep looking, you know what they say act in haste, repent at your leisure

I kind of understand. I saved for ten years, spent 18 months looking. We saw a lot of terrible houses, bid on them, lost out at least six times. We were very close to.giving up but eventually a nice enough place came up and we got it. There was one house where I couldn't stand up straight, one that was sinking with cracks you could fit your hand in and another that had a kitchen that wasn't technically in the house.

We had started looking 4 years ago but what was once a £230k house is now a £300k house so we are having to have a much higher mortgage with a higher interest rate too whilst looking at the £50k sale prices that the vendors had in the late 90s.

I wouldn’t be down about not being excited - it’s a first step on the ladder and you will be saving every month through your mortgage rather than paying someone else’s mortgage

that said - if you really dislike it and won’t be happy living there at all then it’s worth reconsidering or expanding your search

if you want give us your budget and your rough area and we can see what we can do!

Thanks @FreyaStorm I have tried to avoid ex council flats partly for this reason too.
An old housemate bought an ex council flat near Collier's Wood about 6 years ago, spent at least £30k doing it all up nice, but she's never really been happy there. She wants to move but it's now valued at £10k less than she paid for it. She's only had one offer - for £50k less than what she paid. Meanwhile all the newer build flats around her have practically doubled in value in this time.

I would be pretty wary based on what you have listed. No point buying if there is a risk it could be unsellable

What's your budget? Could you relocate somewhere cheaper?