I’m unhappy in my new house and regret buy it now.

[CountryGirl17]

I recently moved out of a rented house that I lived in for 6 years. It was a small house with lots of compromising features that made it difficult to live in sometimes, especially for entertaining but I was really happy there. When I moved to the area for work, it was that house which anchored me, it’s all know and I have great memories there of my life over the years. My neighbours were great too. I feel really sentimental about it. And, when I moved out it was in better condition than when I first moved in. My landlord was happy!

To get on the property ladder, I exchanged last month and after serving notice on the rental, I’ve now been in the new house for about three weeks. The only compromise was that it is in the next village from the town I left which I liked living in and has a small driveway.

Since moving in I must say I hate it. Firstly, I feel very unsettled and it doesn’t help that I’ve been in a new job too.

The new house is a quaint cottage but the unusual layout that I thought was attractive when I viewed it, is annoying me now and the bathroom is downstairs. The laminate floors are horrible and my TVs don’t fit anywhere. At the moment I’m eating off my lap like a student and not a professional adult, until the dining room is finished. It’s much colder than my last house, the street noice is loud and there are noises inside that I’m unfamiliar with too.

I’ve also discovered that I have rats living in my loft and had pest control have been out twice, which last night they pulled one dead rat out of the loft. There is another one they couldn’t find. It was disgusting. I feel despite my house being clean it feels feral to me now. I truly hate being in the house knowing these pests have been here. This pest issue is also costing me a lot of money.

I’m sat here now in my living room and feeling fed up. I’d love to be sat in my other living room in the old house where I feel safe, secure and to know that my lovely neighbours are there and without the rats.

Has anyone else been through this or can recommend ways to feel happier, as I’d really appreciate it. I hate this feeling of regretting such a big decision to buying this house. Everyone else who’s visited me loves it but me.
Thank you x

I feel this so hard - we bought our house just over 2 months ago, it needed a bit of work so we planned to move in at the end of April.

We got the keys and found a tiny crack so peeled back the paper there - the back of our house was falling off. When we took the wallpaper down in other areas we found the walls had literally separated. We’re the best part of £10k down (way more than our emergency budget), have a house thats more steel bars than brick, no kitchen or bathroom but piles of bricks and crap the builders kindly leave for me to trip over, and although we don’t have rats yet we will soon because…we have a boarded up hole instead of a back wall.

God knows when it’ll be livable. All the structural work has caused the plaster to come away so I’m currently stripping it off alone (the house has literally given my partner asthma) and regularly think WTAF have we done. It’s really rubbish because you imagine your first house being a skipping into the sunset moment but it comes with rats (or cracks) and other problems which mean it never will be. It must get better though because lots of people live in a house for 10+ years and I don’t think they’re all people who bought the perfect house! It just takes a while to make it your own and feel at home.

Could you get a cat? A rescue maybe, that might help the rat problem.

I moved house 7.5 years ago and still yearn for my old home. It was much smaller and we as a family were not living comfortably especially as the children grew but I miss my old kitchen and street, the area was friendly. I'm planning to move back there once my children have left home. I've tried to make the best of where I'm living now but it just doesn't feel like my home.

I hope things improve for you.

I was really excited to buy my first house, I could only afford a fixer upper so I knew the house needed work but when I stepped inside and saw the mess that the previous owners had left I burst into tears. It was filthy, smelly and had a list as long as your arm of work that needed doing.

I thought I'd made a huge mistake and I couldn't imagine it ever feeling like home. But I've been here a few years now and I love it.

I think it's quite normal to feel unsettled and a bit overwhelmed when you move house. Give it time :)

We moved 6 months ago and I cried for weeks as I missed my old house, hated this one (noisy road, horrible
bathrooms, cold, leaks, horrid flooring, just loads more needing doing than I realised).

Theres still so much I don’t like but every little change (painting a wall, new carpet) makes me feel happier here. Also I have to admit the move made practical sense as we needed the room.

If you focus on the positives on the house and plan some decorating projects, I think you will start to feel more at home.

Thank you, sometimes it's easy to get caught up in it all.
It is looking on the bright side though, you have bought your house! Brilliant and well done, you can change anything you want and decorate however you want and all the other things you can't do when renting ! Big positives.
I'm in a relatively safe house, not in a premier inn/travelodge 2 hours from school and work which was the worst case news from the local council.
It's also beautiful today and that makes everything so much better!

Aww, you poor thing! It's totally natural to compare something new unfavourably (especially when things are going wrong!) to something safe and familiar.
But the feelings you're having now will pass, and the current house will become your new normal.
Have to say though, if your predecessors knowingly left you with rats, that's unbelievably shit of them.
Hope you start to feel more settled soon

Lots of older houses have rodent problems so you are not alone. You have found them quickly and the pest controllers will sort it out 👍🏼

Think of the great positives - no more rent, no landlords deciding to raise the rent or sell so you have to move, an asset that will hopefully appreciate and a mortgage that goes down a little bit each month ! Well done you 👏

Be gentle on yourself. It takes time to adapt. The spring is here and soon be summer. Licks of paint and your stamp will come soon - enjoy 💐

I always think it takes longer than you expect to find the flow of your house.
it’s annoying at first as it doesn’t flow like your last one, and you have to find a home for everything.
but you will get there.

congratulations on your purchase

Hi there I completely am in the same boat!
moved because I wanted a bigger space and chose quickly because of market pressure
i can’t stand the house, it takes me 2 hours to get to work my son doesn’t like it either and I also hear noises I don’t like
but my husband loves it and doesn’t want to move back to our lovely area
hang in there you are not alone. You can give it time then go back life is too short

Aww I feel bad for you . I also loved 5 months ago and can’t stand the new location or house. It’s hard as I have to pass my lovely little home twice a day to get to the new one and I cry each time.
my commute is now 2 hours to work. I spend most of the week at my moms because my son still goes to school near her area which is a closer commute to work. My husband doesn’t want to hear about moving back. I’m so gutted over it. Hang in there you are not alone

Nothing feels right when you first move somewhere new - you can't expect it too.

As you get it sorted i.e decorated, pests sorted out etc it will feel like yours.

Could the TV be hung on the wall? Is there room upstairs to make an ensuite?

Honestly, my house didn't feel like my home until I had lived in it for about five years......luckily I didn't hate it, but it definitely didn't feel like mine for a long time!
I think I am just a weird person, it takes a while for me to settle somewhere but once I do I can't imagine leaving.
Just give it time, if you have the funds take your time decorating to your taste (ie, don't just decorate in a rush in an effort to make it yours. Make sure you genuinely love everything you put into the house whether it be wallpaper, paint or even the tea towels. The smallest things can make the biggest difference)
The rat issue is unfortunate, but really not that big of a drama. I would be having a conversation with your mother about her refusal to stay.....I'm assuming she is happy to stay in hotels? She'll have been far closer to rats than she knows so no need to be silly about it and put a downer on your house!
Give it time, I'm sure you will settle soon.

New-home regret is very very common; it wears off .

Maybe it's because it's still a house but not yet a home.

If the rats were gone and everything you need was done and it functioned how you wanted it too, would you be happy? Can you write the list and estimate the timeline to see how long it will take to get there.

If it really if longterm awful, see if you can sell without a loss, possibly not.

Becoming a homeowner does not always make you happier in the short term but it was probably the right thing to do in the long run. You were unlucky with the rats, it's a common problem but really disconcerting when you have only just moved in. All the problems are potentially fixable with time and money, except perhaps the street noise and you may find you adapt to it.

Give it time ! Every single time I moved it took me over 2 months to actually feel enough at home to sit in my living room and watch a movie and enjoy a settled in feeling . All those hiccups are I’ll be worth i

I think that's a fairly common feeling.

You'll get used to the noise.
Laminate you can change in time
Get or borrow a cat to scare off the rats.

It will feel better when summer is properly here too

Ugh the rats, you have my sympathy Op. My last house I had been in a few months and I had a rat, he used to come in from the basement and run up the pipe work to my kitchen and upstairs to my bathroom and I could hear him scurrying around at night. It was horrible but I got the problem sorted and blocked up the access points with wire wool, they hate it, and never had rats again in over 15 years there. So, don't despair the rats can be sorted and their entrance blocked. What you are feeling is very common and completely normal, just give it time and if in a year's time you still don't like it then you have the option to sell and move on.

I've been where I am now for 18 months or so , redecorated every room bar the kitchen and got new flooring fitted .

Still hate the place , nothing wrong with it at all though . I just don't like it , been looking to move since I first opened the front door after picking up the keys !

I feel you OP. I hated my current house for about a year! Until I had decorated, bought furniture to fit the space and got to know the local area. I missed my old house for ages even though it was much smaller and wasn't fit for purpose anymore.

I love my 'new' house now and never plan on leaving!

Sometimes it just takes time and a bit of decorating for it truly to feel like yours.

I experienced this a few weeks into moving into my new home. I loved my house up until I realised a mouse paid a visit when I wasn't home.

Now they're gone and there's no more signs of it. I feel safe, happy and love my home.

Can you buy a cheap table? Our first house was a teeny 2 up 2 down with a downstairs bathroom in an extension. I hated it as the neighbours were awful and nosy so I had to sit in the dark with curtains closed and doors locked all the time. We decorated it lovely but upgraded after 2 years.
Ikea have basic dining tables for £40 and can buy a couple of their cheap chairs too, they actually look really nice
we upgraded to a lovely house which I love, but guess who moved in first summer. Mice!
it’s a lot of upheaval at once so just take your time. Houseplants, cushions, rugs and candles work wonders. Get yourself to ikea!

That is so weird. I had a dream last night that we moved house and then found rats in it.
I think you need to spend time making a house into a home. You should be able to deal with rat issue eventually, it might just take time.
Think of all the things you want to change and gradually do that. Can you sleep in a room that is quiet at the back?
Just to reassure you, we are professional adults with 2 teenagers and we eat a lot of our meals on the sofa with bean bag lap trays as we find it more relaxing than sitting in our kitchen diner. I guess we are quite informal. And our living room is nicer and warmer than the kitchen diner.

We lived in a rental before buying this house and I preferred the rental. I preferred the layout, the neighbourhood, the neighbours, the size... everything except the garden really which is way better in our current house.

Like you everyone else absolutely loves our house and I feel really bad about not loving it. We've been here about 5 years now and if I could click my fingers and move back to our old rental, I still would. (We had to leave because the landlord was coming back from overseas and wanted to move back in, fair enough!) But I am happy here and it has some absolutely brilliant features so I just try to focus on those when I'm feeling a bit wistful about the old place.

We had rats last year and I didn’t want to be anywhere near my house which I really love. I think it’s the rats. Hopefully you’ll be sorted soon. Once we had a competent company out, our problem was sorted in a few days. Good luck, OP.