Did we pay too much?

[DidWePayTooMuch]

NC to post this but mumsnet can confirm I’m a long time member.

please be kind I’m feeling very vulnerable and mentally stressed right now, there is no way I’m doing this for a “stealth boost” as I imagine some posters will say as I’ve seen in similar threads.

so my issue is I feel we paid too much for the house we own right now. We bought it end of 2022 just before the prices fell I believe. I can’t talk to DH about this as he also I think feels this way and all his savings etc. went into this house. He has never worried about money in his entire life but it feels since we got this house he stresses about everything. We have cancelled all our subscriptions and are very frugal with everything now. He was never this stressed in all the years I have known him. I feel stupid and annoyed I talked DH into buying this home and I feel all the neighbours are laughing at us. It’s a new build and a neighbour very bluntly told us he bought his house a year before us and paid £250, 000 LESS than what we paid, I do believe our home is slightly better than his but not by much but it is slightly bigger and has a bigger garden.

I have a sinking feeling that I can’t explain almost everyday I think how stupid we have been. Just for context there have been 3 houses out on sale after we bought and all 3 are still on the market and have reduced prices. I don’t know what I’m looking for in posting this but just wanted it off my chest as I cannot talk to my family or friends as they will just think I’m trying to show off etc. as some are really struggling right now.

I really think we paid £100,000 more than we should have.

Maybe you would pay less if you bought it today (same is probably true for most people who bought in 2022), but you would be fixing your mortgage at a much higher rate! assuming you have a mortgage of course. So things might be equally tight, or even worse, if you bought at a lower price with a higher interest rate.
Don't worry, it will become much less of an issue over the long term and sounds like you're in a desirable area which usually see prices pick back up before the rest of the market. Enjoy your home 😊

This is a great post!

We bought our house many years ago and we had some neighbours who delighted in telling us how much less they had paid for theirs a few years earlier but it was want we wanted in the area we wanted. We’ve been here 17 years now and it’s ‘worth’ double what we paid so it really doesn’t matter anymore. Try to relax and enjoy your home.

Hi, totally get where you are coming from. This happened to us, although I was the one talked into buying the house. I can't deny it has caused a lot of problems and anxiety over the years. However over 10 years on it is no longer an issue. Prices have increased and we now have more money anyway. Time is a great healer.

do you love your home? If so who cares what your neighbour paid for it, are you planning to sell it? If not don’t worry about the ones for sale, just try and enjoy your home! Lots of people who bought in 2022 might have got a better deal now, I regret not buying in 2022 when I’d have got a better interest rate 😂

With kindness you have to let it go. What you paid now can’t be compared with a previous or future market which is different. If you like the home and feel you could stay there forever then you paid the right amount. Please don’t let repetitive thought patterns about the house consume your enjoyment of it. Every time you notice yourself going down that thought pattern you have to give yourself a shake and say a positive affirmation about the house instead. Eventually you’ll retrain your brain to stop thinking negatively.

OP - seriously do not stress.

We bought our at-least-15-years home the same time you did. We paid 50k more than neighbours with exactly the same house paid 3 months later. BUT their mortgage rate is much higher than ours. This is a forever home for us and if we’d waited for the prices to drop the rates would have risen beyond where could have gotten a mortgage.

If you love the house/area = it doesn’t matter. It will balance out over a few years or so.

And your neighbour is a fucking dickhead. And probably exaggerating.

I felt the same when I bought my flat 5 years ago- next door got theirs for 10k less (it was a repossession)

Bow both flats are worth double- but mine more because I’ve looked after it.

looking back this was not something I needed to worry about.

I feel the same OP as I bought at the same time and the market was bonkers. My house sold in less than 24 hours and as quickly as I could book viewings they were being cancelled as houses were being snapped up at a silly rate. So, I over offered on my current home to secure it. Now, it would probably be valued at a few thousand less despite the money I've spent on doing it up. So, I'm sitting still and am relieved I am not a seller in todays market waiting months for a sale.

What is the source of all the stress? Are you struggling financially? I’m not too clear. Or is it just that you’re worried you’ve overpaid?

I'm going to say what others have said, just to reinforce it. Look at your lovely house that you are planning on living in for a long time. You are safe. It doesn't matter what others around you paid for theirs, that's the nature of property buying. So long as you can afford it and you were happy to pay the price you did, then be happy!

For what it's worth, we just bought a house a few months ago. Came and had a look at it, offered the asking price and was accepted. For sure we could have offered less, it was at the top end of what it was worth from the later valuation and family and friends were telling us to offer less. But you know what? The house was exactly what I was looking for and it was totally worth the price to me. I didn't want to risk haggling and someone else getting in there with a better offer. I am so very happy here and barring a change in circumstances, they will take me out of here in a box.

You need to let it go OP. You made the right decision at the time, when the property was selling like hot cakes. As long as you intend to stay a few years, you won’t lose. Prices always come up in the end.

I think it sounds fine. Life isn’t all about money and houses. We probably overpaid on ours a bit but we love it and are happy. I have had things happen over the last few years which has made me think that’s life isn’t all about worrying about things like this but is
more about appreciating what you do have. Not being critical at all btw just offering some different perspective xx

I think it's incredibly unlikely that your vendors would have accepted al £100K reduction. If you had offered that and you lost the house to someone offering £50K more, you would have been beating yourself up about that. Houses are worth what people will pay for them, and given how hot the market was when you bought it's highly likely that if anything you underpaid.

Did you not research the recent sale prices of the neighbouring properties? You would have seen neighbour paid quarter of a million less when he purchased in 2021?

Have you got a mortgage OP? A bank would have done a valuation and told you if they thought it was worth less. In 10 years time it will have gone up more than you paid for almost guaranteed. Sure there may be a bit of a dip in the next 1-5 years but the housing market constantly goes through peaks and troughs usually on an 18 year cycle. Try to make the most of it and think of the pluses, new build, nice area, affordable to you, and thank the stars you're not privately renting. 😬 xx

Your neighbour is a bit of an arse hole isn't he. I would have replied "Our house is way nicer than yours though".
Your home sounds lovely and far nicer than mine. Try to see it as you did the first time you fell in love with it. Get some seeds planted up and enjoy the garden.

It does when you need to renew your mortgage deal!

If you can afford it, I'd try to forget about OP and just enjoy your new home. Fill it with things you love 😊

I feel for you OP, but you have no option but to ride it out.

Spring is coming soon so start getting the garden ready for spending summer time out there. Make it a project to take your mind off things and come summer really make the most of weekends and evenings in your outdoor space.

You might think less about the negatives and more about the positives.

If you stay, you can also add an extension into the kitchen or a conservatory. The cost of it will will be less than the value added to the property.

Chin up OP!

Firstly your neighbours will be absolutely thrilled that you've raised the house prices in your street. You've done them am absolute favour.

Secondly, this is what happens when you at the peak. It doesn't mean you that shouldn't buy then. Did you also sell at the peak? You will have gained there too. If you are happy in your house and have no plans to sell in the next 5 yrs then it really doesn't matter. Try to get the best mortgage you can, make overpayments and build your equity.

FWIW, we bought our previous house in late 2006 at the peak, paid way more than the other identical properties. This house price did drop after the hpc by quite a bit but we were happy there so weren't seriously looking at moving. Jump to 2021, when we did sell it the buyers paid 46% more than our original price. We bought this house in 2022, paid £50k than any other sold price on this street before or after then. We brought our equity gained on the last house, it's a really solid house with lots of pluses and we plan to be here for 15yrs so it doesn't matter.

Similar happened to me back in the 2000s. House prices rocketed, we couldn't afford to buy until we saw a dilapidated house. We paid so.much money for it. We got it and literally within 6 months.all house prices fell! We could have gotten a nicer house, in a better area for the same money! We.sold it 5 years later for the same money we paid and spent renovating it! House prices always go up eventually, don't worry about it. Even if you got back what you paid. I worked out that it was still cheaper than renting, so it was a small win for me and a stepping stone to a better property.

We bought our house in 1999, three years later a young couple bought the house next door for double what we paid. It was house prices generally but the area had really improved as well. They lived there for 15 years.

Houses are homes and people often forget that. There will always be winners and losers when property is purchased. But it’s a home you like so don’t worry.

Well prices have dropped since 2022 so there’s little point comparing to what you paid as the market has changed, and it changes rapidly. Stop looking at what others are paying and enjoy your house.

Such wise words! You articulated it very well.

Prices fluctuate all the time. You might have got it for less a year later or a year earlier. In the future at some point, you’d pay more for it than you did when you bought.
You paid what you paid. At the time, you thought the price was okay and committed to it. Move on. No-one is laughing at you. Don’t discuss house prices with your neighbours or what they or you paid. It’s in the past.

Either you can afford to live in this house and have the income to cover it and other costs if living or you can’t. If times are too tight now, then consider moving to something cheaper. Or accept there are some tight times ahead but things will later ease. It’s like this for most people when they move.

The issue isn’t so much the price you paid, as whether it’s affordable for you and if you’ve over-stretched yourself. You could have done that in any type of house. Think about if you can manage or not.