To feel sick with worry over house purchase

[Tiamaria86]

First time buyers and we completed today. It doesn't feel like how I thought it would. I just feel sick with worry and on closer inspection the house needs so much work.

I just keep thinking something will go terribly wrong and we're stuck.

God no! New builds are a world of pain.

Great and quiet location is really good. You made a good decision.

I dug out the gin and tonic the day we moved in while the removal men were still there. I cried a bit too. Twenty years later we moved out downsized that was a worse wrench

It’s a normal feeling.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve moved house, it gets easier over time.
Moved into one house and I cried myself to sleep. For some reason I was convinced our bedroom was over next door’s living room. DH was so exhausted after our 200 mile self move that he just agreed with me it could be a mistake, we’d think about it in the morning. That house was the one I’ve ever lived longest in. ( and our bedroom was above our own living room, shows what stress and a long day do to your brain)

It’s normal, and most houses look worse when they’re empty as suddenly all the faults are obvious.

If you’re thinking you should have gone for a new build then head over to the property board and look for the persimmon kitchen nightmare thread…

Congratulations on your new home!

Thanks everybody. Going to head back over there this morning and try to be more positive. We don't move until the end of the month so hopefully we can get a few jobs done and then I'll feel better.

It sounds like you've done a great thing moving your family from a little rented flat to your first home in a lovely location. Try and count up all the positives when you go and look today.

I felt like I was going to be sick when I moved into my house. I thought I had made a terrible mistake. I cried. I went and stayed at my parents place for several days. I skipped studying for an exam to fit a new kitchen because I hated it so much.

It's been 8 years and I'm still here and I love my little place now.

I think the first, and most important, thing for me was the cleaning. The whole house felt GRIMY. Once I had absolutely scrubbed everything top to bottom I felt a lot better. I'm not even a massively house proud person, but I think people's dirt is massively off-putting.

One other thing I would say is I put off now carpets because I didn't have the money. Having finally had them put in, it's made a truly massive difference to the state of the house.

I could have wrote this post myself!! We bought our first home 2 years ago now and we didn't realise how much work needed doing. It sent my anxiety through the roof, it's such a huge responsibility going from renting to owning. I don't think I was quite prepared! I do still struggle with the anxiety and worry but trying to slowly tick some jobs off the list of what needs doing in the house. Sending solidarity

I agree with a PP that new carpets were the key to getting rid of the "other people" grime - it made such a difference to the place feeling like ours.

Feeling slightly better today, the plasterer came and said he can get all the bedrooms sorted no problem and quote wasn't too extortionate. I think if we get that done, paint and carpets and curtains in bedrooms then I'll feel alot better.

The kitchen really is worse than I thought but that's a problem for another day, going to concentrate on upstairs for know.

It’s so reassuring when professionals come to take a look at what needs doing, and they’re not fazed by it, in fact to them, it’s an easy fix….even better when their quote isn’t as much as anticipated.

Your situation sounds very similar to mine (we bought an older house too, never having lived in anything over 30 years old previously) and my first horror was how shite the kitchen is, plus the amount of cracks in the plaster throughout (walls and ceilings) had me waking up in cold sweats thinking the house was falling in….it’s not. In the last 3 months we’ve had soooo many tradesmen coming and going that we’ve lost count, but it’s finally starting to feel more like ours now.

The way you described your house and its location sounds lovely and I’m sure you’ll eventually love it…..it’s just unfamiliar to you right now.

I felt this way when we recently bought our house. We had been looking for years and years and just expected more when we finally found somewhere.

Thank you that's reassuring. Just feels like we keep finding issue after issue.

I'm hoping once we're moved in we will feel better.

It’s normal. You’ll be on an emotional rollercoaster for the next few years. It’s worth it though.

By the beach sounds lovely

Always feels daunting even having done it a few times now. Honestly baby steps for the time being. Make a list of urgent things right down to the can wait. Once you've got it all written down you can see where the costs are and begin to budget/work out how to pay them. You'll feel much more in control once you have a plan honest.

If you'd bought a new build the chances are there would be LOADS of "snagging" to be done after months or years of legal wrangling over whose responsibility it is to do the fixes!

Don't panic, take your time and do one room at a time. Don't rush to do the kitchen, when you've been using it for a few months you'll have much clearer ideas of what you want.

This is so true otherwise you will see your dream home or what you could of had! I’m buying my first going through it’s one that needs some work and as a single mum I feel sick to my stomach how I’ll manage it all but I can live with my parents whilst it gets done but that is stressful in itself

We bought a new build about 20 years ago and it was the worst thing we have ever done! Being new doesn’t mean it will be free of problems, especially these days when builders cut corners and use cheap products. We learnt from that and bought older, established properties from then on.
Thankfully, I now live in a lovely seafront apartment which is 60 years old, and it’s great!
The good thing about buying an old house is that a lot of the initial problems will have been fixed. It will probably be better built than a new build too, and will certainly have more character.
Enjoy it, I’m sure it will be fine and you will come to love it once you have put your own stamp on it.

I'm feeling exactly like this right now!!! How did it go!?

It's ok now but it was a tough couple of months in the beginning. That was mainly because everytime we took up a carpet or stripped a wall we just found issue after issue.

We're settled now although there is still lots to be done, it is safe, warm and dry and we love the area. I don't think it's our forever home but that's ok and we will be here at least 3 years or so id say.

I hope everything goes ok for you!