So we've sold our house.

[MacaYoniandCheese]

Our family home. The one we worked really hard for and were going to live in forever. I am no longer a home-owner and off the property ladder, as we will be living in a company-rented house in our new city. I feel very sad today. Did anyone else feel like this? Is it worth it? I keep telling myself it's just bricks and mortar...but it isn't, is it?

Hi there. Can't add an awful lot about selling up I'm afraid as we decided to rent out our "home" to enable us to relocate abroad a bit quicker. However when I told a friend how worried I was about being devastated leaving the house - the one that I thought we would be in forever and had put our heart and soul in to making it perfect for us, she said.... It is purely a building and your "home" is wherever you live with your family and as long as you are together, that is all that matters! It made me feel a lot better about leaving and I can honestly say I was so excited about moving country that I didn't shed a single tear when we actually left the house. And I definitely know we will never live there again and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. You'll be absolutely fine

Ours rented out also..i miss it sometimes. But bank owns most of it anyway
Look, what is "forever" anyway? Life happens, other factors cd have made you move. I guess you chose to sell not rent out so must have wanted to do do on some level? Completely understand it's emotional to have done so though!

Thank you both for your replies. Feeling slightly better about it today. Trying to remember the positives and the fact that we will no longer have a hefty mortgage .

I was so glad to sell my property - I rented it and there were always binding issues with it. It was so great to be free of the responsibility.

I made a small profit which sits in Premium bonds - we'll use as a deposit one day, or we may win a million!

I get times when I hate the fact that we sold our lovely little cottage & are no longer on the property ladder.

Then my dh reminds me that if we owned this house, we wouldn't have been able to get the air con fixed (am in Australia) in the dead of summer last year.

Then I change my mind.

We weren't in our forever home when we sold last year. But we had been there 7 years, really liked the house and the boys spent all their lives living there. But we are so happy we sold (even though we are back in the UK now, albeit a different county). It was sad, but like others have said being mortgage free and commitment free is really liberating. We have our equity invested in this and that so for us renting is a choice. It's great to know we are not tied to this house/area/country, and when sth goes wrong with the house our first thought isn't "how much is this going to cost" lol.

DH has gone very anti owning anything tbh. We are skiing over Christmas and he wants to rent ski clothing. I think our recent moves have left him wanting as few possessions as possible.

interesting, pupsiecola - we have ended up this way too after lots of travelling. Got rid of loads, still have too much - but always trying to get rid of more!

If I have one life lesson, it is 'there is no such thing as the forever home'.

Wise words, SpecialSubject. I've probably been brainwashed by Kirstie and Phil .

We don't own a house in UK either. Haven't done for a while now and yes it is rather liberating. I still seem to have masses of stuff though as we always rented unfurnished. Now it's all sitting in the garage where we are overseas. I'm half hoping it all goes mouldy so we can throw it out .

OP I definitely think there is this culture of "you must own a property" in the UK. So many of our friends just cannot understand why we chose to rent when we lived there. We are like pupsiecola, we have equity in other things and just prefer it this way. Enjoy your freedom.