Have you ever bought a house/flat, moved in, and instantly felt you'd made a mistake?

[fiveyearstime]

A thread about property buyers' remorse -- have you ever had that sinking feeling that you'd made a mistake in buying the house you bought? What happened next?

Yes - with all 3 places I bought. First place, stayed there for 2 years and sold - made it my own within a few months. Second place - once our furniture was in place and we'd replaced carpets, painted walls I adored it. Third place - still hated it after 18 months so we moved out, revamped it (basically changing everything we hated and making the space work for us) and moved back in - been back in nearly 4 years and absolutely love the place now.

I think this house (our first mortgages property) was a mistake. We rushed into it thinking the housing market was about to jump and only found out later a wind farm was being built within spitting distance. Luckily we got it for a very good price so I suspect we won't lose money on it, but if we had our time again we would have walked away.

Yes. As we drove up to the new house on completion day I had that sinking feeling. Moved out 18 months later. I took from this: 1. never make major decisions while pregnant and 2. never get so swept up in a process that you lose sight of why you started it

Yes this was meant to be our big move out on London but we were so full of doubt it really should have told us something. There's nothing wrong with the house per se. To much was riding on the move and the whole process of how we got here has been tainted with the stress which nearly destroyed our marriage. Stuck here for the next couple of years but then we will definitely be looking to move.

So glad to read that others have felt this -- I am still waiting to find out whether the way I am feeling will fade once we have properly moved in and made the place our own. Fingers crossed that it does. I think it doesn't help that it's grey and drizzly and January and when we went to look at the place after completion it was all empty and kind of forlorn looking.

Not quite. We pulled out of the sale at the office of the Notary (in Spain) due to some irregularities in the paperwork -well it was Spain!

Lost money but still glad we pulled out as on reflection it definitely wasn't the right house for us. Always peeves me to think about the lost money though.

Yes, it was a massive learning curve for us in many ways, planning, legalities of land ownership, boundaries, fences, building works, the true horror of an unhinged personality blinded by their sense of right, how awful it is to return to a house and never feel like it is your home and regretting rushing into buying in a fast moving market (feels like a lifetime ago)

But I am a glass half full person, so we used the house as a learning how to do serious DIY, to see where we had to draw the line (that would be plastering and laying carpet, we got people in) but we ripped out a bathroom and fitted a new one, I tiled it all, we decorated the house from top to bottom, removed wallpaper which we had never had to do before, we had new kitchen installed, landscaped a garden, went out lots of weekends to get away from the house so had some amazing times with the children too.

It meant that when we sold it and moved into this house, we did it with heart and head. In fact we had discounted this house for a couple of reasons and it made us think very long and hard about what was absolutely a deal breaker and what was a compromise. We have been here 5 years and it is our forever house, we love it and it shows that the research we did paid off.

Yes, three times!

A few years ago we'd seen (and fallen in love with) our dream house. Unfortunately our house was not yet on the market and by the time it was, the dream house had been sold. We sold within 24 hours then couldn't find anything we liked. Our buyers were pressuring us to get a wiggle on and young and naive as we were we bought on the rebound. Hated that house - actually a very nice 4 bed detached victorian - from day one as it was on a busy junction with traffic lights, double yellows and revving engines! Stayed five years though, gradually doing it up, then bought our dream house (not the orig one, but something far better)......

Since we sold the dream house - although we adored it, it turned out to be too big at 3500 sq ft - we've bought a couple of houses that we regretted almost instantly. The first we moved long distance to a place we'd not researched properly and whilst it was a lovely period house, the area was utterly crap! Stayed three years and sold at a loss.

Second one (last house), we had again sold quicker than we'd expected and we're looking for a rural renovation project. We found a thatched, stone Georgian house that had failed to sell at auction. Viewed the day after it came onto RM, offer accepted next day. Was a total wreck on an A road with exposed stone everywhere (yuck!), but DH loved the country so thought we could make it work. Lived on site doing the work - huge extension, rewire, new floors & windows, three bathrooms, kitchen etc etc ad infinitum. Looked amazing when finished, but road noise and traffic vibrations told a different story! Sold up at the end of 2014 and got our money back (plus some!) and now in new (old) house that felt right from day one.......thankfully!

Yes, We saw our second house a few times but regretted the move the day we got the keys.
Once the previous owner removed her belongings we noticed how dated wall papers were, that the carpet didn't cover the full length of the rooms and that she painted the doors in alternating colours of pink and blue (still can't imagine how we didn't notice).

We loved the village and the idea of being "out in the countryside" but only a few minutes from our city... Which turned to be a huge mistake as we found suburban life incredibly boring and isolating.

We changed the house to suit our taste and needs, but we still dislike being away of the activity so we put in the market, we sold it for twice as much we paid for it. (And used the money to get a period house in a nice street located a few minutes walk from everything).

Yes, we were having relationship problems over whether or not to leave London (I wanted to stay in a flat, DH wanted house with garden etc and to commute) and I regret giving into DH in buying somewhere with a long commute and that needs a LOT of work, he has grand plans for extension etc. Lots of things have worked out well, eg house is spacious, schools, nice area, garden in summer, friendships and doing stuff as a family outdoors. But the disadvantages are as I had feared and we still haven't done most of the work (pressure of commuting, small DC etc) and disagree over whether to do it (DH) or move again (me) so several years on are still living with v horrible decor of previous elderly owners! And still having relationship problems!

yes, but I think it was more first time buyers stress, in the sense of oh fuck I've just spent 6ok I haven't got

only felt like that on the first house

We moved just over a year ago and I definitely regret choosing the house we bought. We had a small but lovely Victorian terraced house in a quiet street with lovely neighbours, and we wanted more space. We put it on the market and it sold really quickly. We found it much harder to find a house that we wanted to buy, and instead of waiting for the right place, we ended up going for a twenties semi that needed a lot of work, on a much busier road.

On the plus side the new house has a huge garden, which was something we were very keen on. But on the down side it's needed far more work than we thought, including a new roof and new central heating system. We had planned to extend but have run out of motivation and money. I thought I'd get used to living on a noisy main road but in fact I still hate it. We're currently having the kitchen replaced, which is the last major job we're going to do, but there are still plenty of smaller things to fix.

It looks as though we'll be moving again in 2016. I shan't miss this place at all. But in the meantime we've pissed a lot of money and effort up the wall.

When I bought my first house, I had a complete panic attack on moving in. I sat in a corner of an unfurnished room and I couldn't breathe or move. I am not prone to panic attacks at all, didn't really know what was happening and was really scared.

Exactly the same thing happened to my Mum years earlier when she moved into a new house.

Unfortunately, in my case the house proved to be as big a mistake as the panic attack suggested. In my Mum's case, however, it proved to be her forever home. She loves it, and has never moved away.

You can't necessarily judge from a first reaction!

Yes, house before this one.

We bought at the top of the market and there were 5 only houses for sale in our price bracket within a 25 mile radius of our ideal location. The buying process was horrendous (idiot vendor who became a neighbour) . We felt pressured into buying something (pg and had 2 dogs so couldn't rent).

We thought we'd grow to like it but actually hated it more and more as time went on. Loved the area though and made many friends so it wasn't all bad.

Yes. Panicked when a relationship when down the pan and he got onto the property ladder without me. Exchanged and completed in a hurry - pushed a bit by the sales team - it was a newbuild. Bought for £75,000 and within six months the market had crashed and the flat was worth £53,000. It was full of "snags" and the builders were really difficult about fixing them. I was stressed and felt isolated and sick. BUT... over the next year I made friends with the neighbours - who also felt bad about the pushy sales tactics used. I made it my own with pretty furnishings and began to appreciate it that it was new and trouble free. Lived there until I got married and loved it.

Yes.

In 1999 we relocated from the NE to the sE. Sold our beautiful 3 bed detached for 71,000. Bought a 3-bed ex-LA terraced house for 125,000. Hated everything about it. When the removal men moved us in they said 'it's not as nice as your old house'.

We lived there for two years and then couldn't stand being able to hear the neighbours arguing at 4 in the morning any longer. We mortgaged ourselves up to the hilt and bought another detached. It was in a shite state (think artex all over the walls as well as ceiling), but it was detached. 12 years later and we're finally turning it into our perfect home.

I hated the first house we bought in the SE, but it enabled us to move down here.

Thanks for all the answers -- very interesting.

Yes with our first house.
We were young and were not moving in for a few months once we were married so spent the first few months decorating.
The day I got the keys I went round and just knew we had made a mistake when the music started from next door and saw about 5 AA vans parked in the service road behind the house in my parking space.

We found out that the previous 2 families moved out because of the neighbours but of course no formal complaints were made to the council by them.
They never seemed to go out to work even though the Dad worked for the AA and had a AA van, he seemed to just use his house as some sort of rest stop for the local AA drivers. I used to imagine some poor person on the side of the motorway waiting for the AA to appear not knowing that they were all next door having a cup of tea for a few hours.

The Mum used to shout all the time effing and blinding and the son spent his time throwing cigarette ends into my garden and playing music very very loudly. Not to mention the 2 very large dogs that they allowed to bark all day every day.

The day we moved, we never even left a forwarding address, we just wanted to get away as fast as possible for our sanity.

Yes our first flat was a mistake that we were stuck with for 11 years due to tosser of a downstairs neighbour who refused to co-operate when we tried to sell and scared off buyers. When we bought in 1996 there was very little on the market and it was a big flat in a converted 30s house with a huge garden. But the bloke downstairs was just awful in a silent, staring through the window, watching us kind of way.

The only upside was that the flat tripled in value during the 11 years and when we finally managed to off load it it gave us a big down payment on the lovely house we have now. It may not be big or glamorous but we have the most amazing neighbours around us and that keeps me from looking to move again!

Yip, viewed it, fell in love and put offer in next morning. 4/5 bed detached with garage and parking and front/back gardens. Moved in and after 3mths decided I missed my hometown and then (stupidly) left DP and moved back to be closer to friends/family and rented somewhere.

Realised within a very short space of time what a daft boot id been, and was then stuck there for 6mths till my lease ended before I returned with my tail between my legs to our home and my DP. Who happily welcomed me back as we stayed together during my moment (months) of madness.

Expensive learning experience that the grass is not always greener.

Now loooove my home and am so happy here.

Yes - this house.

We fell in love with the house instantly and still loved it on a second viewing.

The moving in was slightly odd, we moved out of our house on the Thursday, exchanged on the Friday and moved in on the Saturday. We stayed with friends on the Thursday and Friday night.

On the Friday we got the keys and went to the new house.
I sat there and cried. It was dreadful, I hated it. It wasn't the lovely family home I saw, it was a scruffy mess. They had left it clean but it was a house that had been lived in by a family for 8 years.

18 months down the line and I love it. I don't want to ever move. It took a year for it to feel like home though.

Yes.

Chose an area we didn't know and had no redeeming features. It was an ex-council estate and the area was a bit rough. Then, within a month, we discovered the rat infestation in the loft. Now that blighted our lives for three years, until we cut our losses and sold up.

Didn't even look back as we drove off. It was a hard lesson.

Yes, I'm in a house I regret buying. Managed just over a year. Think we are going to have to stick it out for another 18 months. We are having to spend every penny doing work to make it bearable to live in, and we really aren't sure we will get our money back when we sell. I can sort of get over that bit, but the bit that gets me is the mental energy needed to move again and make friends in a new area. We are getting older and the kids are getting younger (will be 4 and 7 when we try to move again). I feel like I haven't got any energy left to do that bit again and options close down a bit once you've got past the NCT/baby group stage (or maybe that's just Surrey...please let it be). Having said that, we know it's not really option to stay. Nice to read some happy ending stories.

Yes. I had doubts about buying my current house and felt very anxious instead of feeling excited. I neary cried when we moved in, mainly because it looked old and sad, need more work than initially anticipated and had some cracks and wonky floors that made me uncomfortable. I spent many hours DIY'ing and dreaming on moving one day, too. Five years have passed here, and finally we are moving to more 'me', younger house. Funny thing... Now that most repairs have been done, and the house is finally looking lovely, I have started to feel some attachment to it.

I am excited about moving to the new house (though feeling a bit anxious about some practicalities) so hope that this time I got it right. The worst thing, worse than a buyer's regret, would be to regret the sold house which I regretted to buy.