Buyers remorse

[buckingfrolicks]

I'm in my lovely period property gorgeous area lovely garden

I'm so sad. I live alone and have moved myself. Tbh I know I'm exhausted.

I moved from rental flat that was all mod cons and big rooms.

Tell me it's normal to feel overwhelmed by the work to be done, not only the things you missed on viewing (omg there's no heating in the kitchen wtf) but the future extension to be built?

It feels too small and pokey and now I want to knock all the walls down but it's a period cottage and that's what I liked so why am I having these feelings?

I really loved it before it was mine :(

Period properties are more work but they have so much more character I’ve bought the same a few months ago!

Totally normal to have buyer's remorse. How long have you been in?

It is overwhelming. Write a list of everything that has to be done and just work your way through it but by bit. Don't think of it all in one go.

1st day moving in

. Shocked to see how bad the walls are as they had so many pictures - no holes filled....
. Hidden surface mounted heating pipes
. No hot water pipe in the second toilet why?!?!
. Half the sash windows had been glossed and filled with one part filler to hide how bad they were but did the expensive part of replacing sills very strange ?!?!?
. Hidden active wood worm under the stairs
. Picture/skirts rails mismatched which were behind furniture.
. Dog piss stains on oak block floor where the rug was.
. Hidden leak in heating system.
. Found the roof leaking 2 weeks in and discovered the ceiling in this area was more stain block than plaster.

Txt from new owners of my old house telling me how wonderful I left it and thanks for all the spare tiles and paint.

Head in my hands counting up the costs...

Yes completely normal 😁

Just right a list number your biggest annoyances and just start working through it. Becomes satisfying then.

So common!

Moving is very stressful and it can take time to feel at home in your new home.

I was so upset when I moved last, really thought I’d made a huge mistake and I focused on lots of things that were wrong.

Anyway I’m now very happy here. I think October is a bad time to move because the evenings are drawing in, it’s cold and gloomy. (I also moved in October) Once I had done a summer in the new place and used the garden I fell back in love.

Yep, I had buyers regret too. I think buying a property on your own doesn't help, it's more of an adventure with someone else.

The house sale went through on a miserable December day and I walked round the rooms crying my eyes out. It took me a good 6 months to fall in love with it. You'll get there too.

I’m no expert but I’m wondering if some of this should have been picked up on by the surveyor in which case you could potentially claim some of the costs back?
I also wonder whether you have the right to request payment towards the leaky roof from previous owner. Maybe a good idea to talk with your solicitor.
It sounds like a lot to do but I’m sure it will be lovely in the end. Xx

An empty house is depressing. A house with furniture just dumped wherever it would go and boxes everywhere is depressing. At the moment it isn't your home, it's just the house you've bought. Give it a few weeks to get settled in and sorted out and you won't feel like this.

Totally normal. When you view the house you see the potential, when you actually move in you see the current reality. It's so depressing and alienating. But you will slowly settle, perhaps choose a room to make how you really want it, so you can start to feel at home. But otherwise, hold on to your original vision and know that you will get there, it's just going to take some time (and money!!!).

I proper snotty cried after I moved (10 months ago).

I liked my old house and moved because of neighbours so hadn’t even wanted to move. New house was left dirty, kitchen sink was blocked, boiler broke on day 2 and then on day 4 I set the oven to grill by mistake and ruined my dinner.

That was the last straw. No one messes with my food. I wailed and ranted and sobbed. I’m really not a crier normally!

DH bought me a chippy and calmed me down.

It’s taken months to feel happy about the new house. It’s actually a great house and better in many ways than the old one. Just took time to feel at home.

Every single time I've moved. It's normal and you will get through it fine. Don't do any non-urgent work for at least a month - that way you will be able to see how the light falls and work out what annoys you most before shelling out your cash for all the bits that actually matter.

I’m in the exact same position you are, bought a period cottage after having lived in a modern rental flat my whole adult life. The first few months were miserable, but 6 months later I love it! The garden’s basically woodland, I’ve got years of renovating ahead of me and there’s more broken then not - however, the decoratings getting done and I’ve found some beautiful stuff to furnish it with so it feels like home.

You’ll get there eventually, and once you’ve put your stamp on it, it’ll feel like home

thank you all for your reassuring posts. And shared experiences! It really helps.

I was v lucky and the vendors left it beautifully clean. But I have far too much furniture and Steptoe and Son would be right at home I think, atm.

And what the hell is it that means the lovely sofa or table that you thought was going to really look great, actually looks shit?!

Bring on the summer yes definitely. And one room at a time.

I'll be back doubtless in the spring when I need to moan about my extension horrors ...

The extension’ll be a pain while it’s being built, but think how wonderful it’ll be to have all the extra space. And you’ll have homes for all the extra furniture, no more steptoe and son

Completely understandable OP. My parents bought a period house when they were quite young. It was falling down and in an absolute state. It needed a huge amount of work doing on it. They did it a bit at a time - bedroom first and just lived in there, then the kitchen, bathroom, living room and so on. Then over the next 30 years they extended it bit by bit until it was quite a big house. It was very stressful for them and they couldn't afford to pay people to work on it so they did everything themselves. I think there were times when they were so fed up with living in a building site, but my dad still lives in that house now, 40 years later and he couldn't be more proud of it, it's his life's work. Stick in there and it will have been worth the trouble!

Have a session on Pinterest for lots of inspiration!
Get the extension done as soon as possible and then set about making it 'yours'.
Invite friends around and make some memories- it really helps to make a house a home!
I know the overwealming feeling of having so much to do on your own in a property, but once you get some work done, it will spur you on to do more.
Make it beautiful and you'll probably love it. But if you don't, then sell it and move on again.
Lastly, there's a nifty little electric kitchen heater you can buy that is set in the cupboard plinth, which even has a remote control. Great for a quick blast of heat when required.
Good Luck!

Yes! As PP says, get on Pinterest ASAP. The problem with moving is that you often fall in love with an occupied, furnished house and the ambience created by the previous owners. Once they leave, you are left with a shell and potentially a lot of furniture that suited your old property more.

So have a good sort out of all the furniture that maybe no longer ‘fits’, sell it on eBay, Facebook etc so you have a little pot of cash. Check Pinterest for room by room ideas until you feel inspired and then set to work. It’s just a shell, a house right now; but soon it will be your home as you add in bits, take things out, and mould it to you.

If you have a spare bedroom for now, try popping all the excess furniture into there for storage so you can see the wood for the trees. Even buying cushions and throws that are just chosen for this house can help.

Good luck!

It's been 2 years and I still wish we had bought the smaller house we saw first. We've had so many problems with our house that I sometimes get depressed thinking about it. Mt OH wants to get the mortgage down so doesn't want to spend money on doing it up yet but it needs so much work!
we have mould in the bedroom
Cracks everywhere
Leaking tap that my OH claims isn't leaking (!)
Shower screen that doesn't close
Sewage leak in garden
Wall in front garden falling down
Roof needing to be replaced in at least a year
Whole outside needing to be painted
Previous owner had wallpapered over damp on the stairs
The conservatory has cracks all over it
The double glazing looks like it's damaged in almost every room.

I just keep entering the lottery!

I'm so relieved to come across this post. We got our keys Wednesday afternoon and rushed to new house for a look (without the kids thankfully). It was a mess, floors hadn't been vacuumed in years, boiler broken, gas disconnected, can't light an open fire as we didnt realise it was gas too! Leaking toilet, dirty walls and a blocked drain. Oh its an icebox. We left that night and I was very upset, thinking we'd made a huge mistake. Our old house was modern, spotless and warm and we made a huge effort to leave everything perfect for our buyers. It's so disheartening when others can't even run over the floors with a hoover. We left them a bottle of hubby, 2 glasses, a card with details of local amenities and money for a takeaway. It would have been nice at least to have heating or unblocked drains in the new house. Miserable gits.

We started into it very early yesterday worked so hard in the freezing cold. Then the movers arrived with all our stuff and we got the beds made and living room looking like our ours and I feel so much better. Then we brought the kids around and they're delighted. I'm so glad we didn't have them with us the 1st day.

I know how you feel, I moved in to my new house a few months ago on my own. I spent weeks last year packing up my old family home, 2 sons and 12 years so a great deal of stuff, put everything into storage and lived out of holdalls for 6 months in rental whilst looking for a house. I stayed at a friends house who was no longer living there full time but it appeared she did, so I only had one drawer to use. I moved 6 months later and am still wading through things. I well remember getting the keys and I was shocked that the road outside which I thought was quiet was really loud and overwhelmed at what needed doing. I thought I had made a huge mistake and am still not sure about that and do not feel that this is my forever home. I have done lots, but it needs a new kitchen and bathroom which I cannot afford. It was a rushed buy and although it was the best at the time and within my budget it is not where I really want to be. I am in a semi now and used to be detached, I can hear people sneeze next door and do not get me started when the grandchild visits every day as I can hear every shriek and have to to turn up the tv. Having moved many times I know it is untrue that you feel like this about every house upon moving in.

Meant to add that I am still exhausted from packing up and moving home last year, let alone having to do it all 6 months later again. It is relentless.

I'm moving today! We have had the keys for a month whilst we did some work but it's not finished yet and my daughter keeps crying about moving. It's considerably smaller than the place we've been renting and it has no garden at all where the last place had a huge one. But it is mine and I can afford it if my ex stops paying maintenance again so it's a good move.