How do you know a property is right?

[propertydilemma]

I'm having a dilemma. We've put an offer on a house and it's been accepted. However, I seem to have a bit of a niggling doubt and I'm not sure why. The house itself ticks almost all our boxes and it's in a great location for an outstanding school. We are relocating to a new area. How do you know when a house is the right one? Did you just know or was it a combination of location and the house? My DH is being very open-minded and has said we can pull the plug if I'm not sure but we've been looking for ages. WWYD?

Can you imagine it decorated for Christmas? Are you seeing it as a house or a home?

The house we bought was the one I felt excited by, I came out buzzing - it was no way perfect but I could see the potential in what we could do with it. It ticked all the boxes, but we were moving from a flat with no parking or garden!
It was also the only one I made my DH go and see, the next day!! And we put an offer in straight away (I was on mat leave, hence seeing houses without him first!!)

not the one we are now buying but the one we were goping to buy (vendor messed us about and we found an alternative) as we were walking round the house my OH said this one sets the standard, and all the other ones we looked at we compared to the first one we liked as it happens we have found and had an offer accepted on another house that ticks almost as many boxes as the first one and is one street from where we live now (currently renting) so our lives wont change much

I ignored my instincts which said don't buy and did it anyway ( long story) as felt we. Oils to pull out. Regret it to this day - five years later. Your instincts are there to protect you. Listen to them.

I've got the same dillema. Had to pull the plug on the perfect house because the agent and vendor started playing laughable games and tried to up the price by 10% (from asking...). Now I feel like the second house is a rebound. Will view it again and decide.

I think you do just know if it’s the right one, but having said that you have to be reasonable and no house is going to be perfect. You May have to compromise. Are you sure your doubts have to with the house itself or the thought of moving to a new place you may not know as well or something else?

I put offers on three houses that I was sure were 'the one' - none were accepted, and each time I was sad but reluctantly moved on. Ended up buying The One. Multiple offer scenario, seller played us against each other and it was a bidding war, but we stayed strong (and paid lots more than we initially expected to) and in the end, I believe It was meant to be.

The house we have just bought, not even in yet , was the one where I just saw us living. You can walk round in a circle in this house , when we bumped in to each other in the kitchen, I could see us doing that in real life , not just the viewing 😊 it wasn’t what we were looking for at all . It’s in the process of being gutted . Big plus is view 👌

I just knew within minutes of walking into the two houses we have bought.

For me it had always been a definite no, or a maybe. I have rarely walked into a house and thought it is perfect. But that is partly due to having had a severe disappointment over a flat purchase (my first one) many years ago, so I try not to get excited as it is a real let down if it all goes wrong.
Current house was a definite maybe (been here 17 years), last house I loved but not until I'd lived there for a few years (stayed 15). Previous one I loved when I bought it, then grew to hate it and sold it a year after I bought it. So no, I don't think there is any way of telling. I think if it suits in terms of location/size/amenities you are half way there, and you also have to give it time to grow on you (or not).
I would say though, that if there is something about a property you have doubts about (like close to a busy road), but you think, oh well, I'll get used to it; you don't. It just annoys you after a time.
My thoughts, for what they are worth!

We relocated and had nowhere else to live. This was 2008 when the housing market had crashed and almost nobody was selling their house so we had very little choice.
In the end, we picked one that 'would do' and we thought we could sell again quickly/easily if we needed to.
Over 10 years later, we're still pretty happy with it. So you don't have to love it before you move in. The experiences you have there will shape your feelings towards it.

I had a list of non negotiable criteria. Off street parking and a garden were two of them. And more than one bathroom. I fell in love with our house as soon as I saw it and could see past some very horrible décor and knew it would be lovely when I'd re decorated. And indeed it is, many years later.

I was super excited the first time we viewed our current house, but think I was blinkered to some of the issues with it because we were so keen to find somewhere. By the third viewing I had niggling doubts but as there was nothing else on the market that we liked, and we didn't want to lose our buyer, we went ahead and bought the house. It needs a lot of work (still) but is a solid house with a massive garden and will look lovely in time. The main problem is I don't like the location, and that really bothers me, every single day. So do listen to your gut, be rational, and don't get swept along with a purchase, whatever your circumstances - as you could be stuck with the property for a while!

Buyers remorse! Just try and focus on the reasons why you're buying it!

Either trust your instincts, if the house is the right one you’ll know, or make a list of pros and cons to discuss with your partner and then make peace with whichever decision you make together. Open minded is great, but it’s a joint decision 🙂

@Justmuddlingalong I've been trying to imagine it with our things in it. Day to day stuff yes. Christmas is challenging as there is no fireplace so I'm not entirely sure what I'd tell my kids with how FC leaves presents!!

He's got a magic key!

@PazRaz10 we are similar. Currently in a 2 bed flat with no garden and this place is 4 beds and a sizeable garden. Both DH and I really liked it the first time we viewed it but I'm not sure I'd say I was buzzing.

@ponzusoup sorry to hear that. This is what I'm slightly concerned about. It's so expensive moving house and the stamp duty is just ridiculous so I really don't want to get there and then regret it. The house itself is actually really nice but I'm a bit worried about location and whether it's definitely the right place for us.

We walked in and fell in love with the kitchen floor!i could see me baking in there plus it had a larder and a good shower we moved in two years ago and love it just as much as we did then

@Pipandmum I agree. I'm wondering whether I'm just a bit apprehensive about moving from where we are. I'm desperate to get out of this flat to give us all some more space but we've got it pretty good here in terms of location and I've been in London a long time now so will definitely miss the ability to meet so easily with my friends.

I'm crap at the 'imagining our stuff' thing and I'm quite a perfectionist nit picker. Every time I've moved I've looked at tons of places and driven DH mad. How I know 'the one' each time is because I realise I'm not nit picking some scuffed paint or dodgy skirting board or whatever. I never have. Huge emotional reaction, but if I'm not sweating the small stuff then it's the one. When I'm picky I'm just looking for excuses to trying to justify why something isn't the one, IYSWIM.

We made an offer on what I thought was my dream home.

We pulled out when my instincts said don't do it.

My heart says it was the one that got away. My head says that we did the right thing.

I think about it often.

It was on the tv show escape to the country. They didn't buy it either.

I know we did the right thing but I did love it.

@Popetthetreehugger glad you've found the right one for you. Hope the renovations happen quickly and you get to move in soon.

@2018SoFarSoGreat we put offers in on 2 places. The other one was in a location that I preferred (in a different town) but was only 3 bedrooms and they rejected the offer and this one is only about 10mins away from the other town and has more space. It's such a big decision - and I don't want to get it wrong.