Advice on when to sell after buying a year ago

[Indecisiveandconfused]

Long story short. Moved to home town a year ago for family reasons a long way across country. We know it well but have not lived here for a long time. Bought in a hurry after years of looking because the rental we were in decided to sell so we didn't have much time and jumped. We paid well over asking price and the stamp duty was horrendous.
From day one, I realised it was the wrong move. I cannot settle, don't like the house and every day I wonder how soon we can sell.
The problem is recouping the costs of the move which we won't even cover for several years if that. I thought of renting, but worry the house won't sell for a good price if it is rented or empty when it goes not he market. Also I think we would have to pay Capital Gains Tax after a year and a half on the sale.
Jobs are not a factor as now retired, and I don't want to waste years of my life being miserable.

Half of me feels we just have to stick it out for at least 5 years. The other half just thinks sod it just move and lose a lot of money. I just don't know what to do. I am struggling with living in a city, the pollution, the weather etc. It just hasn't turned out how I expected it to.

The housing market is very strong here and prices are very buoyant, but given the stamp duty and what we paid for the house, we will be in deficit if we don't wait. it's normal to pay well over asking price here by the way.

We moved in August 2018, moved back June 2019 - buying and selling both times. Exhausting and expensive, but when it's wrong, it's wrong and life is too short to live with a mistake so big that it affects your life so totally, when you can change it. We are now back in the same village we started off in, in a very similar (boring new build) house, but surrounded by friends, cultural things I love, things to do, etc. We haven't totalled up the costs of it all but we are obviously out of pocket on the deal, but we were fortunate in being able to afford it and if we had left it longer it would have cost even more because of the house price differences. As a couple, we weren't totally in agreement about the move, so it's been tough, but we are pretty much on the same page now and life is good. Best of luck to you!

I do feel for you Indecisive.

I’m in a similar position, moved a year ago thinking we were making a great move. I was struggling living in the area I grew up after losing both my parents in quick succession. We’d only moved there to be close to them and I felt trapped and as though I was just marking time.

We moved to an area we really liked but didn’t know that well. We might have rented first but DH is disabled and finding a suitable rental was impossible. I thought I loved our house before we bought it but I just can’t settle and feel like with each passing day I like it less. We’ve spent quite a lot of money already adapting it and I’ve started to realise we paid over the odds for it. Added to that it’s in an area that is going to be badly affected by Brexit and so I suspect will lose value and become very difficult to sell. I think I could like it a lot more if we made some quite major changes but I’m worried about ploughing yet more money into a house I don’t love.

I feel overwhelmed. I thought we were making a positive move but now I feel as though I’ve just ruined everything. I looked at our old house on zoopla the other day and cried (especially at the very beautiful kitchen!). I can’t see us being able to sell anytime soon without losing very serious money and I’m not even sure my husband’s health would stand up to another big move.

I think you’re right to seriously think about moving if you are able to but agree with you that waiting until spring when things are, hopefully, a bit more settled might be the thing to do. In the meantime you’ll be happier knowing you have a plan to move in the not too distant future.

Good luck - I hope your next move is a happy one!

@doginthemanger
It's a complicate situation. We rented another property for a year before moving here whilst we looked for somewhere to buy. The property was put on the market and we had to get out quickly as it sold immediately. We jumped into buying this house because we didn't want to rent again. So we've had two moves in two years, with a stay of a month in between in a holiday rental whilst we waited for sellers to vacate. It's not been easy.
I should have thought more carefully about the weather, but it's really having an impact on me.

@Takingtheedgeoff
That sounds like a really difficult situation for you, especially with a disabled husband. It's such a huge decision and sometimes you can think you'll settle and be happy somewhere, but you just can't.
I think I have decided that its not worth staying due to money in the long term, but will wait until next year. There are other factors at play which I don't really want to go into, but family dynamics are playing a part too.

OP, you've had quite a hard time. I do hope you get your house sold at not too much of a loss, and find something lovely where you want to be.