Had enough of this house

[RossCaaan]

I just hate this house, I really do, It just makes me feel so shit that today i just want to cry. I try and keep it clean and make it homely but it needs lots of TLC that I just don't have the time for.

Brought the house 2yrs ago, it was a rushed buy tbh. Was pregnant and need a place to call home. Oh was living in London and I was in the Midlands at the time, I spent any free time looking for a house and going to viewings, everytime we got close to some we liked it would get snapped up. As my due date was getting closer we were getting more desperate. Eventually I just said to OH to pick any from 2 that was ok, so he did. We moved in days after LO was born. I was just glad that we had a roof over our heads.

Since the day we moved in I began noticing things that needed doing and now the list is just too long. It was never going to be our forever home but I did see us living here for a good few years. The property is a 2 up 2 down semi detached house. Which we as a family of 3 have already out grown.

I have 25k in savings and our house has gone up by 8k. Shall we move or just stay put and use the money to do the property up and call it a home? I keep seeing new builds everywhere and just lust after them, however OH doesn't want to buy leasehold, to buy a freehold new build is just ludicrous.

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If you hate the house and you've already outgrown it why stay? I'd be moving on.

I'd move but no way would it be to a leasehold property.

Are you quite sure it's the house which is the problem? Life is always tough with a toddler, and maybe your cleanliness expectations are too high.

That said, some houses are just a pain to keep nice. In your situation I'd certainly be window-shopping on Rightmove to see what you could get for the extra money. What are the chances of adding an extension at the back to get an extra downstairs room?

FlamedToACrisp it's the house. Im not a minimalist but I don't like having excess things that create extra clutter, as were limited on space anyway. LO has lots of toys but I let her choose what she wants then alternate every so often, OHs crap I've limited to one kitchen cupboard but he still leave crap lying around that I end up taking to the charity shop. An extension wouldnt be possible due to the layout and reconfiguring everything would be a waste of money.

I have a nosey on Zoopla every so often but it just ends up depressing me, most of the ones I like are just out of my price range and i don't think I could cope with a doer upper.

I had similar feelings about our house when I had DD 2 years ago. Things that annoyed me pre-baby just intensified.

Looked around a few new homes, loved the layouts, big kitchen diners, downstairs loos, utility rooms etc but they were all just too expensive for what they were. So we decided to stay put and embark on a major renovation which we’re part way through. I absolutely love our new dining kitchen and once the old kitchen is converted into a wc and utility room it’ll have all the advantages of a new build and solve the niggles I had before, eg laundry in the cellar, no downstairs loo, shoes everywhere etc.

I suppose it depends on whether the house actually has the potential or not. Do you love it and it needs work or can you not see past that? Is it too small or could it be redesigned better, built in storage etc?

Maybe there is something small you could do to improve the place, eg decluttering/redecorating that doesn’t cost a fortune but brings you a bit more joy whilst you decide what to do.

Have you thought about having an informal chat with a mortgage broker to see what kinda mortgage you could get? You say house gone up in value and you have 25k saved, that sounds pretty positive to me! You may just be suprised at what you can afford 🙂