Did you buy a house when you didn't get 'the feeling'?

[Misty9]

And how did it work out? Did you regret it?

I'm near to exchanging on a property that doesn't set me on fire but is a good solid option and an amazing location. I'm compromising on light and an easily accessible garden. Both things I've learnt are important to me. But. It's probably the best of the housing stock at my budget in the area I want to stay in.

Of course with all the current uncertainty, it may be a bad idea to buy anyway. But for a house I don't love...?

I didn't get "the feeling". I have rationally decided that it is the best I can get and that it has ticked 90% of what I wanted and gave me something else as well.
It worked well. We are refurbishing it so I am now getting that warm fuzzy feeling towards it.

I liked my house. Now I love it.

Could there be something you could do with the garden? And about the light?

Yep and we extended and refurbished and love it now! Is the garden north facing? What makes the garden hard to access?

I didn't love mine at all when I bought it 20 years ago , gutted it throughout and extension and I can't imagine living anywhere else.

I do go on instinct but again my instincts are highly tuned to the practical, rather than the sentimental. I don't go on "the feeling" whatever that is. I've seen charming houses I have completely fallen in love with and could afford ("the feeling?") but they haven't been practical so it's been a no-go. But then I'm good at making houses pretty and cosy so looks have never bothered me.

I would be put off by a recently remodelled and decorated house done badly (gaudy badly designed kitchen for example even if brand new) than an untouched shack.

Yes, we did. I think DH liked it but I didn't really like it at the time, and I still don't like it now (more than a decade later).

I don't think I'll ever like the house, but I don't regret buying it because the main reason for choosing it was the local school which dd no longer attends but did. It was a fabulous choice and well worth my ambivalence about the house. And an added bonus - I have great neighbours and I love my local community!

We bought our current house without me even seeing it. We had been looking for a while, it came onto the market and my Dh & kids went to look. I was away working for a week and the night before I got home our realtor let us know there were 5 offers and if we wanted it we had to offer by 5pm that day. I saw it for the first time the day we moved in. I dont love it but the Dh & kids do.

Yes, and we moved in here 8 weeks ago. It didn't set me on fire, but I was happy with the possibilities this place could give us. Like you, we did have to compromise on a couple of things but ultimately we really needed out of our last place, and we'd had so many houses fall through before that I think we were progressing no matter what.

Initially I had buyers regret, especially as we are renovating and things haven't been smooth - but the longer we are here, the happier I get and I really like it. I've said that it will take a while for it to feel like home (we were in our last place 11 years, this is a new area too), but I'm so happy we bought it and are making it our own. We did do the right thing.

That's really encouraging that so many of you made it work. The garden is bisected so not immediately outside the windows etc, and it's a terrace so the middle room is pretty dark. But all terraces are like that and it's the only kind of house I can afford round here. Unless. The market tanks and I can suddenly afford a semi... But it's a risk as mortgage rates may also go up. The upstairs is good, it's just the dark dining room and kitchen.

I had wanted a house in the specific area and when I saw this one I knew I’d work with whatever way it was, as long as I could just get it!

When we went to view I was happy with the inside (although it needed full renovation) but the back garden never thrilled me, is NNW and, even more off-putting for me, it’s very overlooked. Every other house on the street has some trees at the ends of the gardens but ours doesn’t.

So far we have gutted the house completely, re-wired, installed gas and gas heating system, new flooring throughout and re-plastered throughout.

We had a kitchen extension booked for May but that’s on the back burner now. So we are stuck with small 70s kitchen and no access to garden from the back of the house (“back” door is at the side). It’s ok but not ideal.

So I suppose the things that bugged me at the start are still annoying me now but overall I think the house was a sensible choice due to location.

Yeah I did mainly because it was in an area that I wanted my child to go to the local school which was outstanding. But I had misgivings about the house even when I moved our things in and everyone kept saying I was crazy and would get over it. But 2 years later I still hate it especially as it is a new build with a very over looked garden and horrible neighbours.

Thanks. I think I'm going to pull out as it seems to crazy to continue in the current circumstances, especially when I don't love it...

Yes! It had things I positively didn't want too.

What it did have was the perfect location, and land. It was an ok price, but it was a mess inside.

We now absolutely love it, having spent 2 years renovating it.

We often talk about the lucky escape we had from 2 houses we both had 'the feeling' for, both of which fell through. One was my absolute dream house, but the location would have proved very trying.

Spending our life savings doing this place up, thinking we could build them up again as our mortgage is so low, may have been mistake of the century in the current climate though!

I moved into a house my partner has renovated fully and extended . It is a beautiful house but it's not for me . We have a young family next door who are noisy. Children are noisy by nature and have to play but I felt like there's no respite from it inside or out. I found it so uncomfortable to sit in the living room hearing screaming shouting doors banging and then football game in the garden banging against the party wall. I couldn't take it anymore. I returned to my parents former home which I have on the market for sale but clearly will not sell now due to the Pandemic. I never wanted to come back as I had moved on and it didn't work out . I'm feeling anxious about being here now with the isolation too and my emotional attachment I have to my late parents.

Yes. I didn't get the feeling but dh did. The second he saw it.

Turned out to be financially a great decision. I never really loved it, just grew to really appreciate that it was a great buy, zone 3 London with great links and came up massively in the time we owned it.

We stayed for 7 years.

Yes and I absolutely love it. It's an odd house. No kerb appeal. 1880s but extended all over the place. It has a huge garden and now we'd have decorated the whole place feels so light and airy and spacious and quirky.