I don't know what to do. Rent or sell ?

[lilianab236]

I brought my first house in May and ever since then I've had non stop problems. I had a ceiling fall down, cooker/kitchen fire and now dodgy tradesmen for the electrics. I've just had enough I'm so sad and feel scared to even live in my house. I am constantly on edge and it just does not feel like home. I feel like I try and go out so I don't have to spend time here I hate it. I'm so conflicted I'd rather just sell and rent until I can get my confidence back on houses or rent it out. I know ill loose loads of money if i sell it so soon aftr purchasing and it wont look good on a credit report. I feel like a failure and it makes me so upset I'm just looking for kind/helpful advice I'm really confused on what to do.

Please help of you can.

Don't try to rent it out. You will have all the same headaches of ownership as you will still be responsible for the upkeep but you will have to deal with loads of extra grief too.

Home ownership is a lot of responsibility but don't give up on yourself yet. You don't need to get it all perfect right away. It seems daunting how much you need to do but make a list and get one thing done at a time. This isn't a sprint, it is a marathon. At the end of it, you have a home you can be proud of and can live in rent free.

If you rent, half the time you are still living with things like dodgy electrics but you can't get them fixed because it's the landlord's responsibility. And you have to pay rent for ever even after you have retired and can't afford it any more.

Owning a house does come with a lot of responsibility unless it's a new build. Finding good tradespeople is key if you can't do jobs yourself. Maybe ask around friends and neighbours for recommendations. Once you have a list of trusted workers it is better as they can often recommend people they know for other jobs etc. You'll need a savings fund to put aside for emergencies- they say save 1% of the properties value annually to maintain it.
Renting out is a nightmare and will be far more responsibility including legal obligations.

Join your local facebook or nextdoor group and ask for recommendations for tradespeople, much less risky than just picking one and you usually find that multiple people will come up with someone local. Agree with not renting it out, you'd need to fix any of these things for prospective tenants and potentially as an emergency with increased cost (you may decide you can live for a week if the boiler breaks, a tenant won't). Did you get a homebuyers survey when you bought? If not, may be an idea to contact a surveyor and ask for them to survey the house and come up with a prioritised list. That way you know what you are dealing with. Sounds like everything that happens has been unexpected and that's why you're feeling anxious.

Now isn't a good time to make such a big decision. Instead, could you tackle the house one room at a time, making it just right for you? It sounds like you need to build confidence in "sorting" things - if you can do this you'll have a brilliant new skill! Don't give up yet. Get onto a good local social media group, ask for recommendations for tradespeople, check them out again on rated people, make calm decisions. Make friends with one of the brilliant older staff members at B&Q who really know that they're talking about! You'll end up with a safe nice home, a good financial asset and faith in yourself. You Can Do This.