How did you know?

[Werk]

That a house was right for you?

We have been umming and ahhing about a house for a few weeks now. We have been for two viewings but have held back making an offer for some reason. I have been walking past at different times of day and trying to work out when the garden will have sun etc. so I haven't completely ruled it out.

We are in the process of selling (probably complete before Christmas) and will then rent so we are not in any hurry.

The house ticks most of our boxes on paper but there is just something that doesn't make my heart sing.

We heard from the agent today that someone else has made an offer. I feel conflicted - I want it to stay on the market just in case nothing better comes up but I don't necessarily want to jump in and make an offer too. DH says he will do whatever I want but he obviously feels the same as me - ambivalent.

I feel we will regret not making an offer but then I also think we will regret buying it as a more perfect house could come up.

I worry we will never find the perfect place and this could be the next best thing.

We only visited two houses and the second one gave a wow effect. We put offer in straight away and after ten months of our buyers pulling off and covid we finally moved in. Still love the house. The first house was ok, very nice and everything but lacked the wow effect.

I think it depends on how you view this house. We cannot afford a ‘forever’ home in the area we want to live. We’ve gone with a house we both really like & fits our needs right now. We need 3 bedrooms on the same floor. We wanted a reasonably open plan family space where we are all together when cooking, playing, eating etc .. and we needed some outdoor space for our young children. The house ticks every box. The garden is small but south facing & enough. The house felt homely & I could see my furniture in and how we’d decorate to bring it to our tastes. I think we’ll be really happy there. But it’s not forever. I hope we may be able to afford a bigger house in the future. But we’ll see. I just need a house to comfortable, warm, user friendly & for us, not need anything more than a lick of paint or a new carpet.

It’s obviously a big investment, if your gut is telling you you aren’t bothered then it’s possibly not the house for you. We both felt the house we are buying certainly is. Just a general feeling of ‘yeh, we like it, we could def live here’. There has been a couple houses come up since we bought that ive thought, oh that might have been better eg. bigger garden but no matter. We are happy with what we picked.

The thing is, it isn't the decor - it is just my taste and we could move straight in. There is something I can't put my finger on - my DH thinks it is too dark, he might be right. The garden is smaller than we would like.

On paper it should be perfect. My head says it is the right place but my gut says no.

We have looked at dozens of houses now. Dozens. One that we did put an offer in on but didn't get we have now decided that we don't like as much anymore because we have seen this last one and the inside space is better but the light and garden better on the other one. Aargh. I thought we had decided what our compromises would be, but apparently not.

Had you "sold" yourself the property before you viewed? I am open to viewing anything but DH will only go if it is right on paper.

What was the "wow" effect? Anything in particular?
Maybe we are just too picky.

Given you’re going into rented, you’ve got time and can afford to be picky. Perhaps the house that feels right will come up soon enough. If not, you can always decide to settle for a house that ticks more boxes when you’re tired of renting.

It would be good to work out what doesn’t grab you about the house, eg is it the road/area, style, curb appeal, internal presentation etc. Then you’ll know if it’s changeable or not.

We've never had 'that' feeling. We've always just bought in the best location that we can afford! Basic requirements for drive & bedrooms. We worry about decor later.

You can change a house to an extent...but you can't change the location!

I think some people overanalyse buying a house and put a lot of emotion in to it (understandably). For me, its just more will it work for us for the next few years? And is it financially a good decision?

If that house now sold, would you be relieved or have regrets?

I could see my furniture in that house and I think we would be happy there but something holds me back.

This also probably wouldn't be a forever house but will be for the next 15 years until DC have finished school. The stamp duty is horrifically high (£70k+) and so we would be making a very expensive mistake if it was wrong.
It seemed easier when we bought our current house but I guess prices were a lot lower back then, stamp duty was about a year's equivalent in rent and so not like we were making a huge financial mistake. We only planned to stay 5 years but have been here over 10!

I need a crystal ball.

Are you definitely ready to move?

Personally, I’ve been wowed by some so done houses that sell a lifestyle but can definitely look past that and find somewhere with good bones that can be done up.

Is it the fear of making a mistake, then?

Like PP, I have always bought with my head. I have never had the 'wow' moment or the feeling of home as I walked through the door. The houses I have bought have ticked the boxes of location, bedrooms, outside space and potential to add value. It is all very business like. Both needed completely redecorating (renovating for the last one) and only once that had happened did I feel happy and 'at home'.

We’ve actually put in four offers this summer for a host of reasons. Would have been happy living in any of the first three, practically, but I’m actually glad they didn’t work out and we’re buying House 4.

I knew I liked it lots from the pictures (reduced from over our budget to the very top of our budget, so seemed better than everything we’d seen) but I loved it from the moment we went in.

It was the same feeling I got when I bought my current house. There was just no question I’d do anything to secure it.

While the first houses we lost out in were FINE, I didn’t have that “I’d do anything” feeling about them.

Both times I have bought i have just walked in and felt like i was "home". First time was the second property i saw but they wouldn't accept my offer. Every other property i saw i compared to it. A few months later it was still on the market and i went back and renegotiated. I bought it.

Second time (just exchanged) seen loads of houses and nothing felt right though DH was happy with them and every time was talked about putting in offers i kept crying as didn't feel right. Then one day i walked into a house and something just hit me. it wasn't 100% perfect but it just felt like home. We were there two hours chatting to the owners and put an offer in whilst still there

I didn't think off street parking would bother me but the house has only on street parking (London) which is always quite packed (I have on street parking now and thought it was ok but I suppose I am holding out for a better parking situation) and the location isn't ideal for me - it is in a residential street but opposite the house is a row of run down garages. There is also a pub at the end of the road which puts me off - I can't tell at the moment whether it would be an issue (lockdown), I doubt it would be as it seems an old man type pub.
The house itself is lovely, garden not ideal - garden is the bit that puts me off most.
It is top of budget though which I guess makes it a bit more nervy.

We looked at about 30 houses but decided we could increase our budget and then saw the house we decided to buy. It ticked all of our boxes and had the wow factor. We travelled to view it and offered on it there and then.

A huge fear of making a mistake. My DH is the type to regret everything so I feel I have to love it to jolly him along. I remember him being in a foul mood when we bought our current house because it was tattier than he remembered and once the previous owners' cool furniture had gone it just looked like a bog standard house.

We need to leave our house as it is far too small for us now. I have no issues with leaving our current house though.

I moved in July this year and I looked at 12 different houses from old to new and when I viewed the house I bought I just knew it was the one. I literally didn't want the viewing to end. It's not perfect it needs updating and it has no driveway which I never thought I would consider so we park in the lane and sometimes I have to park right at the top of the lane and walk back to the house which is 2 min walk at most but I don't mind. I work full time and have older kids that drive. But I really fell in love with the property. My budget was quite tight for my neck of the woods and after months of searching it was a lovely feeling to know I'd found a home I loved.

In our case the wow factor came from all the space there was. The house was in very good condition. We lived in a small semi where kitchen was falling apart. Also we could not believe it was within our budget.

The stamp duty is £70k??!!

Tbh, the road with the garages and working man’s pub just doesn’t sound aspirational. A bit of a downer walking home every day compared to living in a pretty, leafy street. Have you seen many houses in nicer settings or are they over budget?

due to my OH being made redundant and able to draw down on his private pension we were in a good place as cash buyers,

we fell for one house and the seller messed us around for three months not finding somewhere else, so we pulled out, looked at several houses and non of them came up to the original one we liked,

where we were renting the houses behind are all the same built by the same builders in the 1940s modest two bedroom well built semis, one came up for sale sold very quickly then fell through and was up for sale again,

told OH we went to look liked it even though it needed renovating right through, it was empty no chain put in full asking on condition off the market and seller accepted and 12 weeks later we moved in and we love our little house 3/4 of the way through getting it how we want

I don't think it's for you. After missing out on a house we loved - DH and I viewed a 3 story house twice. On paper it was everything we wanted, good price, the right space inside, double garage, less than 5 min walk to school.....but.....it just didn't feel right. We couldn't work out why we didn't like it. But it was the light. Walking into this home it's not perfect but is much lighter and it makes a difference. On reflection there are bits about this maybe we should have defeated longer....but there you go....we are happy in our not perfect garden facing the wrong way home.

First house wasn’t a wow, it just met all our criteria. But it was one of a few that ticked the boxes, it just ticked them the best and was the lightest.

Lived there v happily for 12 years.

Next house move was more emotional. Looked at a lot. Some I could have made work. This one we bought needs work but we both liked it when we walked in. In a way that hadn’t happened with the others we looked at.

I found a house that gave me 'this is the one' feeling, it really felt like home and was perfect.

Then the searches came back, high flood risk and unadopted road. Had to walk away. So my feeling wasn't right, it wasnt 'the one' but I guess my point is, you can feel 100% sure and it not work out, or, like yourself, you can be undecided but it does work out!

I don’t think you like it enough to buy it.

Overlooking run down garages sounds a bit depressing.

@Werk and @Sunisshining12

If the stamp duty is £70k+ then wouldn’t it be in your best interests to find somewhere, exchange and complete before the stamp duty holiday ends? That would save you about £15k.

@Sunisshining12 I had quick check and property around the £1.5 million mark are about £78k in stamp duty. A lot of money, but if you can afford a £1.5 million home then that suggests the stamp duty is within means.

For a £1.5 million home I’d be expecting a wow factor, very few compromises and very little decorating or renovating to do! Other costs come with the price tag. A house that expensive would make me very fussy, because like @Werk said it would be very costly to move if it’s not right; depending on the area it might be harder to find buyers who can afford that price, especially during a recession. There’s a fear of being stuck. But that’s probably because I don’t have £1.5 million, so my expectations of what that kind of money means are different.

Ah now I’m going to go on Rightmove and fantasise what kind of dream homes I can buy with a £1.5 million budget!