Paid more than our house is worth and I can't get over it....!

[Dahlia91]

So we bought our house last September moving out of a flat in a city with our then two year old son to a detached three bed in a nice village with good school catchments.
We looked at a few houses in town prior but we were priced out of everything in nice areas/good catchments and I was totally focussed on school catchments as we're in Scotland and you have to go to the catchment school 99% of the time.
When we looked at our house we had just seen a total wreck on for about the same the day before in town and so thought it would definitely go quickly and for a lot more than the home buyers valuation (which is usual here in town). We had also had an offer made on our behalf (without checking) for a different property by our solicitor so technically were set to buy that but I had terrible cold feet realising it really wasn't the house for us.
Basically we were rushed, had sold our flat and agreed an exchange date, relied on our solicitors advice about the price we offered on our house and didn't do our due diligence. I now see houses on this estate going for less for the same or only slightly more but with a massive extension and I just cannot shake the feeling of panic that we overpaid and will lose money when we eventually sell.
We didn't plan on selling for ten years but we also thought we'd be able to do certain things to the house which we have now found out we can't because of its quirky layout....which we thought was a selling feature when we viewed .......

I just need to hear if anyone has been in a similar situation and felt awful and what you did to get over it! I just cannot fixating on how much we overpaid and it makes me not want to do any of the decorating. Especially as extensions would be far more than we had expected (despite what I thought was enough research) and I'm not sure we'd make it back. I don't want to throw good money after bad so to speak.

Location, location, location is the most important thing and that is what you have - the view and the school catchment area.

Don’t worry, op! In the same boat and now coming to terms with it. Think we overpaid by 20k in the end of April/May panic - house is certainly ‘nice’ and in the right catchment for the schools but biggest selling point is garden and views. We’ve not moved in yet but I’ve lost the ‘wtf, have I just vastly overpaid for a VIEW’ moments in the night and realised that we are moving to a bit of a one off, that it will be a home for many years, and like PP said, I sense I’m going to be coming home after work to a little haven. Even if my bank balance might be screeching a bit. Make it your own and just enjoy it!

I have the same anxieties OP but remember that plenty of people waste £££ on other things such as cars etc. Just try to put it down to experience.

If you’re going to live there for 10 years, you’ll be fine! It’ll very likely have gone up in value by then, just ride it out.

Are you sure you can’t convert it to what you need? Have you checked with an architect or got a second opinion?

Totally understand what you’re saying OP, but I don’t think you should dwell on it too much at this stage. Focus on improving it for your own family needs and enjoy living there for now. A family home is more than numbers on a balance sheet!

First house bought early nineties shortly before the prices crashed and was in negative equity for about 12 years then prices moved upwards and so did I.

Second house I bought because it reminded me of my grandparents house where I’d spent every school summer holiday. Wasn’t really a good buy and we spent money improving it and I think we probably broke even after living there for about 10 years. It was a pretty 3 bed detached with a cottage vibe, sash windows and a beautiful garden. We enjoyed living there but it was a money pit.

Finally! Bought my forever home and after 7 years, it’s still perfect for us. Prices have shot up locally so I know we won’t lose out but I can’t see me moving for at least another 20 years.

@Unsure33 so it looks like as I'm a new user I can't post pictures yet - I will have to do it at a later date!

@Sellingstress This sounds exactly the same as us - overpaid by maybe 15k on what we could have got it for in I think July?

When are you moving in? I did enjoy sitting in the garden (where I currently am) after we moved in enjoying the view and a cup of tea. I need to get that feeling back and come to terms with feeling like I've wasted our (and inheritance) money.

I really am trying to get over it and although I'm sure I just sound like I'm moaning for nothing talking it through with you all is getting it all out so hopefully I can feel a bit better! I think pinning down that it's a bit of guilt over wasting inheritance has helped a lot. Understanding your emotions and all that ....!

You've bought somewhere to live. Start thinking of it as a home rather than an investment. In 30 years of home ownership, I've never once thought about what the houses are worth, unless I'm actively wanting to sell the and alterations have been done according to what we want to live with, regardless of any impact.on value.

@megamoomin72 I think we need to get more opinions, one we got was very useful the architect not so much... he just sort of shattered my dreams a bit! Wish I could post the floor plan for advice but as I'm a new user it won't let me yet. Basically its a split level house with no drains on the lower/garden level so it makes it a bigger challenge than a conventional house it seems to extend or change things

@Killahangilion thanks for sharing that - I think this is what I need to hear a bit, that it'll all work out in the end

@Backhills have you never worried you'll spend more than the ceiling price of your street/area though?

I keep thinking about two houses we could have bought that might have been better investments/have more scope. But equally who knows

Clearly I like to torture myself with 'what ifs' and its a character flaw

Are you actually comparing like for like properly?!i.e are they detached, semis, end or middle terrace. Do they have south facing gardens, same plot, same view. Not all houses are equal.
What was the home report value compared to the fixed price (they are usually accurate unless the property is very unique) and are the houses you are comparing yours to selling at that price of being marketed at offers over a lower value to attract interest?
If you want to make yourself feel better, deduct the rent you'd have needed to pay for intermediate accommodation and double moving costs from the price you paid. There is a value in itself to taking what is available when you need it.
If you like the house, stop stressing and overpay your mortgage by a tenner a week - that will soon save more than your perceived loss

We are hopefully moving in august, op. What helped me was going back to see it again a couple of weeks ago. We fell in love with the house/garden/view again (rather than some distorted memory I had of it) and started to plan and get excited. And yes, totally agree, just see it as your home not an investment. It’s so hard when dealing with ££££££s like it’s monopoly money at the start - then the guilt hits! You’ll be grand, op - sounds like there’s a lot to love

@Backhills have you never worried you'll spend more than the ceiling price of your street/area though?

No because if, eg, I buy a new kitchen it's because I want a new kitchen and will enjoy using it, not because I think it will add value to the house. Just like I don't think about the resale value when spending money on a car, shoes or a holiday.

I'd say most cosmetic improvements to a house don't actually add as much as they cost anyway.

We live in a grotty house but with a fabulous view. Not sure I could move to a house that only had a view of the house on the other side of the road - I would feel hemmed in and trapped. Boxed. A view is worth a lot more than money.

As for your extension, I had originally planned one but the cost of doing it didn't stack up and we'd have needed to take down the one we already had
Instead we got a new roof, took down a wall and swapped round functions of the rooms.
It is the same square footage but has transformed the living space. I now wonder why I thought I wanted an extension. It would have ruined the shape, balance and light of the rooms.
You don't have to do everything now. Take time to understand your house, how you use the space and your families needs. You may find you end up with something much better than plan a!

Are you sure the actual sale price is less? In Scotland they often advertise a house at a price way lower than it goes for. My relatives who live there had to pay about 15-20% over

I don't know about Scotland but in many parts of England house prices double every ten years generally. Does that help?!
Yeah right.

@Calmdown14 probably not just as these houses (maybe four in total in this estate) don't come up often, like over ten years I think, and the other same style/build/design don't have the view. Its just a bit jarring to see the same house as ours but with a double story extension sell the previous year for only a little bit more!

@Backhills I suppose I don't mean kitchen and bathroom as they have to be done, they haven't been done since the 90s and are showing their age. I wanted a house I could do my own in so that's ok. Its just that we were definite about an extension (and so didn't care the conservatory was old as we would be taking it down, although didn't realise it was in such bad knick) but now with the challenges of building one meaning it could cost a huge amount more I'm wobbling at the idea of doing it. Especially as it would just give us bigger rooms rather than more rooms.

@dancealittleclosertome this is true, the last house we looked at before seeing ours was looking into the other houses windows from upstairs (back to back gardens). I only managed to convince DP to come a view this one because of the view on the pictures! But I recently read a thread about a view of woodland - which is what we have, albeit the other side of a canal/kind of overlooking it) isn't what some people would call a view. Is this right? I know its not rolling hills but are we the only crazy ones to be wowed by trees

Architect’s (like all professions) have good ones and not so good ones. Don’t be put off by your bad experience, find a different one. www.architecture.com/find-an-architect/#

Drainage can be overcome with pumps and macerators, if it couldn’t, no one would ever be able to build a basement with a bathroom in it.

@Calmdown14 I wish we could do this but we were advised we couldn't because it would mean moving things to different floors and wouldn't pass building regs. They joys of split level..... but we will get another opinion on that as it seems crazy to enforce accessibility when the house will never be accessible because of its design and location. I'm glad it worked for you though!

@Cowbells we paid 8% over home buyers but a lot more over offers over but I don't worry about that as our flat was listed below our home buyers and there's no way we would have accepted less, so I know that's not usually the number to pay attention to, its the homebuyers valuation that matters. I just don't think things here go for as much over that as we had thought (like it does in town!/where we sold)

@Summerfun54321 very true! I hadn't thought about that for basements etc. Thats the site we used the first time but I will perhaps have to try again

I probably over paid by 5k on mine but it is the only thing where I live with a great view back a front and a big garden anywhere near this price point. That money has been quickly repaid and I'd do it again to live here.
And looking at trees is amazing through the different seasons!
You can't undo what is done but 15k is really not that much in the scheme of life. You had a nice place to live through some horrible times. What was being in your own house worth compared to the uncertainty and cost in a rental?
I do also suspect it isn't really 15k as your part of the estate sounds much more desirable

I am in a similar position. Bought a gut job with a view to improve and extend, and now other properties are coming up locally for 10-15k more but in much better nick. We decided to extend and improve anyway and consulted an architect so we could add features that would increase the value of the property. For example indoor / outdoor living, lots of glazing / architecture / plumbed garage

I can sympathise OP it’s a really horrible feeling, back in the late eighties I bought a tiny 2 bed end terrace ‘starter home’ for £50,000, house prices then fell through the floor and within a few months detached 3 bed houses with a garage in my street were selling for £45,000, my house value fell to £35,000, so to add insult to injury I was also plunged into negative equity to the tune of £10,000 and interest rates were in double figures, I was literally trapped in a house I could not sell whilst having to see all these lovely, far bigger and better houses going up for sale all around me for so much less money than what I paid for my crappy shoe box. I have to be honest it was utterly soul destroying and for quite a long time it really did affect me, I hated my house with a passion but then I decided I need to make a plan to get out of there so I started saving up to pay off the negative equity so I could start again with a clean slate, I managed to do it within a couple of years and started again in a much better area in a lovely 3 bed detached house with a lovely garden and view. To this day I will never forget the lesson I learned as a naive 21 year old, I should have read the market, sought advice but I was so young and had no guidance from anyone and just wanted to get a home of my own and away from an unhappy home with my parents so I bought in haste. So although you may have overpaid at least you are not trapped in negative equity, it could be so much worse. I hope you grow to like your house again it sounds as though it’s nice and quirky with a lovely view, what’s not to like?!!

"We got swayed by an amazing view but you don't live in a view do you!"
We got "swayed" by an amazing view, which we have from nearly all our windows its what makes our house so so special. Everyday I look at it; everyday its different, I watch the seasons change and the weather change, snow on the hills in the winter, sometimes the clouds come right down and obscure it, lambs and calves in the spring, often a red kite soars over it, heather in late summer, the tree in all their autumn colours. I live in a view. We probably paid a bit more than we needed to but for me its worth every penny. It bring me great inner peace so worth every penny. Enjoy it.

@ZaraCarmichaelshighheels you are totally right, we definitely aren't risking negative equity so we could be in a much worse position. I'm sorry that happened to you, it does sound horrendously stressful, I'm glad it worked out though. I am thinking of overpaying to try and get back some that we'd pay in interest to make myself feel better about it as well

@Calmdown14 I think renting here would have cost around 1000 a month, which is double or mortgage so again, I know really it's swings and roundabouts as the other option was go into rented till we find something else

@Ozanj oh man, that sounds rough. But glad it sounds like there's lots you can do to add value - I hadn't thought of a plumbed garage adding value?

@IseeScottishhills wow that sounds lovely, ours isn't as nice as that I don't think, and our son lucked out and got the bedroom with the view!

You are all convincing me to do the big work, the stuff that would make it wow as even if we didn't make it back it would be amazing to live in

If you only bought recently it might be possible to still find the link to your house on rightmove etc then we can see the floor plan!