How to accept we are stuck here

[Rosieandjim04]

So we have been looking to buy for what seen like ages !!!
3 houses have fallen through budget what was a really good budget seems to be getting less and less we have good salary increases but the increases are wiping out any savings .
Stuck in our first home we bought 7 years ago. It has zero curb appeal we bought it because it was big for the price. We have to stay in the local area because our DD is very settled and happy.
Can anyone advise how you get over being stuck somewhere you hate?

(I appreciate this is a first world problem and as my OH says at least we have a home)

Do you hate the house or the area? Or both?

If house maybe I would renovate completely? Might be cheaper than moving ;)

If you don’t want to leave the area anyway and the house is a decent size then is it really that bad? Or is there more to it? You say you hate it which is quite extreme if the only real problem is the lack of curb appeal. Would it help to do a complete top to bottom, inside and out, redecoration?

I don't like the street we live on, a neighbour has left an old fridge freezer on his drive outside his property for months. It's scruffy OH won't entertain us paying for the drive to get done it's huge and can fit 6 cars on the cost we were quoted was 10k and that would not increase the value of the house by that much. OH said that could go towards the moving budget.

I appreciate it all sounds very first world problems but I feel stuck can't pay for anything to be done up in case we find somewhere to move but then not finding anywhere to move !!!

Could you compromise on some details on the new house/location if you are really unhappy living where you are currently are? I haven't been in this situation, but I have be trying to buy in this market for nearly a year so I feel your pain there! Less is hitting the market where I live and every property seems to get +10 offers. Awful for a buyer.

Can you do some cheap simple things for now whilst the market is so hard. Like swap a few pictures around, a few accessories that make you smile in each room. Some new potted plants in the garden or drive which will add curb appeal and you can take with you? Sometimes it's small things that can change your feelings towards the place and make it more homely x

Can you plant some shrubs to screen the neighbour? Nice pots can really brighten the front.
What is your drive made from? could you gravel part of it with Cotswold stone or something to brighten it?
Is there anything reasonably low cost you could do to improve the lay out?
Maybe make a two year plan to improve it to it's maximum in manageable ways then look to move when everything has settled down a bit
Better to be stuck in a house that offers a lot for the money so is unlikely to drop in value than over paying and being stuck in negative equity

Yes I don’t think you’ll be happy unless you improve the curb appeal. I’d suggest that you may well get most of the cost of the drive back if you do it as this will also be something pretty critical once you come to sell it. I’d get more quotes or think about other options, like making more of it into beds or paving the bit closest to the house and adding a gate/ path. Then maybe repaint the door and add some planting. Would you be prepared to post a pic for some inspiration?

I feel similar OP. We bought our house a couple of years ago now. It’s in a really nice area and we wanted to be in this area for the schools. When we bought it, it really was the only house available in the area anywhere near our budget at all. We did have more to spend but there was nowhere to spend the extra really! It’s an objectively nice enough house with lots of curb appeal on a nice street and it’s large enough for us. However, I just don’t like the house at all and can’t settle here. It’s really daft. We’ve extensively renovated but I still don’t like it - I actually cried on moving in day and said I hated the house. We always agreed we’d stay a few years and wait for something better to come on the market but the way house prices have risen, I really suspect we’re stuck here now. I’m not sure what the answer is now except try not to think about it too much and try to reframe it as a positive in your mind (because there are lots of positive things about the house and we are lucky to be in this position to begin with). Hope you get something sorted OP!