I hate our house. WWYD

[Jisforjuggling]

We bought it 2 years ago just before the pandemic. We didn’t love it but there wasn’t much around and it looked in ok nick and seemed to tick most of our boxes…..except not being detached. That aside we thought we could make it ‘home’. It’s become apparent that it was patched up to sell and actually needs thousands spent on it just to make it a workable home (think heating that works). We’ve had the first quote from the architect and it’s just an astronomical amount of money to sort it and add a small extension, that we would probably not get back if we stayed there til we died. We CAN afford it, but for various reasons I’ve grown to hate the house (I love where it is). If we spent a million pounds on renovations I still wouldn’t love it. DH has phoned a couple of EA about houses locally that have come on the market to be told they have 30+ viewings already booked in. All the houses locally are either going before they hit the open market or are going to bidding wars and cash buyers. At best we could be a 2nd mortgage buyer, but most likely we’d have to be in a chain….and there is nothing to rent locally. So would you 1)spend a shed load of money on a house that you’ll never love, but would be nice enough
2) patch it up as best you can view a view to moving as soon as the market calms…which will probably be in 2-5 years
3)try to move now.

How is plastering at £500 per room coming in at £10k? Do you have 20 rooms?

To answer your question, I'd sell now, without a doubt. The upswing will compensate for stamp duty already paid. There's nothing to rent, you are right, so you'll have to play a patient and potentially long game.

I do think you are being quoted a Rolls Royce service by your architect - we live in a horrifically expensive area but £500k on a £600k property. Insane. Get at least four quotes. They are varying here between £100 and £150k for the same job as contractors are just sticking a finger in the air at the moment...

By which I mean differences in quotes of £100-150k (so quotes between £200 and 300k for the same job)

*£350k - gah I need coffee!

Sell it now.

It makes no sense to throw good money after bad.

You only live once.

I've moved LOADS of times. You don't always make money on a house. The last one we sold, we lost about £13k on - we most definitely could have got more for it, but the home we wanted to buy was perfect for us, with a sea view, and it would have been sold to someone else if we fannied around.

Get a valuation done this week, so you know where you stand. Start looking at houses that are up for sale. Get excited!

However, if you do get work done, look to get recommendations for local "one man bands" instead of big firms. We had work done last year. Big firm quoted us £9500. Local chap for the same job, came in at £4500 and he did an awesome job.

the quotes don't add up
10K for new heating system including boilers and radiators
5k rewiring
5k plastering 10 rooms at £500
20K new kitchen
8k new bathroom
decorating paint etc £1000 per room maybe 10K
extension well say 50-100k
a small semi would never cost 100K to landscape the gardens
new drive maybe 5k plants 2-3K new lawn £700 decking terrace on a london semi can't be that much
100K would do an great deal to a house

I thought I'd give a happy update. We moved! About 2 weeks after this thread a perfect house came up. The sellers didn't want it to go on the open market and we were the second family to view. We offered over guide price the same day and had our offer accepted. We told my mum and no-one else as we were so terrified that someone else would get wind and gazump us. Turns out none of our new neighbours knew they were selling and the people next door wanted to buy it! We only put our house on the market once we were close to exchange, and have now exchanged on it. We moved 2 months ago and just LOVE the new house. It needs lots of updating, but if we didn't do anything to it I would still love it.

Awesome- glad it worked out

The house pretty much needs gutting- new electrics, plumbing, plastering, flooring, kitchen, bathroom, add an ensuite

Failing to see how you did not notice any of this or at least be told via the survey.

LOVE a happy update. Well done.

@LimboLass RTWT. We didn’t have a heating survey, so didn’t know the radiators didn’t work. The cupboards I did open were rammed. I didn’t do a survey of which light sockets worked with which lights.
as I happens the house we have bought has no handles on the upstairs doors!!!! I’m assuming they were all open when we looked round. I mean you just assume all doors have handles. I don’t think they survey picked it up either- and it def didn’t pick up the long-standing leak going through the bathroom floor into the room below , which we had to sort in week one!

Congrats 🤩

I clicked on this thread as I hate my new house too 🫣 Amongst a million other things there is no light switch by the front door. We have only been here three months and can’t/won’t move but still. Gah.

My thoughts exactly

Congrats! Glad you followed your heart and found a happy ending!

I just read your original post and thought- just move! So lovely to hear you have, congratulations!

It reminds me of our current house (which we love). We only found out once we moved in that the lounge didn't have a main light. It still blows my mind! It needed a lot of work and it was a tough first year but we're on the home straight now. It's funny how we make these big house purchases and don't really know what we are walking into half the time.

Great news. I would love to live in a detached.

sorry to interrupt the chain - what’s your view on your HMKOC kitchen? Worth it? Did you get your worktops there too? Considering them but have not met anyone with one up here (Far north).

Fantastic outcome (minus the leaky ceiling) I was 16 years in a house that never felt quite right and 4 years on I still absolutely love the one I'm in, even with the blue bathroom tiles with a flower border.

That's a great outcome - well done!

The first house I bought I noticed the newly installed kitchen had a gap left for a fridge. But they hadn't put a plug socket in for the fridge - didn't realise this until I moved in!

Where is this to get 40k for an extension? There are some costs regardless of size