Massively overpaid on a property as a first time buyer and I’ve lost all motivation to make the house “mine”

[justaballofanxiety]

Apologies for the negative post…
I’m a first time buyer who bought last winter. The area I bought my house had seen a big increase in prices during covid. When I saw my house come on the market it was slightly lower than others nearby but still felt it was overpriced (230k was advertised). It was last sold in 190k in December 2021, and not much had changed with the property, although the area had become more popular so I put the price increase as down to that really.
At that point in time I was dealing with the craziness of interest rates skyrocketing so I rushed ahead after having viewed dozens of properties, and I felt the pressure to get on the ladder so went ahead. The lender valuation was fine and agreed with my offer despite me feeling like I overpaid.
Fast forward a few months and I’ve noticed so many old DIY jobs that were awfully botched and covered up by furniture/fixings, to the point that this feels more like a fixer-upper than what I paid for. I have no idea of how to start fixing things but labour these days costs so much.
I wanted to get the bathroom done up as that’s the worst part, but I don’t even know if it’s worth it if I’ve already overpaid. Don’t want to pour more money down the drain….
I’m on a 5 year fix, and trying to think of this as a home rather than just an investment, but I still would like to spend my money wisely.
Just looking for some advice and how to get out of this negative mindset that I keep returning to. Is it worth getting the bathroom redone? And is there a way I can get an accurate valuation of the house as I really don’t trust myself (or estate agents really)?

If it really was a fixer-upper you'd have noticed. Believe me.😬
Owning a house does mean keeping up with maintenance and upgrading from time to time, to maintain its value, possibly increase its value, and to make it more to your taste. That's a different thing to a fixer-upper's problems, really. And just about every homeowner gets cross from time to time about previous owners' bodged work however pristine the house may be- if only because modern ways of doing things are just different, or we know better about how to do stuff than 20 years ago (e.g., once we got told to use diluted PVA on new plaster, now we know that's a bad idea and we do mist coating).
Work out what things oin you most, and list what you need to do to fix them in order of importance to your comfort living there and according to what you can afford, and just work through the list as and when you can. Sometimes the low hanging fruit ( like filling bits of wall and painting them a colour you like) can be fairy cheap and make a big difference. Other things like kitchens and bathrooms benefit from planning once you have lived in a house for a bit and you've found out what works for you and what doesn't. You will get through the list in time, even if some things get added on to the end....

I can really relate to this - I bought in May when the market was just dipping but was so fed up of forever being out-bid last year that I made it pretty clear to the EA I'd up my bid if needed. So, a £275k asking price that I put in at my first offer, the EA asked me to up to £280k to get the house. After accepting the offer, the EA told me the next bid was £260k. GRR!! This extra £5k wiped out my repairs/reno fund so I'm now in a house I can barely afford to do up and all the niggles are coming to the fore (things like they had dogs so the carpet still smells 4 months on after pro cleaning etc - the only way is to replace). An identical house (we're talking 10 year old houses on a small close, so they're still identikit stage) went on the week I completed in May, and is still unsold at £260k.

The bathroom is the major pain for me - there's no shower, and I'm a shower person. I thought I'd be able to do a c. £1-2k fix but the configuration is bonkers and it's not really do-able in a way I'd then be happy with having sunk the money, so it's a re-do the whole thing job really. I'm giving it a year then going to see about additional borrowing.

The way I'm squaring it about the house price is, unless you have barely any mortgage left, it really doesn't matter. What matters is the equity you'll get when you move, which is always going to be simply the amount that you've paid into the house, and it doesn't matter how much is left. So if you bought a house at £300k, paid in £100k deposit, and paid off £50k of the mortgage, you'll be transporting £150k to your next property. And if prices continue to dip, you actually do well when you move - the % saved on your next house in value is more than the % dipped on yours (a £500k house less 10% is now £450 to you, while your £300k house is only £270k - so you've saved £20k at that point if your next one is your forever home - and again, if it's not, it doesn't matter).

It's the reno bits that are worrying to me, not the house price. But it is hard not to feel a bit galling about it.

i think you should concentrate on unbotching the botched repair areas and giving it a cheaper face lift - new carpets, new paint etc first before tackling a new bathroom. Settle in first and address your emo issues and then think about new bathroom in say a year or so. It is a great idea medium term but will be stressful and needs some mental strength. If The mortgage valuation supported your sale price you didn’t overpay for the market at the time. I had my offer agreed in May and moved in a week ago. I paid about £10k more (estimated) than any other bidder - and there were a few bids. Everyone was telling me I was paying too much and buying at the wrong time. i still feel as though I got a good deal because I absolutely love the house And health permitting I won’t ever move out.

We bought our first house at the peak of the market not long before the financial crash in 2008, and ended up having to quickly put in a new boiler and new windows. Then we didn't even benefit from falling interest rates as by then I was officially a student with no income so we had to stay with the same lender on whatever rate they would give us. Overall when we sold in 2014 we made a slight loss.

Anyway, sometimes you are just unlucky with timing. But most people can't put their life on hold gambling on the financial markets. We were still better off losing slightly on the house than we would have been paying money in rent for 6 years.