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Original poster

I regret buying our house because of how much it cost

54 replies

Regretitnow · 06/08/2023 09:56

The amount we paid is frankly mind boggling and I still can't get my head around it. It's a lovely house, but omg, I feel sick thinking about it.

We aren't in trouble with the size of the mortgage, that's manageble, but I know we'll never sell it for what we paid due to the bubble we've bought in.

I feel like everyone thinks we are idiots for paying this much too 😞

OP posts:
BarrelOfOtters · 06/08/2023 09:59

Depends how long you live there really ? We probably won’t get back what we’ve spent on ours in terms of extension and renovation but in the 10 to 15 years we will be hopefully living there it’s the right house for us and we’ll get the value of living in it.

try to put it to one side.

DrySherry · 06/08/2023 10:03

In time you will forget you overpaid. Many others have done the same.
It won't matter a jot in a decade once you have paid down a big chunk of mortgage and the value has increased at least in nominal terms quite possibly in real terms too.
No point to regret now. Just find things to enjoy about your new home and try your best to overpay on the mortgage.

Cotswoldbee · 06/08/2023 10:06

But it is your home.

Yes you may have paid a lot (too much even?) but it is where you will be living for the next few years/decades so try to remember this.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if you had known prices were going to stagnate/tumble then maybe you wouldn't have gone for it but you didn't and did so move on.

DrySherry · 06/08/2023 10:33

It's not right to think that people see you as idiots. No one has a crystal ball and you simply paid what you needed to at the time to get the house you wanted. It's the same old cycle as far as values are concerned. We are entering a period of falling prices but I would bet my last tenner that there will be another period of prices booming again in the future. Trying to time these cycles is mostly guess work.

MoonLion · 06/08/2023 10:37

We bought our house in 2007 just before the crash. No regrets. Obviously if we'd had a crystal ball it would have been better to buy it six months later, but it has been a lovely family home for the past 17 years and has eventually increased in price over that time despite the poor start. Also, we sold our previous house for an inflated amount too (obviously that won't apply if you're a first time buyer).

pbdr · 06/08/2023 10:42

You don't need to get back what you paid, it's a home, not an investment. If it's lovely and you're happy living there and you can afford it then it sounds like you made a great life decision, and those can't always be great financial decisions too. The only point of having money is to allow freedom and options, and that includes to be able to live in a house you live, even if it's not the most sensible on-paper financial decision.

FrenchandSaunders · 06/08/2023 10:44

If you love the house it’s irrelevant really if you intend to stay there long term …

Badbudgeter · 06/08/2023 10:47

DrySherry · 06/08/2023 10:03

In time you will forget you overpaid. Many others have done the same.
It won't matter a jot in a decade once you have paid down a big chunk of mortgage and the value has increased at least in nominal terms quite possibly in real terms too.
No point to regret now. Just find things to enjoy about your new home and try your best to overpay on the mortgage.

With respect I don’t think that’s true. I’m pretty sure I overpaid coming up for 11 years ago. I have over 80% equity and it still niggles at me. Can’t quite seem to let it go.

InTheCludgie · 06/08/2023 11:10

There will be thousands of people in your position OP, it is what it is due to the economic situation at that time. If it wasn't you overpaying on your house, it would have been someone else! If you are planning to stay a long time then I would try to forget about it. As long as you see it as your home and you like living there then that's all that matters.

Ohmylovejune · 06/08/2023 11:13

It's done now. At least your mortgage is manageable.

Hopefully as you were prepared to overpay, it's a lovely home, your dream home even. Concentrate on that as a positive.

Riverlee · 06/08/2023 11:15

Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t let the cost stop you enjoying the house. I think everyone is a bit nervous when they move initially, and wonder if they’ve done the right thing. It can take time for a house to:feel like a home.

Also, unless you plan to sell soon, the price is irrelevant. We brought our house in 2008 crisis. It’s increased every year despite austerity, brexit, pandemic etc. also, if your house decreases in value, others will also, so it’s all relative.

Whens the housewarming party?

hettiethehare · 06/08/2023 11:15

We bought at the height of the bubble last year as well, and so will almost definitely have overpaid for our house.

But, I don't regret it. It was the right time to move for us - I see people trying to buy and sell this year and it looks like a complete nightmare, with everyone super jittery. We're of the age where it was no or never to get a family home and I didn't want to dick around waiting for another 2-3 years.

Also - we bought at the top of the 2007 market as well and long term that worked out for us.

Enjoy your home OP - I'm enjoying mine.

Original poster
Regretitnow · 06/08/2023 11:16

Thanks for your comments. I know there are probably lots feeling like me. DH doesn't feel the same, he loves the house and is super happy, which is good I suppose.

We are planning to stay for 10 years but it might be less.

,@pbdr I agree, it's a home not an investment and I try to focus on that.

OP posts:
Reallybadidea · 06/08/2023 11:17

I feel the same in some ways, I know we overpaid when we moved. But - if we hadn't bought last year then we'd have been stuck in our previous house for years because prices aren't coming down anywhere near as fast as mortgage rates have gone up so we'd have stayed put. Plus, there's been nowhere on the market since that I've liked as much as the house we've bought.

What's done is done. If you waste time worrying about it then you're compounding the mistake by letting it affect your enjoyment of the house. You may as well try and make the best of the situation and appreciate the house and recognise how lucky you are to be living in it.

mondaytosunday · 06/08/2023 11:18

I've been buying and selling since the 1980s. Must have done this over 20 times. Never lost money no matter what economic climate I bought or sold in.
Of course if you sold it tomorrow you would lose money. But three to five years (depending where you live)? Better still seven to ten years.
According to the Land Registry, Average homeowners live in their homes for almost 20 years (which I'm shocked at, as I don't know a single person other than my 93 year old uncle who has lived in one house that long)! So most likely you will be there long enough that what you paid will be irrelevant.

ConnieTucker · 06/08/2023 11:18

hettiethehare · 06/08/2023 11:15

We bought at the height of the bubble last year as well, and so will almost definitely have overpaid for our house.

But, I don't regret it. It was the right time to move for us - I see people trying to buy and sell this year and it looks like a complete nightmare, with everyone super jittery. We're of the age where it was no or never to get a family home and I didn't want to dick around waiting for another 2-3 years.

Also - we bought at the top of the 2007 market as well and long term that worked out for us.

Enjoy your home OP - I'm enjoying mine.

we also bought at the height of the 2007 bubble but our property never recovered in value before we moved two years ago. I had to reframe my thinking and we were better off than renting, or id still be bitter about it!

Whataretheodds · 06/08/2023 11:21

You can't lose money until you sell at a loss.

Your mortgage is manageable, it's a home for your family, presumably you like it. Make the most of it and don't borrow worry from the future.

Ohmylovejune · 06/08/2023 11:24

Can I just say, we.did lose money on one house. We did have to save a new deposit and cover the negative equity BUT we also moved way up the ladder to a house that would have cost very much more just a few years earlier. This house we've been in over 30 years.

AccidentallySuckedTheStrippersDick · 06/08/2023 11:27

You really need to stop looking at your house as an investment.

Are you happy paying ££££ amount a month for the right to live in that house? Instead of looking at your monthly mortgage cost just look at it as the payment for the right to reside in your house. In reality, in ten years you may only sell it for the same amount you have paid for it but so what? You will own a big chunk of it outright. That's ten years of living in a beautiful house that makes you happy. And unlike renting you are saving money/creating Capitol while living there.

MakeADecision · 06/08/2023 13:38

I bet you are paying less of an interest rate though than if you bought a lower priced property now and current interest rates…

PosiePerkinPootleFlump · 06/08/2023 13:52

It's a lovely house and you can afford it. No-one thinks you are idiots.

Regret really is such a destructive emotion. No-one can change the past so it's such wasted energy. You bought a nice house that you get to enjoy living in for the next however-many years. Focus on that

EeesandWhizz · 06/08/2023 13:59

At least you have a house at the end of your payments. You could be spending hundreds of thousands over your lifetime like many renters do, and have nothing of value at the end.

Parky04 · 06/08/2023 14:09

mondaytosunday · 06/08/2023 11:18

I've been buying and selling since the 1980s. Must have done this over 20 times. Never lost money no matter what economic climate I bought or sold in.
Of course if you sold it tomorrow you would lose money. But three to five years (depending where you live)? Better still seven to ten years.
According to the Land Registry, Average homeowners live in their homes for almost 20 years (which I'm shocked at, as I don't know a single person other than my 93 year old uncle who has lived in one house that long)! So most likely you will be there long enough that what you paid will be irrelevant.

We have been in the same house for 27 years and at least 8 of our current neighbours were here before us!

rainingsnoring · 06/08/2023 14:14

You can afford the mortgage so that is a major positive. You also appear to like the house so are not regretting the choice of house so another positive. You also get to live in your home for however many years and enjoy all the benefits of that.
Sure, you probably 'over paid' but that was the market at the time. There are pros and cons to waiting and buying. Try to think about the positives.

Original poster
Regretitnow · 06/08/2023 14:19

@MakeADecision we are paying a high rate, our mortgage was taken end of June. The only good thing about that is we budgeted for it so unlike many others, we're ok there.

These replies have been so helpful. I'm feeling a little less regretful.

I have name changed for this thread as I feel embarrassed even on MN, but I'm going to come back to it when I need to.

OP posts: