Need some positivity with my bloody money pit of a house!

[Xtraincome]

Help me please!

I tread water living in this house as I hate it! Have tried to sell twice, failed both times for various reasons.

Got a leak in the bathroom, gone through insurance, did trace and assist, we fixed supposed issue, water pissed down from ceiling after first bath in ages.

Obviously going to call supplier to get them to check pipes again but I am just so demoralised. I just want to leave this horrible place and live somewhere I want (see multiple threads and comments by me).

Can someone give me some kind of pep talk as I just can't stand it anymore. We still have so many other jobs and no money with which to do it.

We need out soon as mortgage goes up exponentially in August 2024 and I don't think we will be able to sell and move in that time.

I seriously hate this house!

Oh what kind of a house is it? We're about to move to a big 1950's house and I pray it won't turn in to a complete money pit. 🙏

Why can't you sell? I'd get it back on the market as soon as you can (assuming you have other options to buy in your area) if it's causing you so much stress and grief.

Thanks for the reply @shivawn so it's a '70s build and we have never really liked it which makes it all worse.

Sadly, the leak has caused the ceiling to bow in the room below so there's clear damage and damp. However, I would sell it tomorrow but my DH is being the voice of reason as we will get a decent price for it.

I just need as much positivity to keep myself going!

Good luck with your 1950's build! What style of house is it?

My last rental cost £25 a day to heat to about 18 degrees when it wasn't windy, £40 a day to heat when it was. It usually felt more like 14 because the wind came straight through the walls. It was never more than 0.5-2 degrees warmer than it was outside.

We once cranked the heating up to 21 degrees during a storm and those four hours cost us £105.

For a three bedroom house.

AND YOU DON'T LIVE THERE!!!

@KievLoverTwo so in your rented property it costs that much to heat your house? Maybe I have misunderstood as that sounds crazy!

@Xtraincome my former rental. My current rental costs nothing in comparison.

Yeah, we were spending £650 a month on oil (including hot water) and were always fucking freezing. My OH used to wear five layers and gloves and a hat and boots and still be shaking with cold at his desk.

Electricity to run the boiler that constantly turned on and off was about £200 a month too.

We don't even have kids, that's £850 pm for a two person household.

My god!! That sounds absolutely bloody awful! All those layers to stay warm it's like victorian Britain FFS.

Are you in the same place for this coming winter? Or are you somewhere better insulated?

Go back through the insurance and claim for the whole of the damage including the ceiling repairs. The previous expert clearly didn't do a very good job. Get that sorted and then try and make things nicer while you live there. It's amazing what a difference you can make with paint and a few cushions throws and bits and pieces. You don't have to spend a lot to make things nicer and putting a bit of your own stamp on the place may make you feel better about being there and make it easier to sell when you market it.

We left, thank god. When Russia invaded Ukraine the cost of oil went up more than 50% and we didn't really fancy paying £50 a day to still be freezing. That was the minimum amount of heating we could have on in order for me to be able to cook dinner without seeing my breath and have violent shakes. We ended up abandoning the ground floor entirely between March and July last year because of the running cost. Moved in July.

New place is still oil, prices fell quite a lot, it's a far easier to digest £6 a day (and the house is 40% bigger!), and I can get it as hot as I want because it actually retains heat, and it does so really well.

Is your house easy to get toasty?

Honestly, it isn't too bad but it never gets anything more than warm. It's a wide semi-detached. £50 a day is just absolutely obscene. So sorry you had to go through that @KievLoverTwo

@redastherose I know we can do more. It's just been 7 years of unrelenting shit with it. We finally get £350 quid together to pay the excess and still something goes wrong! The water damaged room will become a nice-looking study when work is complete.

Sorry op, it’s reallt crap when things go wrong with a house. Do you have any local friends who’d
help you do some painting? Move furniture about to give it a new lease of life?

We have very little spare cash to change anything and I know how it gets you down. It is amazing what a lick of paint in rooms will do.

I agree with pp, go back through the insurance as the claim
wasnt sorted properly.

Woke up to ceiling collapse in the spot where the leak is. Might help us target the issue easier? 😆

@Underminer yes our plan is to re-paint a lot of downstairs walls. The builders through the insurance will redo the whole room- they haven't started yet thankfully. We fixed the leak then they fix the damage but they diagnose the problem. Is your house a money pit too?

Thanks for the replies guys.

Good luck OP,I've been in my money pit for almost twenty years.

I'd move tomorrow if I thought I could find someone daft enough to buy it.

If a house is really bad then you have to consider is selling it for less (even a loss) worth it.

Moneypit houses especially with insurance claims are usually better rid of.

It might be worth taking a step down on the property ladder to get somewhere livable and affordable rather than sinking more money into it if its making you miserable and your unlikely to recover that money.

Say its a 3 bed semi you bought it for £250k, say you can sell it for £175k, it might be better to take that an buy a £140k 2 bed flat that isn't a moneypit than to stay and pay out more in ongoing repairs, insurance, mortgage increase etc... (just a random example) when it might not get back up to £250k or even if it does you sunk £100k to get it back there.

@housethatbuiltme that is actually our plan. A downsize of house and finances and I can't wait!

The house itself, even at a loss would sell for around 425k, was bought for 315k. It has potential to do great on the market. Its just such a massive slog though. But for sure we are considering taking the hit if we just can't do it anymore.

@WickedSerious that sounds horrid. Am so sorry. What type of house are you in?

@Xtraincome sorry to hear about your ceiling! :(

Oh god, my sympathies! I've been in my money pit for 7.5 years and I shudder at the thought of still being stuck here after two decades 😭

@Xtraincome a 1930's detached,we knew it needed work but nearly every time we think we're getting there something goes wrong.

I'm kind of numb to it now.

There is always a buyer at the right price.

Oh poo. It's so maddening when you're just numb to it all. Agree with @CrashyTime that there is always someone out there who could be a potential buyer.