If you sold soon after buying, please share advice and experiences

[storminacupoftea]

We bought our first house last summer and we’re absolutely miserable and desperate to sell and move ASAP. It’s absolutely not normal buying remorse. This house was a terrible mistake and my mental health is really suffering.

I know some people will say it’s normal to feel like this even after six months, but I really am not looking to be talked out of it. We compromised on all the wrong things in terms of the house and the location, and missed a lot of issues due to being FTBs - we’ve learned a lot about what to look out for and check! There’s nothing objectively wrong with the house - it’s just absolutely wrong for us. I realise prices have dropped but they’ve also dropped in the area we want to live in.

We’ve spoken to our mortgage provider (we deal with them direct not through a broker) who’ve done an AIP and confirmed we can port our current rate and borrowing amount to a new property (it’s a portable mortgage so no ERC involved). I’m going to phone some estate agents tomorrow and ask if they think they can sell a property in this area right now (I hope so as it’s supposedly sought after and some other houses have sold here in the last few months). Going to start with an agent who’s selling some chain-free in our budget in the area we want to move back to as maybe it will help if they handle both our sale and purchase. We’ve got some boxes we’ve not unpacked and will shove those in the wardrobe, car etc.

What else do we need to do? Do we need to instruct a solicitor when we start viewings, or when we accept an offer?

In general I’d appreciate any advice or tips from people who’ve sold quite soon after buying. I saw another thread asking what the shortest time was between buying and selling a house and a few people posted but without any details about what the process had been like and I’d appreciate your tips.

I was planning to ask estate agents to tell potential buyers this location isn’t working out for us due to a change in working patterns / needing to go to the office more (which is true! it’s just not the whole reason).

The land registry transfer went through in the summer, we aren’t caught in the backlog and it’s coming up to six months (I know it would be an issue for some mortgage providers if it was less).

What else do we need to do or think about?

Thanks for any advice, experiences of selling quickly. But please, it’s not helpful to post about how you felt this way and then it was fine - please trust me that it is not going to be fine and we need to get out.

Solicitor when you’ve got an offer although it’s wise to think about who you will use before then
I wouldn’t put boxes on the top on wardrobes. It will say there’s not enough storage and I can’t wait to leave so I haven’t unpacked! Parents garage or rent a storage unit
Get the boiler serviced and many buyers now want a gas safety cert. There should be a sticker on the consumer unit which tells you when the electrics need testing. If it needs it get it done.
Give everything a really good clean, tidy garden, pressure wash or similar patio and drive. Make sure the house will look good in the photos. If the photos aren’t good enough people won’t come and view in person

Oh I meant inside the wardrobe - the wardrobe in our bedroom is absolutely huge and easy to hide things in!

Thanks for the tips. We had gas and electricity checks and a boiler service done in May before we bought so hopefully that’s recent enough.

What's wrong with it?

I'd be wary about disclosing your reasons for selling as it's the wrong location

Could you not say something else?

DH and I did this about 6 years ago. We ended up buying somewhere in a bit of a rush after the house we were originally buying fell through. It was completely the wrong house for us and I hated every second of living there! We sold after about 7 months (I can't remember the exact length of time). All I remember is we had to live there for more than 6 months as sometimes mortgage companies are hesitant to give buyers a mortgage if the owners have been in less time than that. You're past that time though I think so should be fine. We said we were selling so quickly because we'd come into some money and were able to afford somewhere bigger and more "turn-key" as the house we were in needed a LOT of work. Technically true as in the time we lived there my position at work had changed and so my salary could be factored into the mortgage. Moving again so soon was honestly the best decision we ever made. We knew exactly what we were looking for and were lucky enough to find it. If you're really that unhappy then you should sell.

It’s wrong for us because it’s so far from the nearest train station. We didn’t anticipate how much of an issue this would become!

I don’t know what else to say without lying?

People will open your wardrobes, oven, under stairs cupboard, turn lights and taps on and do many other things that you wouldn’t in someone else’s house as well.

Thanks, I appreciate you sharing this!

The property we originally wanted to buy was a in the same location but much nicer. It fell through after several months, then we bought this place in a panic and I don’t think I’ve slept right since, I’ve been in a state of constant anxiety and depression.

I’m so pleased you found the right thing and were able to sell - I really hope that happens for us too.

Oh I know, but this is a HUGE wardrobe with multiple rails at two different heights and things are easy to hide in there!

Did I write this post? Honestly, I am in the exact same position and feeling exactly how you are. I completed in the Summer with my partner and realised quite soon after that it was the completely wrong decision for us and my mental health has suffered severely as a result. Like you, it’s not normal buyers remorse and, even though I’ve made it our own and I do feel slightly more settled, I’ve realised home ownership is just not for me at this point in time. I am nervous about the selling process (we were FTB too…) but have decided to just bite the bullet and put it on the market. We have had estate agents over and our photos taken etc, and are planning to just take it day by day at this point. I know this isn’t the advice you’re looking for but I just wanted to let you know you’re not the only one feeling like this, which hopefully might make you feel the slightest bit better. Sending lots of love, I know how hard this is but I’m sure we can both get through this. X

I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through the same thing but appreciate the solidarity.

We’ve got an estate agent coming to do a valuation later this week and I am hoping the situation doesn’t look as bleak as I fear it might.

Sending love and solidarity to you too, I really hope it all works out for you. I just feel we were so stupid and definitely overpaid for this house that’s so totally wrong for us and I wish I could go back and undo it but I can’t!

Bear in mind stamp duty as second time buyers, if you buy over 250K.

So with the housing market like this I suspect this is going to cost you. I work on the fringes of property and things are taking a number 10-12 weeks and often more to go through after offer. Also unless you really do 'price to sell' its not going to go quickly unless its in a very desirable area. If its on an estate of houses it could take quite a while but honestly - its all about the price. Price to sell quickly and you should be OK. You might need to sell at less than you paid for it. How much of a hit could you take?

I know you wont want to post a link (I wouldnt!) but could you give an indication of what sort of area of the UK you are in and the price you paid? £10k loss on a house worth £400k might be OK but £10k on say £200k might be a disaster for you.

It doesn't seem like an issue to lie about the reason, rather than telling the truth and highlighting the fact that the distance to the station is a pain in the arse. It sounds callous, but if you want out, say whatever sounds believable but doesn't reflect negatively on the house.

We had awful neighbours once. We said we were moving as we were relocating for work. I felt bad for the new owners but we would have gone insane if we'd stayed.

@storminacupoftea @Starlight150 are you moving back into rental? I bought two years ago and wanted to sell but DH thinks we’ll end up making similar mistakes choosing the next one.

We are in the south east and paid £345k for a 3-bed semi with garage.

No, not going back into rental. We hope to buy somewhere else. As @Woush says this means paying stamp duty.

I also worry we’ll make more mistakes (new, different ones) when choosing again!

How much can you afford to lose and thanks for saying how much you paid. It always comes down to money which is why I wanted to know. Do you think you got a bargain when you brought?

We were FTB too. Nearly all of my friends bought their houses and none have as many problems (or costs) as we have had.

good luck. Really hope it goes well!

No I don’t think we got a bargain - I think we overpaid for what it is and I hate myself for it.

We can afford to lose a bit if we can find another house for cheaper ie both sell and buy more cheaply. We have some savings we could use for stamp duty etc.

So sorry to hear this and also I’ve just clocked your username. I really hope you can figure something out.

@Newhousecrying No, I’ll be moving back in with my mum (I’m grateful she’s happy to have me back!). I’ve realised that I want to travel more before settling down, and I don’t want the hassle of renting it out/being a landlord while I’m doing that. Unfortunately I realised after buying that home ownership isn’t for me right now! 😞

We’ve had one estate agent valuation so far. It was an interesting experience as it actually made me remember what made us buy the house at the time. These weren’t the right reasons for us - we listened to the wrong positives and compromised on the wrong things. I still think we made the wrong choice for us. But it has reminded me that we weren’t totally insane to buy it and there are reasons why someone else would want it so I feel less hopeless and stupid than I did before.

Estate agent thinks this house will be particularly attractive to buy-to-let investors. We will consider selling to them if they’re our ticket out of here, but the neighbours will hate us won’t they?!

No the neighbours won't care, why should you.

If its wrong, tell them you have to relocate for work and get it on the market. Literally no-one cares.

OP did you post about this before? And I replied saying similar position?

I will say "change of personal circumstances" if it comes to it. It's partly the truth. But tbh, I don't think anyone will be that suspicious, if the price is right you'll be fine.

You say you want someone to tell you to get out, here it is from me - leave.

Some mistakes are just too big. If I could turn back time...

Understand re going into rented, I'm scared about making any decisions after making such a bad one here.

No not posted before but I’ve commented on other people’s similar threads I think.

And thank you! We have seen an amazing house come on in the area where we want to live, for £50k less than we paid for this house (prices were not like this there last year). I doubt we’ll be in time for this one but it’s shown that we may end up in a decent enough position after all.