Would you buy back your old house?

[Pleasenterausername]

Long story but I have started looking at houses again after moving into my current home, earlier this year, following a marriage breakdown. I’m not settling here and finding the estate a bit cramped and neighbours are blocking my drive (and none of them speak). I also have to pay an annual levy, which I hadn’t been told of.

So, I had a look at Rightmove to see what’s out there…

Lo and behold my first house is on the market! Slightly less than what I’ve paid for this but it’s been completely revamped inside and looks great. We moved out when the children were 6 and 2 as we needed more space. But there are lots of memories in the house (kids are now 22 and 18 so we’ve been away a long time). I think my old neighbour still lives there. My mum would visit (she died 11 years ago). We moved to a 4 bed detached which we sold and split the proceeds, following divorce. We were mortgage free then. I’ve had to take out another mortgage.

The thing is, I was thinking of finding somewhere else in the spring. I was rushed into buying this one as the house sale I was going for fell through and there were 6 houses in the chain waiting on me so I felt a bit pressured to find something. Also, my children don’t seem to like it (although one at university now) and stay with their dad. Two of my bedroom’s are empty. It doesn’t feel like home to them. Their dad inherited his parent’s home so it’s familiar to them. I’m wondering if so buy back their childhood home they’d be happier? Obviously, I don’t need as much space now. The estate agent is the same one who I sold my last house with. Will they think I’m crazy for looking to move already?

It’s a cheaper council tax band and I’d have my memories back. My daughter’s friend also lives close.

Any thoughts?

Would it make you happy? The kids are adults so a smaller house makes sense

I would!

I’m wondering if so buy back their childhood home they’d be happier?

Don't buy it to make your kids happy. Buy it only if you would like to and think you would be happier there. Would the house bring back negative memories as well as positive ones.

💯. My ex talked me into moving from our second house. It was the most perfect house in the most perfect location and I would move back in a heartbeat. We’d renovated and extended it and gave it a great layout. Unfortunately the people who bought it thinks it’s the perfect house too and they won’t move 😭

No, we only moved as needed a bigger house at the time.

I definitely would..

I’m wondering if so buy back their childhood home they’d be happier?

Would it make you happier?

The estate agent is the same one who I sold my last house with. Will they think I’m crazy for looking to move already?

Who cares! They might think "excellent, more commission!"

Do whatever feels right and comfortable for you.

Yes I think you should buy back your old home. It sounds like you were happy there and as you say you only moved as you needed more space at the time. The fact it has been revamped means you won’t need to spend money on any major work. Also it’s cheaper to buy than your current house which is an added bonus. The house you’re in now sounds like just a ‘house’ where as your old one sounds like a ‘home’ with happy memories. Frankly, just go for it as it seems perfect and won’t hang around long in this market. You’ll regret it if you dither too much and someone else ends up buying it.

No way. Very unhealthy. Move on, not back.

If you were happy there and you have good memories, yes, buy it.
Good luck.

I’d be a bit worried about it feeling a bit depressing. Are you going to be sad about being in the family home from when things were good, dc were small and cute and wanted and needed you and presumably you and dh had a good relationship, you had lots of hope and aspirations for the future, however now you are back without those cute dc and without dh. You might know logically that’s good and for the best but emotionally it might still feel a bit sad.
if dc still don’t stay will you mind. I’m surprised they’d rather not stay with you purely because your house isn’t familiar?

Go and look at it with the intention of buying.
Walking around inside and out will help you decide.

I think you should do as @user1492757084 says but I also agree with @HeddaGarbled .

Me personally? There were good reasons why I moved, so no. I might go and look in your circumstances but I’m a bit concerned that you think the kids would be more likely to come home if you live there - I personally don’t think that sounds very likely. But if you know the neighbours and the house would be right for you now in terms of size and location, by all means have a look.

Never do ANYTHING motivated by worrying about an estate agent’s emotions.

Good idea. You can't know without spending time there and imagining living there mostly alone. Is it the right size? Will the contrast with earlier times make you sad?

You’ve clearly got some good sentimental memories of living there so if you feel like you’d want to go back then I would. The house would feel somewhat different though as it’s changed since you sold it back in 2010.

Definitely don’t feel forced to buy it to make your DC happy though- it won’t be long till they move out themselves and you’ll be an empty nest so to speak. Would the house be too big then?

People move all the time for all different reasons - they wouldn’t think you’re crazy for looking to move.

This all said. We sold the home we had purchased in 1991 back in early 2025 and whilst it held over 30 years of memories, we would never want to move back. The area changed drastically over the years.

Yes I would. The current owners have done some amazing work to it and improved it immensely. It was the house we bought that I really loved. But we wanted more rooms and worried about exceeding the road's ceiling price.

I think it depends on whether it fits your criteria and circumstances now. If so, why not.

In a situation like this? Absolutely. You moved because it was too small. Now, years later, you need somewhere that size again. The only thing ot bear in mind is that it won't be the same - your children are grown up, changes will have been made, new neighbours etc, so don't do it if you think you're in effect going back in time.

My brother still monitors the house we grew up in. He loved that house and the area and would buy it in a heartbeat I think, even though it's actually gone through a lot of changes since we lived there. Some of the changes are absolutely changes we would have liked to do ourselves and the most significant change, that we never thought of is, in my opinion GENIUS. So if I still lived in that town, I think I'd probably fight him for it if it came up!

But basically, it was a lovely family house with the right blend of living and entertaining spaces, which has no wbeen significantly modernised, and I totally get why my brother would love to move there with HIS family now, 30+ years later.

Why not?!

At least go for a viewing. You loved it once, and would love it again, I'm sure.

My aunt sold my grandparent's house after they died - it was a bit run-down so a developer bought it. A few months later she was walking past, saw the builders were just finishing, and knocked on the door to have a nosy around. She absolutely fell in love with it, made an offer on the spot to buy it back, and lived there for 20 years until she died.

I wouldn't buy my old house back, however - although my kids go very misty-eyed at the thought, and would love us to move back. It's cute, but far too small!

I’m wondering if so buy back their childhood home they’d be happier?

Has it changed much since you left?

I would struggle. The house has gone and so has all the countryside around it. Now all covered in new roads and hideous modern housing estates.

Even if the house was still there, it’s not the same place I grew up.

Personally I wouldn't want to buy back/live in my childhood home, but your grown-up kids may well love it if you purchased your old house again @Pleasenterausername. So I'd go for a viewing and see how it feels. I presume you'd have to sell your existing house to buy it?

I'd definitely buy back our last-but-one house which we sold in 2018, but unfortunately it's in completely the wrong part of the country for us.

This.
Don't buy a house that suited you 16+ years ago. Buy a house that will suit you now and still suit you in 16 years' time.

If you are serious about this house, you could potentially approach the owners & buy privately (cutting out the estate agents).

You may not need a thorough survey either