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Original poster

How did you feel when you first moved in your new house?

27 replies

toja555 · 18/08/2009 15:47

I am completing on my first house in 2 weeks time. Nevertheless, I feel neither excited nor overjoyed about it. I was outbid on the first perfect house (smaller, but more affordable), then outbid from several properties which were okey-ish, and then gathered my top max budget and got this house, which is I like as a house, but I am afraid that I will not love it because I went through so much property hunting hassle and lost my first option.
How did you feel when you first moved in your new house? Like the dream came true? Or crying? Have you fallen in love with your new home over time? Is it normal not to feel excited?

OP posts:
LynetteScavo · 18/08/2009 15:51

I've never been excited about moving house. I useuslly cry when I move in thinking I've made a massive mistake.

Original poster
toja555 · 18/08/2009 15:54

Lynette, how do you feel about it now?

OP posts:
Tortington · 18/08/2009 15:58

i was almost in tears at what seemed like the mahooosive responsability and finance.

we gave a mahoooooooooosive deposit and i thought we might lose all that money

i was ok after one day!

LynetteScavo · 18/08/2009 15:58

WEll, actually I love the house I'm in now!

The problem with this house was that between putting in the offer and moving I imagined it as it would be in it's completed state (it needed lots of work).

DH started the work on the day we moved in, so walls were bing removed at the same time as boxes unpacked and I was living in a how. It's much nicer now though.

bigchris · 18/08/2009 16:01

it took me about three months to think of our new house as my home iirc

lynniep · 18/08/2009 16:03

Well just relieved actually. I've never owned a house before, I was 5 months pg and homeless (living in a friends spare room with DH)

I have never fallen in love with it. Its my home, but its just a house. We only actually viewed 5 in one day and DH really wanted this one so this is the one we went for (mostly because it just needed a bit of a paint, although we did eventually get a new bathroom too which is FAB)

In an ideal world, I would have got something with character, not just a bog standard house built in the 80's with no charm at all, but what I do love about it is that it belongs to me. I can buy things to put in it and I can knock holes in the wall and its up to ME.

If we move, which is the plan at some point, although not in the next 5 years, I dont think I'll be sad. I dont think theres any need to be excited about the house itself - thats a bonus.

MaybeAfterBreakfast · 18/08/2009 16:21

First one - ridiculously excited. Couldn't wait to get started on decorating, gardening etc.

This house - shell-shocked. Moved house whilst I was in hospital having ds1. Came home to a new house and boxes everywhere and total chaos. Only now, 3 and a bit years later, have we started to make it our own and get on top of things.

LadyOfWaffle · 18/08/2009 16:28

I was excited beyond words - though I would have been happy with anything. It's small, abit crappy, no garden but it was ours. Just focus on the good bits - think about how you can decorate, what you can do with it etc.

Original poster
toja555 · 18/08/2009 16:28

It is good to hear that not everything is lost. I am also a little consoled by the fact that since I offered on this one, I did not see any new properties on the market that would suit my combination of being likeable & affordable.

OP posts:
Roomfor2 · 18/08/2009 16:32

If you've been let down in the past with houses, you probably aren't excited because you are in 'I'll believe it when I see it' mode.

Perhaps deep down you don't believe it will happen, and won't believe it until you are in.

But once you get in there, get it all nice with your stuff and spend your first night there, you will be excited (or at least, I was). The first morning coming down the stairs and feeling like it belongs to you now is quite special, I think.

claricebeansmum · 18/08/2009 16:35

This house - after a year am beginning to like it. When I first moved in hated it and as time went by ambivalent. Now, though, as we begin to make it our home but it has taken quite along time for it to feel like ours. When we've finished with it we'll love it!

MrsBadger · 18/08/2009 16:37

exhausted

and I always miss the old house for a couple of months

Fraochsmum · 18/08/2009 16:46

We moved into ours last weekend and I totally love it! The first house we have bought together, and the dogs are right at home too! We were in the enviable position of living somewhere else (round the corner as it happens) while we did the new one up. We redecorated every room apart from the kitchen so it was ready for us just to move in to.
Luckily DP has got his flat sold after 3 weeks on the market, but we now have the prospect of getting a new kitchen and more mess ha! Still better now than after sprog arrives in 4 months...
It is a stressful business, especially as you have looked at so many places, but when you have it as you like it, it will become your home. Congratulations x

pagwatch · 18/08/2009 17:10

toja

when I moved here it was just an horrendous move.
My father died while we were on a short holiday. we had to fly back from Maderia but then found that there was a problem with our move and we suddenly had to complete within the week. My poor DH had to take calls at the funeral to effect the excahnge or we would have lost it.
We then had a wek to sort out the move/completion.
I managed to find a removals firm. The morning before they arrived to pack and I was distracted ( obviously) relised at about ten that it was ..er... ten and I hadn't heard yet from DD. When I checked she was lifeless and floppy.
Whizzed to hosp and she had lumbar puncture etc etc. The hosp were fantastic but we nearly lost her.
Dh had to move on his own ( with DS1 and DS2 who has ASD and not happy about the move). He lost my engagment ring in the move.
Five days later I arrived at our new home with DD on the mend.
We sat down, cried, drank champagne and I have loved this place ever since.

That rather lengthy ramble is just to assure you that, regardless of the circumstances you can find yourself in your dream home. I don't ever want to move. We love it here.

The worst of starts is not the sum of the experience

Original poster
toja555 · 22/08/2009 09:23

I thought I have calmed down by now, but yesterday I visited the house I exchanged for for some measurements and came back home with the feeling that I hate it and I will want to sell as soon as possible. Of course this idea is completely not reasonable I just hate myself that I did not go for my first choice (dropped it in the middle), my husband says that I will never be happy in anywhere because of my nature. I hope that the only thing that can save me from feeling broken about this purchase is doing some DIY and completely occupying myself with physical work. It seems that everything went wrong after I pulled out from the first property and it never felt 100% right afterwards. I can sell whenever I want if I don't like living in there, can I..?

OP posts:
Original poster
toja555 · 22/08/2009 10:00

Oh and another reason... the owners have a cat, which a did not see when I viewed first. The smell of cat's wee was present in all house (maybe it wasn't there or I did not notice before). Will it ever go?

OP posts:
AllotmentMum · 23/08/2009 19:19

It took me a couple of years to learn to love my house. It was what we had been looking for, only I had to move to a cheaper location to get what we wanted. Along the way I lost 3 houses that I had fallen in love with, so I suppose I held back on the last one, just expecting it to fall though. We didn't even have a survey done, on the grounds that we had already paid for 3 pointlessly, and they were so similar we would just assume the same things were wrong again (and that proved pretty accurate). I couldn't settle at all until my brother in law pointed out that I was blaming the house for the year's trauma and that I needed to get over it and move on. I realised he was absolutely right and it was a real turning opoint.

FabBakerGirlIsBack · 23/08/2009 19:21

When I walked into our house I thought it was a mistake as they hall seemed narrower and I didn't remember the sink being black.

8 years on the hall is normal and we have refitted the kitchen.

Still not happy here though.

Jux · 23/08/2009 19:34

When all our stuff was being moved in dh and I looked at each other and said "it's not going to fit. We'll have to buy a bigger house!" DD cried.

V happy in the town; don't feel the house is right, but that's for other reasons.

Original poster
toja555 · 24/08/2009 09:24

Thank you for your responses. I hope that everyone that is not really happy in their house, will have a chance to change the house at some point... And also hope that I will be able to feel better one day...

OP posts:
TheProfiteroleThief · 24/08/2009 09:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

admylin · 24/08/2009 09:32

Usually feel exhausted and close to tears every time we move (and we've done that often enough) but it gets better when all the boxes are unpacked and I've had time to recover.

ouchitreallyhurts · 24/08/2009 09:43

I went into a state of denial I think! I remember loving the house when we measured up for curtains and just wanting to move in asap but then on the day water came crashing through the kitchen ceiling (it had been empty a long time!) and the locksmith said "what did you move to this area for - the last one was LOVELY" and I burst into tears and ran to my MIL saying " I wanna go hooooooooome!" I sobbed for an hour and then realised that I had to get on with it.

Now, I adore the house - totally. we've found magical things over time (like the sunsets we get, the butterflies are really amazing and we've found original 'graffitti' from 1902 under the wallpaper. the children are so happy and we have more room than we could have ever had before.

I think its normal to get cold feet and wobble on a house that you have liked when you saw it but if you really feel that its not th ehouse for you, DON't do it.

dinkystinky · 24/08/2009 09:55

OP - I was the same as you, outbid on houses we loved then saw our current house and put in a whopping offer on it as was down the road from a house we loved and ticked all the boxes. Then moved in and absolutely hated it. A year and abit later I have come to tolerate it though cant wait to totally renovate the entire bloody house - though I love the sun it gets, our neighbours, that there are owls and parakeets living in the cemetery behind us and the area.

NoseyHelen · 24/08/2009 12:34

We felt upset and disappointed. We were renting so didn't move into our hosue straight away - we thought we'd have a few weeks of decorating etc first. In the meantime, 2 men in a blue escort van broke in and ripped out several fireplaces and what was worse was the whole street saw it and described it to us but came over all amnesiac when questioned by the Police.

So much for the 'burbs being a friendlier place. I couldn't really get on with my neighbours after that.

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