House buying heeby jeebies
June 4, 2021 3:38 AM Subscribe
Please help reassure me I'm not making a massive mistake with a house purchase...and share if you've also second guessed your decision!
I am a first time buyer and am buying on my own. I'm just about to exchange on a very cute, but small, 1.5 bed house. It has a small but nicely formed garden, is very much ready to be lived in with not much I'd want to change and lots of character. It's also in between an area that I like for its amenities and another area with a fantastic park, and I did lots of due diligence on the neighbourood/street so I am confident as I can be that I'm joining a nice little community, which was important to me.
However, I stupidly went and had a look at a property website out of curiosity and saw that there was a very decent sized, 2/3 bedroom house with an extension and a massive garden about 20 minutes walk away (it's in London, so 20 mins is actually like another world, but still). It also has two reception rooms and is semi detached! Way less character, and would need some work, but far more appropriate for a family if I ever have one (which I would ideally like to in the next five years). It was listed for the same price and I'm now kicking myself. I have no idea what it actually went for though, and I know properties have been being listed cheaply in some cases to get a quick sale before a particular Stamp Duty deadline here. So it may have gone for £20k more than my budget!
I'm guessing it also could have been cheaper because the area is less popular than where I bought (although this is much closer to the fantastic park, where I do want to go every day for a swim). I also feel I would have been surrounded by families, as opposed to a mix of different types of people, and I think I would find it difficult being surrounded by families if I didn't have one. Also, the garden was really big and required lots of maintenance. I love a spot of gardening but it's time consuming. I am wondering whether actually I have bought the right thing for me at this time, and the kids question is a bit out of my hands, unless I decide to potentially do my own (I'm probably going to run out of time fertility wise in next few years, although I have frozen lots of eggs which may extend that period).
I know I don't know how much it went for, but I am kicking myself for not seeing it to compare, and am now feeling it would have been likely I would have offered something on it as it was such a good buy.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of remorse / kicking themselves? Am I fooling myself that 1.5 beds is enough for someone in my life situation? I'm buying in London (and don't feel up for moving out yet) so it's a lot of money to be putting down and it's stressing me out a bit I think. I do think I could have a baby there for a few years, at a stretch, although it wouldn't be ideal space wise.
I am a first time buyer and am buying on my own. I'm just about to exchange on a very cute, but small, 1.5 bed house. It has a small but nicely formed garden, is very much ready to be lived in with not much I'd want to change and lots of character. It's also in between an area that I like for its amenities and another area with a fantastic park, and I did lots of due diligence on the neighbourood/street so I am confident as I can be that I'm joining a nice little community, which was important to me.
However, I stupidly went and had a look at a property website out of curiosity and saw that there was a very decent sized, 2/3 bedroom house with an extension and a massive garden about 20 minutes walk away (it's in London, so 20 mins is actually like another world, but still). It also has two reception rooms and is semi detached! Way less character, and would need some work, but far more appropriate for a family if I ever have one (which I would ideally like to in the next five years). It was listed for the same price and I'm now kicking myself. I have no idea what it actually went for though, and I know properties have been being listed cheaply in some cases to get a quick sale before a particular Stamp Duty deadline here. So it may have gone for £20k more than my budget!
I'm guessing it also could have been cheaper because the area is less popular than where I bought (although this is much closer to the fantastic park, where I do want to go every day for a swim). I also feel I would have been surrounded by families, as opposed to a mix of different types of people, and I think I would find it difficult being surrounded by families if I didn't have one. Also, the garden was really big and required lots of maintenance. I love a spot of gardening but it's time consuming. I am wondering whether actually I have bought the right thing for me at this time, and the kids question is a bit out of my hands, unless I decide to potentially do my own (I'm probably going to run out of time fertility wise in next few years, although I have frozen lots of eggs which may extend that period).
I know I don't know how much it went for, but I am kicking myself for not seeing it to compare, and am now feeling it would have been likely I would have offered something on it as it was such a good buy.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of remorse / kicking themselves? Am I fooling myself that 1.5 beds is enough for someone in my life situation? I'm buying in London (and don't feel up for moving out yet) so it's a lot of money to be putting down and it's stressing me out a bit I think. I do think I could have a baby there for a few years, at a stretch, although it wouldn't be ideal space wise.
If you've had an offer with a mortgage you can afford accepted in London, open champagne. A different house with a larger garden, more bedrooms, and 2 receptions listing at the same price is a lie. You would have been gazzumped in about 30 seconds.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:55 AM on June 4, 2021 [48 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 3:55 AM on June 4, 2021 [48 favorites]
I am also based in London and I feel like you've hit the jackpot with your first time buy!
I have owned my place for many years and at the time I chose convenience over neighbourhood/community. But with the rise of remote working, I have realised how important it is to be based in a nice little local community so it was smart of you to prioritise that. Also, I think it is a rare and wonderful thing to move into a place that needs no work done to it. Pat yourself on the back for a great purchase.
I feel like the other place that caught your eye, from how you've described it, has almost nothing to recommend it over the place you are buying, except for more space; which is nothing to sniff at to be fair, but when you balance it out against other factors like needing some work done to it and being high maintenance and being in an uninspiring neighbourhood, doesn't really seem like it is appreciably a better buy than the place you are about to exchange on.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of remorse / kicking themselves?
Of course, and especially when you are doing something as major as buying a place. It's very natural.
posted by unicorn chaser at 4:25 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
I have owned my place for many years and at the time I chose convenience over neighbourhood/community. But with the rise of remote working, I have realised how important it is to be based in a nice little local community so it was smart of you to prioritise that. Also, I think it is a rare and wonderful thing to move into a place that needs no work done to it. Pat yourself on the back for a great purchase.
I feel like the other place that caught your eye, from how you've described it, has almost nothing to recommend it over the place you are buying, except for more space; which is nothing to sniff at to be fair, but when you balance it out against other factors like needing some work done to it and being high maintenance and being in an uninspiring neighbourhood, doesn't really seem like it is appreciably a better buy than the place you are about to exchange on.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of remorse / kicking themselves?
Of course, and especially when you are doing something as major as buying a place. It's very natural.
posted by unicorn chaser at 4:25 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
You're doing something inherently stressful at a time when the levels of background stress we're all dealing with are... appreciable. It's no wonder if you're second-guessing yourself a bit.
I bought my house a few years ago. It took me two years to find something within my budget that I thought I could actually live in. Almost every single property I looked at that seemed like a bargain at the price had something terribly wrong with it. Serious damp issues. On a horrendously busy dual carriageway. Owner had played fast and loose with planning permission in a way that was highly likely to cause problems. Opposite a clay pigeon shooting range. Right next to a 24h petrol station. Literally in a graveyard. Ceilings only 5'6" high. Two flats only partially converted back into a single house. And so on and so on. The one property where that wasn't the case? Went for £50k above asking. And I wasn't even looking in London, and this was in 2013-15.
If all you've seen is the listing, you don't know what the catch was, but I guarantee there was a catch.
You like the house you're buying enough to have wanted to buy it. Forget the tempting illusion of the one that got away. And if you find in due course that living somewhere small doesn't work for you, and you'd prefer a different compromise? Someone else will like the little house enough to want to buy it from you, and you can move on and try something else.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 4:27 AM on June 4, 2021 [14 favorites]
I bought my house a few years ago. It took me two years to find something within my budget that I thought I could actually live in. Almost every single property I looked at that seemed like a bargain at the price had something terribly wrong with it. Serious damp issues. On a horrendously busy dual carriageway. Owner had played fast and loose with planning permission in a way that was highly likely to cause problems. Opposite a clay pigeon shooting range. Right next to a 24h petrol station. Literally in a graveyard. Ceilings only 5'6" high. Two flats only partially converted back into a single house. And so on and so on. The one property where that wasn't the case? Went for £50k above asking. And I wasn't even looking in London, and this was in 2013-15.
If all you've seen is the listing, you don't know what the catch was, but I guarantee there was a catch.
You like the house you're buying enough to have wanted to buy it. Forget the tempting illusion of the one that got away. And if you find in due course that living somewhere small doesn't work for you, and you'd prefer a different compromise? Someone else will like the little house enough to want to buy it from you, and you can move on and try something else.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 4:27 AM on June 4, 2021 [14 favorites]
I'm not sure how it works in London, but speaking as a seasoned veteran of the Toronto Real Estate Bidding Wars, when you say "A much larger house put on sale for the same price as this smaller house", my immediate reaction is: that's bait. That is a price intended to tempt a large number of people into a bidding war that will get out of hand quickly.
If £20k higher than whatever you paid for your current house would have put you over budget, you never had a shot at that place. None.
posted by mhoye at 4:30 AM on June 4, 2021 [15 favorites]
If £20k higher than whatever you paid for your current house would have put you over budget, you never had a shot at that place. None.
posted by mhoye at 4:30 AM on June 4, 2021 [15 favorites]
I honestly don’t think there is such a thing as a bargain in real estate right now, especially not in a capital city. Everyone knows what a place is worth and it’ll either go for that or most likely, way over as FOMO is such a big thing at the moment. As far as I’m concerned if you found a house you love, in a great neighbourhood at a price you can afford, well, you hit the jackpot. That other property is just a mirage.
posted by Jubey at 4:56 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Jubey at 4:56 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
It's natural to second guess these kinds of large purchaes and life decisions. I have a panic attack any time I spend over $200 on something, so I can relate. You describe that you found something perfect for YOU, which is all that matters right now. You are going to love this home, and if your life swerves in the future and you need something different, you can sell.
I have a small house and love love love that I can clean the entire thing from top to bottom in 90 minutes. It's a beautiful thing.
posted by archimago at 5:21 AM on June 4, 2021 [6 favorites]
I have a small house and love love love that I can clean the entire thing from top to bottom in 90 minutes. It's a beautiful thing.
posted by archimago at 5:21 AM on June 4, 2021 [6 favorites]
I am in the US, but buying a house a a huge amount of work, a lot of stress, and in the weeks just before I closed on my first home last year, I second-guessed moments out of every day. That's normal. It's a big life decision.
It sounds like you've found a wonderful place and it is going to work out. Give yourself the space to enjoy that. And seconding the recommendation for the bottle of champagne mentioned above.
posted by thivaia at 6:12 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
It sounds like you've found a wonderful place and it is going to work out. Give yourself the space to enjoy that. And seconding the recommendation for the bottle of champagne mentioned above.
posted by thivaia at 6:12 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
I totally agree that you should focus and celebrate what you have (congratulations!), and that in this market, there are no hidden bargains. At the same time, presumably you had been house hunting for quite a while before purchasing, and it's totally normal to have difficulty in transitioning from looking to enjoying what you have. After I bought my house, it took me several months to stop monitoring the listings, but with a little effort and time, I got bored with it and was able to stop.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:17 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:17 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
One other small note, about 50% of listings, no matter how good they look in pictures or on paper, are NOT a right fit for you. They could smell terrible, they could have mold or rot, or maybe the doorways are only 4' tall. The seller could want a 180 day closing date, or only accept cash offers, or 100x different things.
You just never know on paper. If a property is too good to be true, or even, seems like it wouldn't be an insane ripoff.... there's something VERY WRONG with it. ESPECIALLY if it's been on the market for 30+ days.
posted by bbqturtle at 6:47 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
You just never know on paper. If a property is too good to be true, or even, seems like it wouldn't be an insane ripoff.... there's something VERY WRONG with it. ESPECIALLY if it's been on the market for 30+ days.
posted by bbqturtle at 6:47 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
House buying is prime for this kind of second guessing, since (unless you are super wealthy), you need to buy just the one and it's not like clothes shopping where you can buy a dozen, try them all out, and return the ones you don't like.
On top of that, once you stop seriously looking but are still watching listings, you just see the houses in their best presentation. You aren't going on tours where you see that the neighbors are awful, or the foundation is crumbling. So as a result, things look good on paper and it is easy to think you made a wrong choice.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:16 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
On top of that, once you stop seriously looking but are still watching listings, you just see the houses in their best presentation. You aren't going on tours where you see that the neighbors are awful, or the foundation is crumbling. So as a result, things look good on paper and it is easy to think you made a wrong choice.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:16 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
Our house-finding experience was much lower stakes than buying in London (and the market wasn't as bonkers), but we were still fence-sitters between three options. I really had to convince myself that there is no such thing as the "one perfect house", and that our choices were between "three pretty good houses". The Pink House had some rot issues on the front porch. The Blue house had a light industrial building across the street. The Brown house wasn't in our desired neighborhood. There were no right or wrong choice, just different ones.
Would our lives have been different if we'd wound up in the Blue House or the Pink House? Yeah, probably. Would they have been better? Who can say? There was no wrong choice given the options that we had. Just A choice.
posted by Gray Duck at 7:41 AM on June 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Would our lives have been different if we'd wound up in the Blue House or the Pink House? Yeah, probably. Would they have been better? Who can say? There was no wrong choice given the options that we had. Just A choice.
posted by Gray Duck at 7:41 AM on June 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Buyer's remorse. Happens to almost everyone on almost every big purchase. For all the reasons you decided to bid on or buy the house, it will turn out to be right for you. Hindsight is 20-20. The coulda, woulda, shoulda's exist not to regret but to be introspective and learn.
posted by AugustWest at 7:49 AM on June 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by AugustWest at 7:49 AM on June 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Comparing these two options is like comparing your actual life to someone else's Facebook/Instagram page - you're only seeing the angles they deliberately chose to present!
posted by february at 8:44 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by february at 8:44 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
You are not making a bad decision on your house purchase, especially not in the current market and especially not in London. We are in a similar position (albeit in Brum), in that we have just had an offer accepted on a house some distance from where we are now although we wanted to stay a bit closer. We didn't get much of a choice - houses were selling stupidly quickly and for way over the asking price.
We found a nice little place, had the offer accepted and then like a fool I thought I'd just have a quick look on Rightmove and there it was - a larger house with a bigger garden in a preferred location. For the same money as we had just agreed. I'm convinced though that if we'd tried to get to see it, we would have failed and that it's eventual selling price would probably also have been £15-20k more than it was on for. Frankly, the stress that would have been caused to look further into that house would not have been worth it. The other thing is that we are likely to move in some year's time anyway and the new house is fine for our needs until then.
The thing is, the house you have found is right for you right now. It suits you. You saw yourself living happily there. None of that is going to change because you've seen an ostensibly "better" house. Which, as others have said, might have some real flaws that wouldn't be apparent until you visited, or that related to the area (fumes from businesses, noisy neighbours, inconvenient shops, whatever). A bargain house is rarely a bargain.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 9:03 AM on June 4, 2021 [4 favorites]
We found a nice little place, had the offer accepted and then like a fool I thought I'd just have a quick look on Rightmove and there it was - a larger house with a bigger garden in a preferred location. For the same money as we had just agreed. I'm convinced though that if we'd tried to get to see it, we would have failed and that it's eventual selling price would probably also have been £15-20k more than it was on for. Frankly, the stress that would have been caused to look further into that house would not have been worth it. The other thing is that we are likely to move in some year's time anyway and the new house is fine for our needs until then.
The thing is, the house you have found is right for you right now. It suits you. You saw yourself living happily there. None of that is going to change because you've seen an ostensibly "better" house. Which, as others have said, might have some real flaws that wouldn't be apparent until you visited, or that related to the area (fumes from businesses, noisy neighbours, inconvenient shops, whatever). A bargain house is rarely a bargain.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 9:03 AM on June 4, 2021 [4 favorites]
A lot of great advice above, and I wanted to add to the kids thing, as I am in a similar situation. I recently bought a condo in an insane market - it took me a solid 2 years to find something in my price range and neighborhood that had my one requirement. Beyond this requirement, I really wanted a second bedroom (and bid on a few that I didn't win), but this one is only 1 bedroom and 1 bath.
I want kids too, and I am running out of time and considering doing it on my own. So I have continuously been looking at listings of 2 bedroom apartments in my price range (that are few and far between).
I am wondering whether actually I have bought the right thing for me at this time
The thing is, you did make the right decision for you, at this time, just like I did, for me, at this time. I don't know what a 1.5 bedroom is (1 non-conforming maybe?), but it sounds like more than my plain old 1-bedroom, and here's what I decided.
If I have a kid on my own (which would be not now but in the next few years), I could live with said kid in a 1-bedroom for at least a year. Yeah it would be a little crazy but I'm not someone who needs a ton of space and it's temporary! Then I could sell and get a bigger place, if that's in my budget. Or I could sell or rent my place out, and rent a 2-bed for me and the kid. In the multiple-years meantime, I enjoy this place that I have now, that I love now.
If I meet someone who I get married to and have a kid with, who knows what they're coming with. Maybe they have a bigger house we would move into, and I can rent out my condo - or sell it and invest my equity, or use the equity as a cushion if I decide to become a stay-at-home-mom. Maybe they also have a 1-bed condo, we sell both, and buy a bigger place together.
And, if I (sadly) don't have kids, I can see myself staying in this condo for years or decades. That's a big loss for me on the kid side, so a big part of me doesn't want it to happen. But I can't fully control whether I will be able to have a kid, and if I can't, I know I will at least love my condo. (Or maybe I'll grow out of it and move anyway.) So it's right for me now, it might even be right for me in the future, and if not, it just becomes another change in life.
Selling and moving and renting are all easier said than done, but don't miss out on your great here and now for some unknown that you will be able to work out, one way or another, once those unknowns become known.
Congratulations, and enjoy your new home!! And block Zillow, or whatever the London equivalent is, if you need to for a while :)
posted by sillysally at 9:32 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
I want kids too, and I am running out of time and considering doing it on my own. So I have continuously been looking at listings of 2 bedroom apartments in my price range (that are few and far between).
I am wondering whether actually I have bought the right thing for me at this time
The thing is, you did make the right decision for you, at this time, just like I did, for me, at this time. I don't know what a 1.5 bedroom is (1 non-conforming maybe?), but it sounds like more than my plain old 1-bedroom, and here's what I decided.
If I have a kid on my own (which would be not now but in the next few years), I could live with said kid in a 1-bedroom for at least a year. Yeah it would be a little crazy but I'm not someone who needs a ton of space and it's temporary! Then I could sell and get a bigger place, if that's in my budget. Or I could sell or rent my place out, and rent a 2-bed for me and the kid. In the multiple-years meantime, I enjoy this place that I have now, that I love now.
If I meet someone who I get married to and have a kid with, who knows what they're coming with. Maybe they have a bigger house we would move into, and I can rent out my condo - or sell it and invest my equity, or use the equity as a cushion if I decide to become a stay-at-home-mom. Maybe they also have a 1-bed condo, we sell both, and buy a bigger place together.
And, if I (sadly) don't have kids, I can see myself staying in this condo for years or decades. That's a big loss for me on the kid side, so a big part of me doesn't want it to happen. But I can't fully control whether I will be able to have a kid, and if I can't, I know I will at least love my condo. (Or maybe I'll grow out of it and move anyway.) So it's right for me now, it might even be right for me in the future, and if not, it just becomes another change in life.
Selling and moving and renting are all easier said than done, but don't miss out on your great here and now for some unknown that you will be able to work out, one way or another, once those unknowns become known.
Congratulations, and enjoy your new home!! And block Zillow, or whatever the London equivalent is, if you need to for a while :)
posted by sillysally at 9:32 AM on June 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Hmmph. Why was that other one so cheap? Because it had a horrible problem, that's why. You would have bid on it and wasted a day or days, been outbid in the end and contributed to driving up the price. This fateful dalliance would have cost you the one you're in now that's in a better area with a more appropriately sized garden and that doesn't have a colony of... what unimaginably destructive varmint do you guys have where we have raccoons? Stoats? Yes, let's go with stoats. The other one has a colony of murderous feral stoats living in it, as the poor people who bought it and are now saddled with it for the rest of their lives are soon to discover. Enjoy your sweet new house and all the peace, convenience, and blissfully stoatfree living it offers!
posted by Don Pepino at 10:14 AM on June 4, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by Don Pepino at 10:14 AM on June 4, 2021 [12 favorites]
Response by poster: There were so many amazingly reassuring comments here, thank you all so much. The one with the stoats won by a sliver. Because...stoats. (I had to look up stoats. I'd really like a stoat, they are cute! But maybe not murderous ones living in gangs in my house?).
I'm going to the discount off licence to buy the cheapest bottle of champagne possible - my deposit is leaving my account on Monday!
posted by starstarstar at 10:19 AM on June 4, 2021 [11 favorites]
I'm going to the discount off licence to buy the cheapest bottle of champagne possible - my deposit is leaving my account on Monday!
posted by starstarstar at 10:19 AM on June 4, 2021 [11 favorites]
I love my current place, but I too have a "one that got away." It's around the corner, on a small quiet street, and every time I walk past it I look over and wonder what-if.
I'm also in London, and I made the opposite decision from yours. I went for the bigger place with drawbacks (busy road; needed renovation) rather than the charming smaller place. Really I think that whatever happened, I'd have found reasons to love either house, as well as frustrations.
But yeah, I understand the second guessing and the panic! When you're about to sign a document with THAT many zeros, your brain just goes "AAAGH wait am I doing the right thing??? What if this is Wrong????"
That's a natural feeling. It lightens up when the decision is made and you can say with Caesar, "Alea jacta est." Your new home sounds delightful! Congratulations, and I wish you many years of joy.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:02 AM on June 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm also in London, and I made the opposite decision from yours. I went for the bigger place with drawbacks (busy road; needed renovation) rather than the charming smaller place. Really I think that whatever happened, I'd have found reasons to love either house, as well as frustrations.
But yeah, I understand the second guessing and the panic! When you're about to sign a document with THAT many zeros, your brain just goes "AAAGH wait am I doing the right thing??? What if this is Wrong????"
That's a natural feeling. It lightens up when the decision is made and you can say with Caesar, "Alea jacta est." Your new home sounds delightful! Congratulations, and I wish you many years of joy.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:02 AM on June 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
I too recently bought in a city where real estate is a war zone. Every house worth buying (and even those that aren't) is going for way over asking price with a dozen subject-free offers.
My partner and I spent YEARS looking. It was so awful, every house that seemed like it could be The One on paper turned out to have some kind of catch. One house had a living room that looked big enough in the wide-angle staged photos but in person was too small to fit even one regular sized couch. One house was listed using the original photos, but turned out to be currently occupied by hoarders. One house looked to be beautifully redone, but then we found out the entire reno was un-permitted. One house appeared to have a garage but the garage was actually on the next door neighbor's property and the two neighbors had some kind of handshake agreement in place for its use. One house seemed far enough away from the train tracks, but somehow the rumbling and screeching carried all the way over there. One house had one single tiny closet in the entire place. And one house that we actually had an accepted offer on turned out to be a disaster upon inspection (thank god we somehow snuck that clause in there), you can read about it in one of my previous Asks.
There are so many buyers vying for every decent place that I strongly feel if you managed to bag a good one then you are extremely fortunate. Think of all the catches that other house could have. Think of all the other buyers who missed out on your house! So what if maybe you paid a little much? You actually don't know that, because the other house could've gone for waaaaay more than the list price, but still, so what? You now have a beautiful home in a great community and the peace of mind that you are no longer caught in the soul-destroying rat race that is home buying in a crazy market. You can start decorating. You can start settling in. You can put your time and energy into other future goals. You're HOME.
posted by keep it under cover at 10:49 AM on June 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
My partner and I spent YEARS looking. It was so awful, every house that seemed like it could be The One on paper turned out to have some kind of catch. One house had a living room that looked big enough in the wide-angle staged photos but in person was too small to fit even one regular sized couch. One house was listed using the original photos, but turned out to be currently occupied by hoarders. One house looked to be beautifully redone, but then we found out the entire reno was un-permitted. One house appeared to have a garage but the garage was actually on the next door neighbor's property and the two neighbors had some kind of handshake agreement in place for its use. One house seemed far enough away from the train tracks, but somehow the rumbling and screeching carried all the way over there. One house had one single tiny closet in the entire place. And one house that we actually had an accepted offer on turned out to be a disaster upon inspection (thank god we somehow snuck that clause in there), you can read about it in one of my previous Asks.
There are so many buyers vying for every decent place that I strongly feel if you managed to bag a good one then you are extremely fortunate. Think of all the catches that other house could have. Think of all the other buyers who missed out on your house! So what if maybe you paid a little much? You actually don't know that, because the other house could've gone for waaaaay more than the list price, but still, so what? You now have a beautiful home in a great community and the peace of mind that you are no longer caught in the soul-destroying rat race that is home buying in a crazy market. You can start decorating. You can start settling in. You can put your time and energy into other future goals. You're HOME.
posted by keep it under cover at 10:49 AM on June 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
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If you're perfectly happy with something you have, don't let that happiness become infected by something unknown that you think might be better. If the small house was the right choice yesterday, it's still the right choice today.
(Also, make the choice for YOU. Not a member of your family who isn't even here yet.)
posted by phunniemee at 3:53 AM on June 4, 2021 [56 favorites]