Do you need to fall in love with a house to buy it

racing_blue

Keeping a light digital footprint...

This post is quite old, and as it contained personal info, I have deleted it for security.

PM me if you would like to know what it said or discuss any aspect.

Davesnave

racing_blue wrote: »

While the ordinary houses served a purpose, I don't really think of them or remember them now. On the other hand, the two perfect houses will forever be frames to the canvases of our lives.

That's very poetic, but I'm sure it's possible to have good, memorable experiences whilst living in the most mundane property.

A lovely house and garden might enhance memories, but it's surely people and their interaction which decide outcomes, memorable or otherwise.

racing_blue

DavenSave, the log fire has gone out and it is raining and I realise you are right!

I suppose all I can say is that the times lived in characterful houses in interesting areas, have also been full and happy times in my life generally. Maybe coinicidence, maybe rose tinted specs. But the memories of those times seem inextricably linked to some quality or quirkiness of the home we had.

https://www.MrMoneyMustache.com gives a purists view in his recent blog post "how to buy a house": remove all emotion from the purchase, and look at buying a house as a simple business transaction to acquire a plot of land and some construction materials. The house you buy like this serves a purpose in that it will provide shelter in the place you need, and should be easy to sell on when we you longer need it. I agree with 99% of what MrMoneyMustache says elsewhere on his blog, but take a different view on this particular point simply because of my personal experience in life so far.

Is it stretching things a little far to make a comparison with choosing a husband or wife? After all, you make a partnership with a house which you intend to last for many years. There are ways of doing this led by the head (arranged marriage or internet matching for example). And there are ways of doing it led by your heart... who can say which is best in the end?

racing_blue

So... my short answer to the original question: do you need to fall in love with a house to buy it?

No.

Longer answer ^^ see above!

Propertyfan

If you wish to move into a house rather than purchase it as an investment then you have to have some emotional connection/reaction to it. You have to imagine yourself living there for a few years. Would you be happy living there for five, ten or more years? If you get the feeling the answer is yes then it's worth considering/making an offer. If you don't get any feeling other than "it's okay" it's probably not the house for you.

House buying is such a major decision in a person's life you can't afford - both financially and emotionally - to risk buying without some strong feeling. Having said that, you have to look at the property with clear logic (take into account the cost and other practical stuff) but from my own experience you need to have some emotional, positive reaction/opinion early on.

Dukesy

When we were last buying, we didn't buy thee house that we both fell in love with when we walked through the door, as it became obvious that the location was just not practical.

We ended up buying the house whose potential we were in love with, if you get me. Character stone cottage, lovely location, fantastic school in the nearby village etc but with all the character ripped out and rendered over in an ill advised 1970s attempt at modernisation. It was mouldy, damp, filthy, badly laid out and totally featureless - I imagine that it was because most people couldn't see past all of this that it had sat on the market for over a year, as it was certainly not overpriced (fully renovated, it will be worth at least twice what we paid, it was that cheap).

Now we have beams, exposed stone walls, inglenooks and so on, I do love the place, but despite having a 'good feeling' about it when we first viewed it, I cannot pretend that I loved it immediately.

It really is so, so important to go with the head rather than the heart when buying property - decor is always something you can change, but a good location, views, schools etc are not.

hazyjo

I didn't fall in love with the decor, etc in my house, but I did fall in love with the house itself. I could see past the magnolia, the empty rooms, the cold and unloved feel about the place. Nobody else saw what I did, my BF was iffy about it, but my mum did say she could see me there although I think she thought there was a lot to do to it...

It had a nice 'feeling' about it. It wasn't the biggest I'd seen, had several compromises, but I LOVED it (still do - been in 5 months).

I have bought houses before which ticked boxes (my last one). It turned out to be the unluckiest house I've ever owned. I ended up hating it despite it being perfect and beautiful on paper. I loved lots about it at the time, but it never had that 'feeling'.

I would never buy one now which didn't feel like it could be my home. Sometimes even the way a room faces feels wrong and it's like that little niggle that makes you never feel settled or cosy. Maybe there's more to feng shui than we know!

My last lounge always felt wrong. There were about 15 leads coming out of a wall for the telly and all sorts of new fangled systems so wouldn't have been easy to move. Everything just always seemed to face the wrong way. The TV should have been in the opposite corner, and the sofas should have been in different places. Just felt weird. Thought that feeling would go once all our stuff was in there but it didn't. I've looked at houses before where I felt like I was the wrong way round in a room (fireplace on wall which didn't feel 'right', etc).

Jx

Davesnave

Dukesy wrote: »

It really is so, so important to go with the head rather than the heart when buying property - decor is always something you can change, but a good location, views, schools etc are not.

This is it in a nutshell. I live in a mundane sort of property, but everything else around it is pretty special, including its land. I'll be able to make the house comfortable, but not remarkable. With my budget, that's fine.

I wouldn't want things the other way around, with a wonderful house in an area I was less than happy with.

I_have_spoken

I lived in the 1st house I bought for 22 years...bizarre I know.

I was happy with the house, but the area went down the toilet and that made me move