Cold feet before exchange

PasturesNew

Everybody feels like that.

When I bought this house I didn't even particularly like/want it, but I needed to buy one and this one was for sale - so I bought it.

Everybody's petrified and has cold feet. Thousands of problems/scenarios go through your head.

Just do it.

AnotherJoe

Visit and see what its like inside on a non sunny day. If it is too dark, fair enough. Look at some others, if they are better, go for one of those.

However, re your main point, curb appeal, that is overrated, how often are you outside looking in compared to inside looking out?

Out,_Vile_Jelly

If the house is fairly priced, you can afford it, is big enough for you and you like the area you don't have to "love" it. Not everyone goes through life having the same emotional responses to stuff. Some people burst into tears at the sight of The Dress (wedding) and spend thousands on it. Others buy one off EBay and get married in a registry office and are equally happy.

By all means visit the property again, but if you pull out it seems sensible for it to be for a valid reason that will affect your budget or quality of life, not a vague feeling that there might be something more special out there.

If you don't like the kitchen you can change the doors on the units. Likewise keep the bathroom suite but retile or change the floor, neither should break the bank.

ThemeOne

I'd say it all depends how far down the road you've gone with this property.

If you've already spent money on legal fees etc, and are relocating for work (and therefore presumably on some sort of timetable) it might not be worth pulling out.

Also who's to say if you go through all the process of pulling out and offering on another property you might not end up feeling the same way?

Do you think the property is readily saleable? After all, you don't have to live there forever.

Cakeguts

The only way you are going to get your dream home is if you build it yourself and even then you will have to make compromises. It is unlikely that you will find any house with your taste of kitchen and bathroom unless you have put them in at least with this one you don't have all the work of having to do that.

As it is your first house I assume that you are not going to live there forever? Most people have to buy the house that they can afford in the area where they want to live they don't get their dream home.

moneyistooshorttomention

ElsieMonkey wrote: »

I think the feeling of walking into somewhere and feeling it's the one/falling in love isn't the reality for the majority house hunting (only for those who have tons of money to spend). For most people it's a case of working out their priorities and making compromises, based on their budget. The grass always appears greener, but they require X amount more than you may be able to afford. You say it's not quite what you have been dreaming of, but be honest with yourself about what you have been dreaming of - is it affordable for you, does it even exist in your search area? If you pull out of this one will you be waiting for something that never materialises because it's an unrealistic dream? Also you mention the bathroom and kitchen - these can be changed in time. It's very unlikely that any house you ever buy will be 100% perfect/you.

I can't say what you should do, but maybe try and work out if your feelings are just anxiety of taking on this new/big commitment and/or you needing to accept that the dream doesn't exist (both normal and expected).

Agreed.

It takes one of two things imo to have a house one "loves". One is a lot of luck coming across just the right house at just the right time at just the right price (and I doubt that happens to many people). The other is if one can afford a generous amount of money for a place - rather than being restricted to the "best you can manage for the money you have".

The house I have would go on the market for around £170,000 (cheaper area) if I were selling it. Houses I "love" that have come up for sale over recent months subsequent to recently buying this one start at around £350,000 and THE ones I would grab for quick if I could have been around £600,000 to £700,000 (some of that from them being in a dearer area to here and the rest from them being a rather dearer type of house than mine).

Most of us have to make compromises unfortunately:(. It tends to be more a case of "Oh well. It'll do. At least it hasnt got a busy road/pub/travellers camp/risk of flooding/Japanese Knotweed next door and it HAS got being detached/a garden/reasonable outlook/the better location in this area" to name my exact thinking on why I chose the house I did.

Imo - it makes sense to absolutely refuse to compromise on a Life Partner (husband/wife/etc) and hold out for "the one you really love" (and vice-versa) and is suitable for you. But when it comes to houses - then you DO have to have a house (or flat or bungalow etc) and hence compromising - whilst hoping a chance might come along to swop to one one "loves".

sofarbehind

Thanks everyone for all of your really constructive comments. I think part of this is fear of the huge financial commitment that several people suggested. When I offered I was trying to buy with my head: I like the street and area, it's more than big enough and affordable. It's a bit over priced but I can afford it. I liked the house but I didn't love it. This is really bothering me now that I've seen nicer things come up for sale.

I think I need to go back and see it next week to reassure myself and check it isn't dark. I probably am being silly about curb appeal. The other houses will have sold by the time I can view them next week. Perhaps that is just as well as one of them is 30k more expensive, which I could afford. I'm just disappointed with the compromises I've had to make. I'm not dreaming of a house that is 100k more expensive though. One house I would rather have bought had a LOWER asking price than the one I've got.

lettucekl

I had my offer accepted on a house about 2 weeks ago, and have similar feelings to the OP. This will be my first property and I must of looked at about 6-10 house and i can honestly say that none of them i walk into did i 'fall in love' with!, there was about 3 that i looked and and had a 'good feeling about' and thought were 'nice' (1 of them was the one i put the offer in) but none i would say i 'loved'.

I think this is totally normal, heck there are houses out there than im sure i would 'fall in love with' straight away but they are waaay out of my price bracket!, but you have to be realistic here, your not going to tick off every box you have on your ideal properly and the best you can do is make compromises and make sure you tick off the important stuff. For me that was...

Driveway
Large Full length living/dining room
Place to store my bike
A secluded garden (not over looked)
Study area
3 bedrooms

yes i would have preferred a semi detached or end of terrace house but i wasn't about to over look the other aspects of the house i liked to get everything perfect as i think that doesn't exist or is very unlikely to happen for your first property, that's something you build up to i guess.

I do totally agree that looking at a property on a nice sunny day is the best situation you can look at a property and i also thought to myself afterwards, i wonder how the house would feel and look on a wet winters day but then again that is just normal and any property will give you a better feeling on a nice sunny day rather than a cold wet winters day.

aldershot

This is a tricky one and there is no right answer. Sometimes on LLL, you see singles/couples that have seen 50-100 properties but can never commit. That is just as bad as jumping in both feet first.

A couple of points: if you are really unsure, pulling out now is cheaper than making a mistake. Losing £500-1000 hurts but is small compared with selling and moving again because you are unhappy. If you are relocating, this doesn't seem the best time to buy your first house. Two big changes together. Why not rent for 6-12m just to settle down in the new area?