Just bought a 1 bedroom house

jacobswell

Hi all. I'm 25 and, earlier this year, I was finally in a position to move out from my parents house and buy my first place. I had a budget of around £200,000. That price was enough for a 2 bedroom flat, but not quite enough for a 2 bedroom house. I was advised to avoid leasehold flats at all costs and I had also heard horror stories about when they go badly wrong. So, in the end, I bought a 1 bedroom freehold thatched cottage for £193,500. It really is beautiful - grade 2 listed, lots of period features, fireplace, good sized garden. It's about 50 square meters. Have I made the wrong decision? I've been there for a few months now and am now seeing a few 2 bed house/bungalow deals around for about £200k - starting to get anxious that I made the wrong decision. Reassurance please!

AdrianC

Ah, the joys of buyer's remorse...

Just look at it as having chosen to pay a premium for actual character and style, rather than an identikit ticky-tacky modern box.

Enjoy it for what it is, and remember that you're merely the current custodian, protecting heritage for the future.

PasturesNew

Too late now to change your mind it's done.

Everybody regrets/fears a mistake, that's normal.

Truth is, if you went to view those newly appearing on the market you'd realise estate agents have now discovered filters and they make dim and grimy properties look fresh and bright...

Just start saving to keep on top of the thatching and that's the most important bit. The whole needs redoing in X years, but that top ridge bit needs doing every 10 years or so, so get some quotes for both jobs so you're aware and start your "maintenance fund" asap.

Size-wise it's a good size.... even though it's G-II listed you might even be able to consider an extension if you wished in the future.

Just enjoy it; nobody else has one.

princeofpounds

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Maybe prices have drifted down a touch. But it's far more important that you have a home you enjoy living in, and it sounds like you do. Believe me that's worth more than 20k here or there.


An extra bedroom can be useful, but it's just storage space ultimately until you have a family (or a partner who snores!). If you don't need it, that's a lower mortgage and money you can spend or invest elsewhere.


Avoiding flats isn't necessary in all circumstances, but at your budget level it can make particular sense. For example, a 2k p.a. service charge isn't the biggest deal as an ongoing expense, but it's probably equivalent to another 100k of mortgage.

Finchy2018

we bought a one bed house - we didn't need more bedrooms, they'd become junk rooms. enjoy your purchase!

lincroft1710

Yes definitely BIG mistake, only worth £120K now. But I am a generous person and will offer you £125K.

A home is somewhere to live, it should not be treated as an appreciating or depreciating asset. The value of your house will only matter when you come to sell and you should only sell if you NEED to sell, e.g. a bigger place is needed (rather than desired) or you have to move to a different area.

With a thatched cottage, you have to keep an eye on the condition of the roof and be sure no combustible material comes into contact with it.

Enjoy your home, you have somewhere unique which a lot of people would like.

Finally your home is actually worth a lot, lot more than £125,000

Lazar

I think it's normal to have these feelings after such a big purchase, but you need to trust that your instinct was right at the time.

Although - it might be a good idea to unsubscribe from all of the estate agent mail outs / Rightmove search results etc. Out of sight, out of mind!

Your house sounds really great, enjoy it! And it doesn't need to be your forever home... as and when the need arises for a bigger place, you can move on!

MovingForwards

Sounds lovely!

I actually do like one bed houses, or quarter houses as they appear to be called in Scotland.

You have your own home, a place you can close the door to the outside world.

Enjoy it!

Mutton_Geoff

Enjoy your new special home. All those in shoebox new builds will be envious although the running costs of a listed/thatched home is going to be a lot higher than a conventional house, be sure to set aside funds for this.

jacobswell wrote: »

I was advised to avoid leasehold flats at all costs

This is wrong as the opposite is true, freehold flats should be avoided at all costs, it is leasehold houses that should be avoided. Leasehold flats are the norm so that a freeholder is responsible for the whole building & common areas.

JayTP

Just to echo what Lazar said - you made the decision based on the 'then' situation of the market so you couldn't have foreseen the upcoming new builds. Hindsight is a killer and is best avoided in my experience The one certainty in life is change and in time you may well want to move for many reasons but if your happy then I think just enjoy the place for what it is - a piece of unique history. Congratulations on your first place btw

On a side note - I bought a freehold maisonette/flat back in the day and shared the freehold with the upstairs co-owner. It worked brilliantly and we were both free of service charges and took turns to manage any repair work that needed doing to the building. I think in cases where it's a self contained building it's very straight forward providing you have a good relationship with the co owner/s. I got really lucky finding that place.

Skiddaw1

OP, can we see some pics? Your cottage sounds utterly gorgeous....:)


(And I'm certain you've made the right decision)