Any regrets about decisions you made as a FTB?

SouthLondonUser

My slight regret is having bought a modern flat in a building about 7 years old, which proved difficult to sell because everyone wanted "Victorian character". Going back, I would have probably looked for a flat in some kind of Victorian conversion. I am not sure I could have afforded it but at least I would have tried and looked harder.

At the time, I also hadn't fully realised what anachronistic feudal rip off leasehold charges can be, and how leaseholders practically have no control over them; I now feel very, very, very strongly that, as long as I have an option, I will NEVER consider a leasehold again unless I have a clear say on appointing and firing the managing agent

I knew we were going to upsize in about 5 years, but I don't regret buying then, as it was the maximum we could have afforded then, and because prices were going up like crazy. Now that prices are no longer going up like crazy, it might make sense to wait a bit more to get a bigger place, but there are so many factors at play it's hard to generalise.

SouthLondonUser

anfieldred wrote: »

Also, I wish I hadn't bought an older house (1930s) - keep finding problems now and botch jobs that the previous owners did

There is no guarantee that newer buildings will have been built to better standards. I have had more problems in modern buildings than in older ones.

xthrash

My only real regret is not waiting, saving up a bit more and going for something more long term.
We stretched ourselves as it was to get the best location and compromised on the actual house, something I don't think I'd do again.
If we'd just waited another year or so, we probably could've afforded to move into the houses we're currently looking at. But you could probably always say that...

Rosco62

Being daft enough paying almost 14% interest rate back in the day:eek:


And for anybody not old enough

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/analysis/historical-interest-rates-uk/

And if you were mortgage free back in the day with spare cash to invest
http://www.swanlowpark.co.uk/savings-interest-annual

[Deleted User]

Playing games for so long trying to get a good deal.
Should have just offered what I thought the place was worth to me .
Would rather overpay by a few grand for years of happiness.

Smevchenko

I have some regrets, the house we purchased needed complete redecoration, but we can of course live with the horrible anaglypta wallpaper whilst we go about decorating room by room. We have made the house look much nicer, and feel more pleasant, although there is still a fair bit left to do. Flooring downstairs, redecorate lounge and dining room. We have also had the rear garden redone, landscaped with planters etc, and is a much more appealing place to be, so the outside space is used much more frequently.

The main issue I have now, is that our kitchen is tiny. There is a utility room at the back of the garage that we could open up to create a bigger and more social kitchen, but the cost of this may well be beyond us before we plan on moving.

So, as much as I feel better about the house after 18 months, the kitchen does bother me, and having the choice again, I would have continued searching for a house with a bigger and more open kitchen.

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

Not buying as soon as I could, buying too far from the tube station and on the outskirts rather than buying a smaller property closer to the city.

In spite of my friendly warnings, my daughter went ahead and made the same mistake, only to let out her first home and move out to a rental place closer to work after a short unhappy period of long commutes.

Probably not relevant if you're outside London or another large metropolitan area.

theartfullodger

Regrets? Selling it & moving in with 1st wife....

ccbrowning

I just wish I'd have done any repainting, etc., that I wanted STRAIGHT away. We didn't do this and I never loved the paint but we've been doing some in preparation to sell and the house looks so much better! You never know how long you'll end up in a place...


Otherwise, if buying a new build, tell them everything that annoys you. We had some half-arsed plaster touch up that was painted over poorly and other little things like that which we didn't bother about. Bugs me to this day so I fixed them when repainting.


However, no house is going to be perfect I suppose. I disliked our home like right after moving in. However, for the price we paid I never really saw anything that had a pretty facade or underfloor heating or anything so I am grudgingly happy. Maybe I would have spent a few more years just looking and never moving! Glad we have enough money to ensure the next home isn't lacking in the same ways though.

SensibleSarah

My main regret is prioritising the area over the house - and so moving into a fixer-upper with absolutely no money (or knowledge) for fixing up. I could have got a bigger and nicely done up house in a slightly (but really only slightly) worse area for the same money.

In the nearly 10 years since, my area has gone downhill somewhat and the other areas I could have bought in have come up a bit - so now to get what I want there, I'll have to pay signficantly more. Ah well...