Bought house and regretting it

chucknorris

Newnoel said:

chucknorris said:

Crashy_Time said:

chucknorris said:

Crashy_Time said:

chucknorris said:

Crashy_Time said:

aoleks said:

Crashy_Time said:

Sunsaru said:

For 20 plus years I wanted my own house. The day i got my keys I walked into the house and thought

"What the frig have I done??"

Took me about 3 months for it to sink in. I'm now 8 months in and have sunk 5 figures into the property with another 5 planned. No regrets.

Do you think there is a possibility that you bought at the wrong time?

Do you think there’s a poasibility you sold at the wrong time? :-)

When do you think I sold?

I did have a good idea based on previous conversations with you, but I have forgotten now (it was a long time ago), but I think it was in the late 90's and if so, it was definitely 'the wrong time' (to leave the housing market). At the time (when you referred to it) I had the opinion that you were relieved to have got out unscathed after enduring years of negative equity, I realise that can be very uncomfortable, but it only matters when you sell. If it was the late 90's you did miss out on significant HPI, but of course hindsight is an exact science. And of course people sell for a variety of reasons, after all it was your home rather than merely an investment.

LOL, no you definitely have me confused with someone else, good to see you back though, I watched one of your films the other night, absolute classic.

I've sold most of my properties now Crashy, and I have just about got my portfolio where I want it for my retirement (trying to be diverse as possible), it is very different to not so many years ago, I included my share of our home, because although it isn't exactly an investment, is is after all is is part of my wealth:

Cash	2%
Investment property	8%
Own home	12%
Fixed pension	15%
Bonds (Individual corporate & funds)	15%
REIT's	19%
Equities (excl. REITs)	29%

Why are you posting this information?

Because we must have exchanged hundreds of posts with each other taking apposing views because you were always arguing with 'HPI bulls' (although what you never quite got it that I was not one of them). And now as you can see from my portfolio, residential investment is only a very small part of it now, and I'll probably sell what I have left in approx. 1 to 3 years.

Why are you selling out completely from investment property Chuck? Do you plan to reinvest the cash elsewhere?

A number of reasons:
I have been a landlord for over 30 years, and its become tiresome
Other investments look at least as attractive, and without the time spent and hassle of property 
If I waited any longer and the market crashed, I might have to keep them until I was in my 70's
I don't think HPI will perform as well as it has in the past

I have reinvested the equity in REITs (so still in property), buying additional pension in my DB scheme and bonds, so my portfolio is more diverse now.

Crashy_Time

RelievedSheff said:

Crashy_Time said:

IMO some people that stretched themselves to get near a "good school" may take a hit if mortgage rates rise.

Mortgages in the UK are stress tested to ensure that the applicants can manage a rise in rates.

So nothing at all to worry about then? 

Crashy_Time

aoleks said:

how about you do a few things in and around the house?

get a mirror, buy a new bin, install a new showerhead, get some curtains, blinds or a new bedside table. paint one wall (feature wall), do some maintenance on the windows (tighten the screws, lubricate the hinges, give them a good clean).

just add your touch to it and it'll feel more and more like home.

Sometimes it is just a vibe in the space of the house or the area, if you don`t like it OP just sell it.

Crashy_Time

chucknorris said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

I still don't  like my house 4 yrs after purchasing it. It is a head house, I needed somewhere to live after moving back from overseas. If I had rented it would have cost me around 75K whilst the house has gone up in value by about 60k. A no brainer financially. 

Of course to realise that "value" you would have to sell it, why would anyone pay you over the odds for a house that you don`t even like!

Because of where it is. Walking distance to two Ofsted outstanding primary schools and 1 ouststanding secondary..  Of no interest to me as I don't have school aged kids but properties here sell very quickly.  Get leafleted by buyers and agents regularly. As they say location,  location, location. 

So you have no compelling reason to be there and you don`t like the house? Seems strange to me that the 60k that you think it has earned you is more important to you than actually enjoying the house!

The house might not be perfect for him, but he's probably like me, I would much rather buy and live in a house that I own, than pay rent (no matter how perfect a rental property might be). Not only has he saved the rent, but he has secured himself into the housing market, and he can later move to something more to his liking. Imagine if instead of selling your house, you had kept it, how much tax free equity and saved rent would you have right now? 

Avoiding the rent (and mortgage debt rent) by buying for cash has cost the opportunity cost of a large sum of money, and he could still lose money if prices crash, to "secure" himself in the housing market (he doesn`t even like the house!) he needs willing buyers in future, and they might not be cash buyers like himself, they will likely be at the mercy of rising interest rates, he would have been better off renting more cheaply and diversifying his money pot IMO.

chucknorris

Crashy_Time said:

chucknorris said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

I still don't  like my house 4 yrs after purchasing it. It is a head house, I needed somewhere to live after moving back from overseas. If I had rented it would have cost me around 75K whilst the house has gone up in value by about 60k. A no brainer financially. 

Of course to realise that "value" you would have to sell it, why would anyone pay you over the odds for a house that you don`t even like!

Because of where it is. Walking distance to two Ofsted outstanding primary schools and 1 ouststanding secondary..  Of no interest to me as I don't have school aged kids but properties here sell very quickly.  Get leafleted by buyers and agents regularly. As they say location,  location, location. 

So you have no compelling reason to be there and you don`t like the house? Seems strange to me that the 60k that you think it has earned you is more important to you than actually enjoying the house!

The house might not be perfect for him, but he's probably like me, I would much rather buy and live in a house that I own, than pay rent (no matter how perfect a rental property might be). Not only has he saved the rent, but he has secured himself into the housing market, and he can later move to something more to his liking. Imagine if instead of selling your house, you had kept it, how much tax free equity and saved rent would you have right now? 

Avoiding the rent (and mortgage debt rent) by buying for cash has cost the opportunity cost of a large sum of money, and he could still lose money if prices crash, to "secure" himself in the housing market (he doesn`t even like the house!) he needs willing buyers in future, and they might not be cash buyers like himself, they will likely be at the mercy of rising interest rates, he would have been better off renting more cheaply and diversifying his money pot IMO.

You have been saying things like that to me for years Crashy, but I have mostly sold up now, and I made a significant profit from my properties (equity and rental profit), and that is all in my HL account now, and I still have about another £300k (after CGT) to take out of property with the little that I still own. My wife also has gains that are not too far behind mine (but she hasn't started selling yet, but she will in the near future, maybe even next year). I kept trying to explain this to you over the years, but you have a closed mind, and you just kept coming back with the same rhetoric.

Also I would add that owning your own property isn't just about money, it is also about freedom too, I have always tried to be fair and reasonable with my tenants, but just as some tenants can be rogues, some landlords can be too. Also I have had a dog for the last 17 years and I hopefully always will, it narrows your choice of rental property dramatically if you have a dog, I know this from when we rent cottages for holidays.

RelievedSheff

Crashy_Time said:

RelievedSheff said:

Crashy_Time said:

IMO some people that stretched themselves to get near a "good school" may take a hit if mortgage rates rise.

Mortgages in the UK are stress tested to ensure that the applicants can manage a rise in rates.

So nothing at all to worry about then? 

There will always be people who manage their finances on a knife edge, but the same goes for people that own property and those who rent property.

goodwithsaving

Regret? No never. Wish I had properly considered but would have bought anyway? Yes, 3 out of 4 houses.

This house:
Boiler useless
Heating doesn't work
Windows older than they look
Fence needs replacing after the wind
I don't sleep through the night due to house noises

But would I have been able to afford it if it was brand new inside? No. Does it feel like an expensive mountain? Yes. Do I like the plot? YES.

My last place I didn't fall in love with until the day I started packing. Then I realised what a labour of love it had been. I still miss it, because it was warm and finished. This place, it will be as I want it in time, but I'm here for a long time and not a short time so want to do it properly. It'll take years, but that's okay. 

Focus on the good bits. It's overwhelming and my last place was £50,000 renovation over 3 years. I have no idea how I afforded to do that, but I did and made it work. Don't make hasty decisions.

If you sell, you sell, but best not as a kneejerk.

lookstraightahead

RelievedSheff said:

chucknorris said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

I still don't  like my house 4 yrs after purchasing it. It is a head house, I needed somewhere to live after moving back from overseas. If I had rented it would have cost me around 75K whilst the house has gone up in value by about 60k. A no brainer financially. 

Of course to realise that "value" you would have to sell it, why would anyone pay you over the odds for a house that you don`t even like!

Because of where it is. Walking distance to two Ofsted outstanding primary schools and 1 ouststanding secondary..  Of no interest to me as I don't have school aged kids but properties here sell very quickly.  Get leafleted by buyers and agents regularly. As they say location,  location, location. 

So you have no compelling reason to be there and you don`t like the house? Seems strange to me that the 60k that you think it has earned you is more important to you than actually enjoying the house!

The house might not be perfect for him, but he's probably like me, I would much rather buy and live in a house that I own, than pay rent (no matter how perfect a rental property might be). Not only has he saved the rent, but he has secured himself into the housing market, and he can later move to something more to his liking. Imagine if instead of selling your house, you had kept it, how much tax free equity and saved rent would you have right now? 

I agree with you on this point and we have a great example of this.

We bought a new build detached 3 bed house 2.5 years ago. The house on the opposite corner is exactly the same but mirrored and was bought by a landlord to rent out. The two properties were sold for exactly the same price. The rent on the rental property is exactly the same as our mortgage £1200 per month.

The rental has been rented by the same couple since it was completed. So in 30 months they have paid the landlord £36k towards his mortgage. They are financially no better off for having made those payments.

We bought ours and started off with £21k in equity. In the 30 months we have paid £36k to the mortgage company and now have an extra £14k equity through making our monthly mortgage payments. On top of this the house has gone up in value significantly since we purchased it meaning that our equity now stands at around £105k using a low estimate of what the house is worth on the open market. 

Of course the rental property has also gone up in value by the same amount but that is of no value to the tenants.

Buying in this case was a no brainer.

On the flip side our last property didn't perform quite so well. We bought in 2007 right at the peak of the market with a 105% mortgage so spent a long time with that one in negative equity. We didn't need to move so just stayed put, paid the mortgage and eventually after 13 years we had paid enough off and the property market in the area had improved enough that we could just scrape enough together to buy out current home.

Even with that property we were still better off buying than renting. Renting would have cost more per month in that case and we would not have been able to save the money for the deposit on the current house.

I rented for 18 months to break a chain when I moved 3 hours away. I got a reduction on the house we bought (this year) because I was not in a chain, nearly 10%, which was way more than the rent. So renting did work for us (in fact where we moved from had also given down in value as they're building a whopping new estate next to it)

Weve lost money in the past as divorced with a house in negative equity that had to be sold, so I wish I had rented during those times.

I've told my daughter 22 not to contemplate buying as there is no way she will stay in one place for years.

a lot depends on your lifestyle, and what's thrown at you.

lookstraightahead

Slinky said:

Crashy_Time said:

RelievedSheff said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

I still don't  like my house 4 yrs after purchasing it. It is a head house, I needed somewhere to live after moving back from overseas. If I had rented it would have cost me around 75K whilst the house has gone up in value by about 60k. A no brainer financially. 

Of course to realise that "value" you would have to sell it, why would anyone pay you over the odds for a house that you don`t even like!

Who says the price is "over the odds?"

It is boosted by the SDH and zero rates, hard to sensibly argue against that IMO.

This was in the doorway of a local estate agent a couple of days ago.

I wouldn't even step foot in there to buy - what appalling marketing. Cheesy and transparent. 

RelievedSheff

lookstraightahead said:

Slinky said:

Crashy_Time said:

RelievedSheff said:

Crashy_Time said:

Scotbot said:

I still don't  like my house 4 yrs after purchasing it. It is a head house, I needed somewhere to live after moving back from overseas. If I had rented it would have cost me around 75K whilst the house has gone up in value by about 60k. A no brainer financially. 

Of course to realise that "value" you would have to sell it, why would anyone pay you over the odds for a house that you don`t even like!

Who says the price is "over the odds?"

It is boosted by the SDH and zero rates, hard to sensibly argue against that IMO.

This was in the doorway of a local estate agent a couple of days ago.

I wouldn't even step foot in there to buy - what appalling marketing. Cheesy and transparent. 

Would be a waste of time if you did step foot in there. They have nothing to sell