What To Do When You Hate Your New House

On paper, our house ticked all the right boxes.

It was detached, with three bedrooms; close to the train station and it wasn’t a new build (newly built houses tended to be much smaller).

I remember looking around the house and loving everything that I saw. Yes, it was worn looking and old fashioned — the previous owners were a retired couple — and it was a bit smaller than what we had wanted, but no major work needed to be done, it was in the area we wanted and it was within our price range.

At the time, we couldn’t believe our luck, and immediately after that first (and only!) viewing we contacted our lawyer and made an offer.

August 2019, we moved in and I was filled with high expectations.

This was our family home. We would raise our children, retire, and grow old here. Everything we wanted was falling into place.

Yet, even as we settled in, I noticed I didn’t feel the contented happiness that I thought I would.

In the time it had taken to buy the house, I had forgotten about all the little niggly things that would need to be fixed or changed. I took an immediate dislike to the kitchen, which was small and haphazardly organized with an old, dirty cooker — why had I not noticed that during the viewing?

But, I took heart knowing that these things could be changed. In time we would make the place our own and I was sure I would grow to love it.

November 2020… I HATE our house!

Yes, after redecorating every room, changing the layouts, and buying new furniture, I can’t stand it — inside or out.

I could say it’s because all the little flaws from before have just piled up, or because we’ve come to realize too late, that the house really is too small for raising a family, but there are psychological issues too.

Two months after we moved in, my grandmother died. On Christmas Day — our first Christmas in the house — I had a miscarriage. In July this year, I had to have emergency eye surgery during my second pregnancy and, throughout all that, is the pandemic: forcing us to stay inside.

Given all this, it’s hard not to think of the house as unlucky. True, the psychological issues would probably be the same no matter where we were living, but had I been happier with the house when we first moved in, I don’t think I would be rejecting it so strongly now.

We were too quick to buy, and that is the crux of it.

We hedged all our bets on one property and were too scared it would be taken from us to properly consider it. We were lured in by the estate agent, who kept calling and telling us that another person was showing interest and putting in an offer. We allowed our impatience to get the better of us.

Having done a Google search of “I hate my new house,” I take comfort that this has happened to a lot of people. But while the internet is full of condolences and rants, the one important question remains unanswered: What can I do about it?

In my opinion, there are only three options:

Renovate

When simple redecorating doesn’t cut it, it’s time to think big.

Adding an extension or changing the layout is major work that can make you feel like you’re in a completely new property — one you could live in.

Obviously, this requires money to be thrown, and you would need to stay there for a long time to get your money’s worth. But, if done properly and with some foresight, you’re not only making your dream home but a long term investment that could make a tidy profit in the future.

Be a “House Flipper”

This is where you do a cosmetic renovation as quickly and cheaply as possible, then sell the property on. Bathrooms, kitchens, and gardens should be focused on as they are the main selling points, and stay within the limits of the property — don’t extend.

The idea is to offset the cost of buying and selling with the profit made, but this all depends on the market and if the property is in a sight after area.

Suck it up

Sometimes, doing nothing is the only option you have. You’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it.

If this is the case, one of two things will happen.

Given more time, your feelings might change and you find your new property isn’t so bad after all.

Or, you sit tight, do some major saving, and move on.

So, where do I fall into these options? Right now, between major renovating and sucking it up.

In the UK, there are new additional taxes to consider that add to the overall costs of selling and buying, so simply moving on is not an option, and doing a house flip can’t guarantee enough profit to make it worthwhile for us.

While we decide, my focus is on making the place as homely as possible and hopefully, there will be no more unlucky experiences in the meantime!