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buyers remorse for our HOUSE!!!

4K views 73 replies 40 participants last post by  lovebeingamomma 
#1 ·
We had to move for DP's work, so we bought the only kind of house we could afford ... a hundred year old fixer-upper for $531,000 ... the cheapest in the area. The place honestly needs about $75,000 of work immediately and at least $150,000 more in the near future before it collapses into the ground. There is a suite, though, which brings in $1000 a month in rent.
I'm home on mat leave for the year, and don't want to have to work much when I have to go back. We don't have the skills or tools to do the work ourselves, so we'd have to hire contractors.
We have no other debt other than this whopping mortgage.

After multiple panic attacks and bouts of weeping, I realize we've made a mistake.

I realize we should've bought a condo instead, as DP is working all the time and I'm busy with the baby. Problem being, we have two dogs and a cat that we're not willing to get rid of, so we thought we wouldn't 'fit' into a condo or find one that will let us have all three beasties.
Well, I had a meltdown about it last night, and convinced DP that we can't afford to upkeep this house.
So guess what we're doing? Selling!
We haven't even been in here for two weeks and we're putting it back on the market. We'll just HAVE to find a condo that will allow our animals.
Wish us luck!
Do you think this is a bad decision? Or am I doing the right thing by extracting us sooner than later? Am I crazy?
 
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#2 ·
I'm so sorry!!!

The stress you're under isn't good for you, your baby, OR your furbabies. If you feel the best thing to do is get out...then get out...

You can always keep thinking about it while you get a Realtor, putting it back on the market is not something that can't be undone, but will take a load off of your mind the minute you start making arrangements.

Even if you don't put it on the market yet, but call around to local condo associations (or even local realtors that deal with condos, might take less time...) to see what is available, the pricing, and their animal restrictions...it will make you feel better to be doing something instead of just suffering with that drowning feeling.
 
#3 ·
At our condo, we have two cats and could have a dog too (the regulations state something like "no more than two each of two species of domestic pets) - so we can have two cats and two dogs. I hope you can find something like this too!
 
#4 ·
I don't know if you are crazy, but I am not sure this will be as easy as you may think.

First of all, with that price on a home you are looking at probably $25k in realty fees to sell it again, if not more. I live outside Calgary so I get paying $539k for a beat up house, but the realtor is still going to take his cut.

What kind of mortgage do you have? Will you be able to port it to a new property? Are you looking at any pay out fees? You could be looking at several thousand dollars in fees here, so call your lender and ask before you make any decisions.

Are you sure you will be able to find a condo that will allow you that many pets? How big are your dogs? Around here it is really hard to find apartment condos that allow anything other than cats and small dogs, so research that too sooner rather than later.

And you will have to realize it just may not be that easy to sell. Any realtor worth his salt is going to realize that you only owned the house for two weeks and that will send up red flags for any potential buyers. You are going to need to provide some good reasons as to why you are selling it and "it needs too much work" probably isn't going to get you any offers.

So you can probably sell it again, but it is going to cost you in realty fees (and legal fees), possibly mortgage pentalty fees, and you may not even get the same price that you paid when you sell it. Can you afford that? How much of a downpayment did you put down? Unfortunately the days where you could buy a house and sell it two weeks later at a profit are long gone!
 
#6 ·
i'm assuming you are able to do the $75k in immediately-needed renovations, or you wouldn't have bought the house. how much more can you afford to do in the next 6 months, and what will it be worth after you do the updates? basically, if you know you want to get out of there asap and you know you're going to have to pay a realtor's fee, etc, why not "flip" the house instead of taking that hit?
 
#7 ·
A couple questions, how do you know you are going to be happy in the condo? Really just 2 weeks and you are ready to quit? Could it just be pgnt hormones getting to you?? There is just no way I would walk away from a huge investment like that after 2 weeks. That house is going to take time and money and possibly years to fix up but you knew that going in...you're probably not even all unpacked and moved in yet...

you really need to give this time and think it thru, you could very easily loose 10-25% of the value of the home on this deal...

If you do move I could suggest RENTING instead of buying next time.
 
#8 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by doubledutch View Post
i'm assuming you are able to do the $75k in immediately-needed renovations, or you wouldn't have bought the house. how much more can you afford to do in the next 6 months, and what will it be worth after you do the updates? basically, if you know you want to get out of there asap and you know you're going to have to pay a realtor's fee, etc, why not "flip" the house instead of taking that hit?

if I had the 75K to put in, I would put it in and then sell- if thats what you truly want... chances are that those improvements would enhance the value of the home significantly? is that right?

If you have no other debt, and can afford the payment with the 1000 coming in from the renter- I would stay and make the improvements. i have lived in a condo with a pet and it was H*LL. everyone else in the building had small pets, mine was a medium sized... there were noise complaints from barking, we had to pay extra to the HOA every month in pet fees, etc...
 
#9 ·
What kind of renovations does it REALLY need? Structural? Electrical? Or are you talking ugly wallpaper and dated kitchen? If I were you, I'd not want to lose out on realtor's fees and mortgage fees you'll incurr if you sell now. I'd hold onto it for a year or two then list it. Can you raise the rent for the rental? Will the house stay standing for another year? Surely you had a home inspection. What problems did they find?
 
#10 ·
nak


Thanks for all your feedback ... some answers to your questions.
We don't have $75k to put into it right away.
Our mortgage is portable, with no penalty to move it so long as it's done within 30 days of the sale.
We did get an inspection ... the report is 60 pages long; structural and cosmetic, from shoring up the extreme settling to redoing the roof. We'll paint before we put it on the market, as the current colours are atrocious..
The great thing is that the market has gone up since we purchased it in May, and the realtor would list at $575-600k now, so we won't lose money on the sale.
The tenant rent is maxed out.
We'd love to rent, but face the same issues with the animals.
 
#11 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 1growingsprout View Post
A couple questions, how do you know you are going to be happy in the condo? Really just 2 weeks and you are ready to quit? Could it just be pgnt hormones getting to you?? There is just no way I would walk away from a huge investment like that after 2 weeks. That house is going to take time and money and possibly years to fix up but you knew that going in...you're probably not even all unpacked and moved in yet...

you really need to give this time and think it thru, you could very easily loose 10-25% of the value of the home on this deal...

If you do move I could suggest RENTING instead of buying next time.
You're right ... we can't know if a condo will make us any happier, but i think it's worth a shot. This is the fifth house I've owned as an adult, so we're not new at this ... and have in fact done quite well at it financially, until this one. I think we thought we were ready for this ...
 
#12 ·
I live in AB, and just purchased a house here not too long ago.

I would double check the portability of your mortgage. As I remember it, my mortgage is portable as long as the new mortgage is higher or the same as what it is now. Otherwise, I am subject to early pay out fines. Unless, of course, you are getting a condo that costs more than your house.
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by starling&diesel View Post
nak


Thanks for all your feedback ... some answers to your questions.
We don't have $75k to put into it right away.
Our mortgage is portable, with no penalty to move it so long as it's done within 30 days of the sale.
We did get an inspection ... the report is 60 pages long; structural and cosmetic, from shoring up the extreme settling to redoing the roof. We'll paint before we put it on the market, as the current colours are atrocious..
The great thing is that the market has gone up since we purchased it in May, and the realtor would list at $575-600k now, so we won't lose money on the sale.
The tenant rent is maxed out.
We'd love to rent, but face the same issues with the animals.
Please dont get your heart set on not loosing money on the deal... there is no guarentee the house is going to sell. There are 60?? pages from the home inspection?? The roof needs repair??structural issues?? This does not sound like an easy sell IMO...

Im still amazed that after 2 weeks are you ready to throw in the towel. As a buyer that would really set of some warning flags for me.
Your relator can list it for whatever she/he wants... its what the buyer is willing to pay that matters..
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 1growingsprout View Post
Please dont get your heart set on not loosing money on the deal... there is no guarentee the house is going to sell. There are 60?? pages from the home inspection?? The roof needs repair??structural issues?? This does not sound like an easy sell IMO...

Im still amazed that after 2 weeks are you ready to throw in the towel. As a buyer that would really set of some warning flags for me.
Your relator can list it for whatever she/he wants... its what the buyer is willing to pay that matters..
I agree with this. My realtor pulled off the histories of the houses I was most interesting in. I saw what they were listed for, how long they had been on the market for and what they sold for. From new construction until the last owner. If I saw that someone had owned the house for only a little while (a few weeks/months) and all that was done was painting, I would way lowball. Especially in the high 500's low 600's. Is the house livable now, or is it near condemned? It is feasible to shore up the foundation and put on a new roof in the next few months, and then sell?
 
#15 ·
Again, thanks for the feedback. It's all going into the brain bank.
In regards to the last two posts, I just want to articulate that the market here in Vancouver, BC is insane. In a normal market, our owning it for two weeks and trying to add $75k to the price would be obscene and insulting even. Here, it is not unusual. I hear that both 1growingsprout and belovedofbast would not buy this house ... I'm hoping and praying someone else will. Time will tell.
I spoke with the agent again today, and we're all very confident that this can be done, with a small profit even. So we'll give it a try and see! If we flop or fly, I'll let everybody know. I very much appreciate everyone's comments on the situation ...
 
#16 ·
Why did you buy this house in the first place? something attracted you as I'm sure there were more then just this house to buy. It sounds like you guys rushed into it w/o thinking about it. I would not sell it. I would live in it for at least a few years and do little jobs here and there. Selling a house is expensive and I can't imagine doing it only 2 weeks in. Give it some more time, change the paint for yourself, you might be surprised how well you like it.
 
#17 ·
what did you like about the house to begin with?

do you think you could sell it and come out basically even?

does your or your partner ENJOY fixing stuff?

i would give it a little more time. some people are prone to buyer's remorse, especially during major upheavals (which moving always is, and you have a new babe, etc.)

i freaked out while we were waiting to close on our house, and now i love it. meanwhile, DH was happy with it then, and now after being here for almost 3 years, he has remorse


i dunno, sometimes you just have to let go of the flaws and give things a chance. there is probably SOME reason you bought this house and not another. that's the way i look at things...that said, if you feel this way in a month, then start to think seriously about selling.
 
#18 ·
i would seriously consider waiting and doing more than painting. even vancouver's market isn't doing THAT well! i lived in a great condo in your neighbourhood, which allowed animals, but even they only allowed 1. you've only got 9 months to wait til all the folks employed by the olympics are going to be looking for building work. i wouldn't make any decisions right now.

*
 
#19 ·
If I were in your shoes I would try to sell it quickly, but in case you cannot sell it, I would try to think of ways to sit tight . . . sorry you are finding yourself in this situation!
 
#20 ·
Good luck! You sound happy and relieved to be selling, that's got to be worth something!

I sympathize, we moved into a 100 year old fixer upper 3 years ago. I spent the whole first year unhappy with the house. Then a year and a half living in renovation misery (aka renovation hell). Now after 3 years I can finally say I am happy living here, and love many things about it.

But if given the chance to do over, we would probably not buy this house again.
 
#21 ·
im so confused about the cost of this house. i live in the usa, midwest, high col area and we bought a beautiful 100 year old home big enough for all 6 of us for less then 300K, in a good neighborhood, ect. 1/2 a million seems really high, how could that be the least expensive home in the area? is canada crazy expensive? yikes, id stay if you can afford it cause like pp stated you will likely lose a major amount on sellers fees.
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by organicmidwestmama View Post
im so confused about the cost of this house. i live in the usa, midwest, high col area and we bought a beautiful 100 year old home big enough for all 6 of us for less then 300K, in a good neighborhood, ect. 1/2 a million seems really high, how could that be the least expensive home in the area? is canada crazy expensive? yikes, id stay if you can afford it cause like pp stated you will likely lose a major amount on sellers fees.
Did you know Canada is geographically bigger than the United States?

Just as prices vary geographically in the US, so do they vary geographically in Canada. So "Canada" is not crazy expensive---parts of Canada are (and yes, the place the OP lives is one of those places).
 
#23 ·
Cut your losses and sell. If you break even or profit a small amount, cool.
If you lose some in the short run...it's an expensive but well learned lesson.
You'd be putting tens to hundreds of thousands into that house for years. No doubt, you'd need to deal with asbestos and all that crap.
Rent for a year or two and find the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood.
Good luck!
 
#24 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed View Post
Did you know Canada is geographically bigger than the United States?

Just as prices vary geographically in the US, so do they vary geographically in Canada. So "Canada" is not crazy expensive---parts of Canada are (and yes, the place the OP lives is one of those places).

ok. you dont need to "speak" to me as if i am stupid. i was honestly curious about the col in our northern neighboring country.
 
#25 ·
Before jumping into anything I'd so a lot of research, planning and calculations. It's most definitely possible to redo/fix a home on a budget. I have family members who do just that, often employing handymen, etc. when there is work that they don't have the time or ability to do themselves.

When you take on a huge project, often it is long term. I think it's all dependant on your lifestyle and what the reward is going to be at the end.
 
#26 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by organicmidwestmama View Post
ok. you dont need to "speak" to me as if i am stupid. i was honestly curious about the col in our northern neighboring country.
It wasn't my intention to 'sound' rude or condescending. I was just trying to explain that Canada is huge and so cost of living isn't just a singular COL for Canada as you suggested and asked about.
 
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