Would you buy/have you bought a house you didn't love?

[caheinz]

:

well, I may be in the minority, but I don't think you have to love the house you buy. I for sure don't love our house. We often wish we didn't buy it (we bought high, and it is now worth well well below that). But otoh, we realize it's just a house and don't expect it to be the source of our happiness.

:yeahthat

We bought the overall best house for us when we last moved. It wasn't perfect, but it was as close as we were going to get given location, price, and availability constraints.

We'll have little (and big) things to do to improve it as long as we're here... that's just sort of the way it is.

[Globetrotter]

I didn't like my house. there were, in fact, many things I absolutely hated!!! We are in the Bay Area and it was hard to find anything we liked so we compromised a lot and went for location (which is great). however, over the years we've made a lot of changes and now I love it (though it may not be perfect).

You cannot change the location or the size of your lot, but you can change the house itself. If you have loads of options, then look for someone else, but otherwise it's not the end of the world.

[caleymama]

:We bought the overall best house for us when we last moved. It wasn't perfect, but it was as close as we were going to get given location, price, and availability constraints.

We'll have little (and big) things to do to improve it as long as we're here... that's just sort of the way it is.

Same here. Don't get me wrong, there are many appealing things about the house - curb appeal type stuff and otherwise but there are also some quirky to downright annoying things. They are all livable, though, and it really was the best house for us at the time even though it was not at all either of our dream houses. We're about 3.5 years in now and it's grown on us tremendously. It just works. I think because it met our basic criteria, even though it wasn't *how* we were expecting those criteria met, we've found a way to make it home. Also, the non-house related things like neighborhood, schools, proximity to other places, etc. have all been a huge asset and make it easy to overlook some of the things we aren't as happy with about the house.

It was a hard move for me. We were selling a cute, old 1000 square foot house upstate that we had bought for around $50K (only one zero!) and moving to a MUCH more expensive market. Our current home is about 1200 square feet and we paid nearly 8 times as much as for the old house. Made not being head over heels for it even harder to swallow but it really was the best house for us in this area given our budget and time frame.

[Jo..]

We did. We loved the property and loved the area but were "meh" on the house. We moved from a big beautiful house on 12 acres with a huge indoor pool to our current modest ranch (in a different state with a higher COL).

After closing, when we got the keys and we walked through the door it really sunk in how much of a step down we had taken, and I cried my eyes out.

We still love the area, but the house needs a lot of work and the layout is strange. It is no longer worth what we paid for it. If I had it to do over again, I would keep looking in the same area, even if it had meant renting for a time and moving twice.

[jess_g]

We don't love our house, but we love our location. We are near the ocean, the train station, the in laws, and several schools. We have been slowly fixing up the house to make it more ours and that has helped too plus the fact that with all our stuff here we know we are settled in for the long haul (probably 10 more years here at least). I think you can make the inside of the house less boring with paint and decorating but the location you can never change. Maybe go back and look at the house again before you decide what to do.

Jessica.

[SASM]

We bought a house that I wasn't thrilled with, knowing we will hopefully only be here for max of 5 years and then relocate to another city. It met a lot of our needs but I just wasn't thrilled. I still do not love the house, actually the town, but it is home. It is amazing what paint and our own furniture did to make it feel like home. It'll do for the time being. If you are in your desired area, that is sooo key. You will make it home. Good luck!