“I bought an apartment and regret it.” Stories of people who have unsuccessfully purchased real estate

72% of home buyers have regrets. That's according to a July 2022 survey conducted by Anytime Estimate. We've collected stories of homeowners who have regretted their purchase for a variety of reasons.

Stories shared by Americans on BuzzFeed 

Disappointment with a “charming” home

— In 2016, I dreamed of buying a charming, older home, inspired by what I'd seen and heard on home improvement shows. I searched for months and finally found an affordable home in a cute neighborhood that had been “lovingly updated.” It turns out the house had been cheaply and poorly remodeled by the realtor, and shortly after moving in, it was discovered that the central air conditioner was just for decoration—nothing had been installed. That was just the beginning. It took almost $100,000 in repairs, and three years later I sold the house in much better condition than when I moved in, but the profit was zero. So, honestly, I was left with a lot of regrets about that purchase.

Anonymous

“It was a rushed purchase.”

— We bought our house in April 2020. After six weeks of confined existence in our one-bedroom apartment, my spouse and I realized pretty quickly that we needed more space. Knowing that the housing market in our neighborhood is very competitive, we began our search. We looked at four houses in one day and made an offer on the last house. We bought the house (yay!), but now that the world is slowly getting back to normal, we realize some serious flaws...

We thought the house was on a quiet street, but that's because we saw the house in April 2020! Now, two years later, it seems that people are using our street to get from one intersection to another as quickly as possible. We also live near a small airport, which was not actively used at the time of our visit. Right now, however, we hear very loud airplanes flying directly overhead all day long. We still love our home, but we realize that we will definitely want to move in the future.

Anonymous

Unexpected “nuances” that arose unexpectedly

We had just recently purchased a house and rushed to make sure our offer would be accepted. We later found out that not only did the home inspection not reveal some issues, but the entire house was shoddily built and had rodents that were not visible during the viewings.

Immediately after moving in, we had to spend significantly more money to make the house functional and livable. We may have to tear it down and rebuild it. We love the location and the lot, but it was a small victory in an ocean of disappointment.

Anonymous

Lack of experience

— I don't completely regret buying my condo, but I wish I had an experienced person with me to help me pay attention to details. All the inspections went fine, but I'm concerned about little things that I can't change: low light, noisy streets, and thin walls. I would like someone to help me through the process and take care of all these details.

himalayall

The story of a Russian woman who bought an apartment and regretted it

And here is the story of a resident of Yekaterinburg, which she told the portal E1.RU:

— When I entered the apartment purchased with a mortgage, I realized that I was in a real hell. It was my first experience buying real estate, and, fascinated by the idea of a favorable location for the house, I turned a blind eye to many “oddities” in this deal.

Before the purchase, I had long persuaded the landlady to let me inside to see my future home (I had only been there once before), but she always found some excuse to avoid it. I was busy at work and doing the mortgage paperwork myself, so I didn't pay much attention to the refusals.

But when I got the keys and entered the apartment, what I saw shocked me. Only two sockets worked; the light was only in the bathroom and toilet; the sewage system was clogged; and the water did not flow into the pipe. In the end, I had to call a disinfection service because I was bitten by fleas the first night in my new apartment.

As time went on, even scarier details began to emerge. It turned out that my neighbors behind the wall were manufacturing illegal drugs. It took four years to evict them.

In addition, after I bought this place, debt collectors started coming to me, and it turned out that the former landlady had taken out a loan from the bank with my address. This continued until I provided the ownership document for the apartment.

Even my mailbox became an object of interest—for five years after the purchase, summonses for the former landlady's son from the military enlistment office came to it, and sometimes employees of the commissariat also came.

I invested a huge amount of money and nerves in renovating my apartment: installing a front door, replacing pipes, disinfecting, wiring, and noise insulation.

In the end, I realized that secondary housing can be a real headache and require a huge investment, both material and emotional. This apartment may have gone up in price over time, but it took many times more nerves and money to restore it.

Reddit's user stories

And these are the kinds of short stories people are sharing on the Well... That sucks... subreddit.

“It wasn't until after two years of living in my house that I came home and found out that my mantelpiece was just glued on.”

Source: boredpanda.com

“For many years in a row, my spouse and I saved up to build our dream cabin in the woods. Not two years later, a tobacco store opened up in the abandoned house across the street. All that would be fine, but it glows like the lighthouses of Gondor.”

Source: boredpanda.com

“This is how the kitchen sink just completely fell through a hole in the countertop.”

Source: boredpanda.com

“I'm probably going to need a bigger bucket.”

Source: boredpanda.com

“This is the hallway of an apartment building in Dallas, Texas. It looks like a scene from Titanic.”

Source: boredpanda.com

All of these stories are a lesson for all future real estate buyers. It is important to inspect every corner of your future home, ask questions of neighbors, and check all documents to avoid such unpleasant surprises.