Regret buying my flat in 2024 for £195k — what would you do?
Honestly, I regret buying my flat in 2024, although I know hindsight is 20/20.
At the time, we were in a rush to buy because of family circumstances and we really didn’t want to go down the private renting route. We looked at what was available and the cheapest thing we found was a 1-bedroom ex-council flat for £195,000, with a 93-year lease.
Fast forward to now, and we’re thinking about selling, but we’re really stuck on what to do. There’s currently another flat with the same layout on the market for £180k, but the big difference is that it hasn’t been renovated or updated in years. You can really tell the difference when comparing the two.
Ours has been completely renovated from top to bottom. We’ve had a brand-new kitchen installed with appliances, brand-new flooring, wall panelling throughout and a modern finish. It’s basically ready to move straight into and looks nothing like the other flats currently for sale in the area.
Ours is also ground floor, we have the station nearby, and we’re hoping that these things, along with the condition of the property, will make it more appealing.
The lease is another thing we’re conscious of. Ours has 89 years remaining, but extending it wouldn’t be particularly expensive — we’ve been advised it would be around £4k, so it’s something a buyer could potentially deal with relatively easily.
We’ve spoken to estate agents and they’ve all agreed that our property is much nicer than the other flats in the area because of the amount of work we’ve put into it. They think we could potentially push for slightly more because of the renovation and presentation.
Our dilemma is that we want to sell fairly quickly, and it would be chain-free, so we don’t want to price ourselves out of the market. At the same time, we really don’t want to sell for less than the £195k we paid if there’s a chance of getting close to that.
We know we may have to accept a loss and we’re realistic about that, but obviously we’d rather not lose money if we don’t have to.
What would you do? Would you list at £195k and see what happens, perhaps accepting an offer slightly below if it’s a quick chain-free buyer? Or would you price it closer to the £180k flat because of the current market?
Would love to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation, especially with ex-council flats and whether a full renovation has made a noticeable difference to the sale price.