Some 20% of British people feel that they have compromised when finding a new home with those renting more likely to be unhappy than buyers, new research has found.
They feel they like their home less than when they moved in and the reasons include not liking neighbours, finding the property too small and finding the upkeep too much.
The poll by
AA Home Membership found that 29% discovered a lot of problems after moving in and the same number didn’t get on with their neighbours while 26% confessed they moved in as the property was affordable rather than because they liked it.
The research also found that 25% found the property too small after living in it for some time and 21% found it needed too much upkeep while 13% found it no longer suitable as their circumstances had changed.
The results also showed some big differences between homeowners and tenants. Some 26% of
tenants said they’d grown less fond of their home compared to 17% of homeowners.
Price vs. size vs. location
Tenants were more likely to live in homes which had unexpected problems and not get along with their neighbours.
Homeowners on the other hand, were more likely to struggle with the upkeep of a property and have changing circumstances such as children leaving home which made their property less suitable.
The cost of the property was the most commonly re-evaluated aspect cited by 32% and 27% said they had to compromise on either the location or the size of the home they chose. Some 19% moved somewhere that needed more work doing to it than they had originally planned and 18% had fewer bedrooms than they wanted.
A quarter of those who made a compromise were unhappy about having to do so. Those aged 18 to 24 were the most fussy with 31% of them saying they made a compromise begrudgingly.
‘It must be quite disheartening to find that your home is not all you hoped it would be. Some issues such as property maintenance and anti-social neighbours may only become apparent over time and may not have been a cause for concern when the householder chose the property,’ said Helen Brooker, head of AA Home Membership.
‘It’s pretty common for people to have to compromise when looking for somewhere to live as after all, not many people can afford their dream home. Even if you find your ideal property, the housing market is so competitive there’s no guarantee you’ll get it.’
