Over paid for my house and stressing it

[Anonymous]

So my wife and I bought our first house a year ago and I am continuing to get more and more stressed out knowing we overpaid,. We are in Rockville, off Tuckerman near Old Georgetown and really like the location.

Four houses on the same block (including ours) sold within 2 months a part, all within a week of hitting the market, all over ask.

No houses have been on the market on our street since then, and none had been on the market in a few years prior to.

We made an offer of $15K above ask on one of those other houses and lost out, part of the reason being the buyer waived all contingencies (and outbid us slightly).

I am very risk averse and would only be willing to waive inspection contingency if we completed an inspection prior to making an offer. Not willing to waive any other contingencies.

So when the house we ended up buying hit the market, we got an inspection right way, then waived that contingency and put in a very aggressive above ask offer contigent on the seller cancelling the open house, which they did.

Shortly after, another house on the same block ended up selling for just $8K more than ours, that is a much nicer house. I've been stressing about us over paying for our house for a while, and now its snowballed to where I think about it constantly.

Our plan is probably to stay for the next 8-10 years and then move hopefully into a house that has the same characteristics that the aforementioned house for $8K more has.

Here are the stats on the 4 houses on our block that sold around the same time:

House #1: My House: 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bedrooms, 3K sq ft including basement. One Car Carport, 4 bedrooms upstairs, 1 bedroom in basement with full bathroom, small but useable play space in basement, all bathrooms are very small (our biggest issue, as well as not garage), small bedrooms as well, and yard is small-ish and not flat. Good main level floor plan. When i originally bought the house the appraisal came in as 5 bedrooms and at my purchase price. Depending on the appraiser some might consider it a 4 bedroom since the window on in the bedroom in the basement is higher than a certain amount of feet. It was appraised as a 5 bedroom when I purchased it but then a 4 bedroom when I tried to refinance (and the appraisal came in at $25K under the purchase price).

House #2: Sold for $8K more than ours, has the exact same main level floor plan as ours. 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, 3,800 sq ft including basement. Two car garage, 4 bedrooms all upstairs, master bathroom very big with double vanity, screen in porch, open basement with lots of room, flat backyard that backs to parkland.

House #3: Sold for $10K less than ours, 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms. 3,300 sq ft. Two car garage, all 5 bedrooms updairs, 3 bathrooms, upstairs. Very big master bedroom and double vanity bathroom. Non traditional lay out. Living room is on the upper level so not same level as the kitchen. My neighbor says that has been a pain. No basement. Flat fenced yard.

House #4. The first house I put an offer on, sold for $25K less than ours. 5 bedrooms (all upstairs), 3.5 bathrooms (all 3 full bathrooms upstairs), 3700 sq ft. Two car garage, split level floor plan so living room is just 5 stairs down from kitchen. Big kitchen with island. Master bedroom similar size to ours but master bathroom is double vanity. Technically no basement, but has a large open spaced level on the lowest level of the floor (a bit of the choppy floor plan) which is why I guess it went for less than the other houses, although nice house. Lots of trees in the flat backyard so not ideal for young kids to run around in. Yard is fenced.

[Anonymous]

Tldr. There is nothing you can do about it. Just maintain your house and enjoy your time there

[Anonymous]

Why are you stressing about this? What would be different if you hadn’t overpaid? You would be in the same house for the same amount of time, yes? Even if you overpaid by 25k that’s not really that much in the grand scheme of things. It’s done. Let it go.

[Anonymous]

Enjoy your house. Plan on living in it for awhile and what you paid won't matter.

[Anonymous]

You’re ruminating, op. This is about your anxiety, not what you spent on the house. Try meditation or therapy to quiet your mind.

[Anonymous]

So what? It’s done now. I know we overpaid for our house 15 years ago, because we wanted it and that’s what it took to get it. We’ve raised our kids here. Our neighbors are wonderful. We’ve transformed our yard from a barren mess to a pollinator sanctuary. We have had dogs and cats and hermit crabs and hamsters and bikes and scooters and basketball hoops in the driveway and birthday parties and backyard barbecues and trick or treaters and so much love and laughter. It’s home and it was worth every penny.

[Anonymous]

You need to let it go. There's nothing you can do about it but learn from this and know better next time you buy.

[Anonymous]

Not sure what you are accomplishing other than beating yourself up. It is what it is. Enjoy your house and work on your stress.

[Anonymous]

Yeah this is a weird mental glitch. Just live in your house and enjoy your life.

[Anonymous]

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

The worst thing to do, IMO, is feel like you need to move to "get out" from the feeling of overpaying for the house. Let's say a house similar to the +$8k one would actually cost $30k more than what you would sell yours for. Add in transaction costs on both sides and a closing costs for a new mortgage, and then you're looking at probably closer to $100k all-in to get a few hundred extra SF and a garage.

If the current house simply doesn't work for your lifestyle and family, that's one thing, but you should stop thinking about what could have been.

[Anonymous]

We overpaid for our house because we had been looking for 6 months, desperately wanted out of our old neighborhood and townhouse, it was the nicest one we looked at the entire time (our of dozens) & we didn’t want to look anymore. Period. We realistically should have gotten it for 10k less than we paid but the owner probably wouldn’t have taken it.

It is what it is, enjoy your new home. Housing around this are is always ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Try to work harder at your day job to make more money and make up for the perceived price differential. Extra work will also take your mind of this issue.

[Anonymous]

All of that is chump change compared to real estate fees from buying and selling. Enjoy your house and make it perfect for you.

[Anonymous]

no need to stress. if your horizon is 8-10 year out, it'll all even out. you are getting good use of the house, you are not here to flip it next year.

[Anonymous]

The number of feet in the basement bedroom window to floor doesn't matter. It only matters if a firefighter can enter with his equipment on. If the window is large enough to accommodate a firefighter and his equipment, it's a bedroom.