I think I bought too much home. Got nearly priced out of my own neighborhood & when wanting more space after having kids I bought something "within" budget but with no real anticipated savings (was estimating like $1-2k/mo), then got fucked in the ass by $100k+ in repairs needed I did not see coming (codes department and inspectors basically fucked me).

It has made me realize buying at the extreme end of my means was probably retarded as I now have no money to actually enjoy life and all I think about is keeping other expenses low so we can make the home payments. Classic "House poor".

But I've seen people say at some point that goes away (inflation, salaries go up) and to stay in a good neighborhood it's worth it.

Part of the issue obviously is home prices are so expensive all around that it feels like I can't really win. I'm hoping I can claw my equity back and maybe even make some money on this place in like 2-3 years and then see how I'm feeling, but my instinct is I should aim to downsize again and buy back peace of mind.

Any anons go through anything similar?

Sadly, as you learned, it's all a racket. Whoever inspected your house originally likely got bribed/incentivized to pass it despite it needing a hundred grand in repairs.
>Home inspectors, while often independent, can sometimes rely on referrals from real estate agents. This can create a conflict of interest where an inspector might feel pressure to "not be a deal killer" to keep the referrals coming. Some real estate professionals have been known to "blacklist" inspectors who are too thorough.

>>60565686 (OP)
>maybe even make some money on this place in like 2-3 years
lol

you're not going to make money for the first 10-15 years. If you're already obsessed with the financials you're never going to be happy.

if you look at it as a place to live and not an investment you might be able to afford it and enjoy your life. And one day 20 years down the road you might be pleasantly surprised to find you made a bit of money.

but if you're obsessing about it now, and want returns in 2-3 years, you're going to be fabulously disappointed.

>>60566110
I really fucked up letting our realtor choose the inspector. She was an acquaintance of ours so I didn't think too much about it... and I don't think there was any direct foul play, but the guy who she's using obviously has incentive to help her sell homes and I think my odds of catching stuff would have been better had I hired independently.

The truth is the biggest problems were behind walls where no inspector ever would have caught it, but a good inspector who knew more about HVAC and plumbing might have saved me like $20k.

>>60566175
Maybe, the market I am in is still pretty hot. The home estimates are already up over $100k on the year and I see similar houses selling for around $70-100k more than what I paid for mine so if I consider that I've had to put in all the repairs I'm probably roughly break even in a year. If it can do like $50k+/year henceforth which would be around 3.8% annually then I should be able to actually pull some profit out in a few years. The RE market going full crash mode would obviously spoil that but I'm lucky to be in a strong market in a city expanding rapidly with billions being spent on development infrastructure over the next 10 years.

Just grind through it retard. Dont end up jeeting the house to get out of. In 7 years time the house will have 2X'd and rates will probably have plummeted and your repayments and equity will have mooned.

You have to get through what feels like misery and pain right now to realize the better outcome.

My parents sold their home in 2001 for $300,000 because they felt stuck and miserable paying the mortgage....so they started renting....now they're poor & old, with no home, and still renting.... the home they sold is now worth like $2.5 million, they would have paid it off and it has almost 10X'd in value

>>60565686 (OP)
First my hoooomowner cope, one by one:
>Did tons of math up until 2016, less so now that I have a career (code monkeys don't math for real)
>200k mortgage at 3.5%
>$1700 a month for a 3 bedroom 2 story house in a desirable neighborhood
>It is a starter home, selling it in a few years when I've saved enough and have a comfortable position to buy the home to raise my children in
>Not renting it out
>Most my emergency repair has been was $10k for a new furnace and AC which have already been more than covered by appreciation
>No HOA
>Bought right before the takeoff in 2020

As for your actual post OP:
Buying and selling is an expensive ordeal. I'd say suck some corporate dick and figure out a way to make more money to make your living expenses more manageable.

You very clearly acknowledge the truth that you fucked up over-buying. But truthfully I'm 5 years into owning this place and I'm getting ready for something bigger and better and wish I was in a spot where I overbought and didn't have to consider moving from. But it is nice to have the level of financial flexibility I have now but it's also sort of not real since the money is never touching an account I spend out of and I'm singularly focused on getting it to a good level to make the next mortgage reasonable in spite of the fucked up market and rates. Hoping the rates are a bit lower in a couple years.

>>60565686 (OP)
>I now have no money to actually enjoy life

you need very little money to enjoy life

you have your eyes on the wrong things

>>60566230
>wish I was in a spot where I overbought and didn't have to consider moving from

glad that i did, just got my PMI removed

financed at 2.625% for another 26 years

>>60565686 (OP)
Can you sue the first inspector? Or appeal the second inspector?