I hate my house

Could be bad time to sell, but if you're unhappy, there's probably no point staying, best of luck whatever you chose

How long have you lived there ?

It can be easy enough to make a house a home, or personal touches etc to make you feel more comfortable, but if there are issues about the direction the house is facing that is something which you know/realise before purchase and choose to accept it or not.

If the direction that the house is facing is going to continue to bug you then you may have to accept that you may need to keep looking for a better place.

A word of caution though, if you manage to flip the property for a profit, the relative that sold it may feel like they were cheated, they might think it was always your intention to sell it on, people are funny when it comes to money.

We had a pretty dark kitchen when we moved in but swapped out one of the kitchen windows for a double door that opens out on to the garden...it's a cheap extension but the inside and outside feel all the one now. €150 to the builder for cutting out the shape and a little bit of plastering + the cost of the door.

There is a lot you can do to improve a house. You can change the lighting by put mirrors to reflect light up the stairs and in the attic. Change the colours to light and bright colours. Use nets instead of blinds.
If you have damp in the attic this due to moisture from the kitchen and bathroom. Look at improving ventilation, extractors and install insulation.

If the back garden is in the shadow you can paint the walls a light colour and put plants in that like shade. You can cut back plants that hang over into your garden. If the trees are hanging over then trim back. Bit of work and this will be improved.

Damp and a lack of light are two different issues. If you sell up, where are you thinking of buying? Probably a bad time to trade up in Dublin with high prices.

To answer your question yes, I generally want to change things about any house I've lived in and when you make the changes it improves the house. But this is all too vague and pointless.

Engage a proffessional to have a look and give you a quote to alter the house and if it's possible to achieve what you're looking for.

Don't worry about Dermot Bannon, he didn't realise that glass reflects at night until last year.

Sounds as though the darkness is the thing getting you down most.

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

It faces the wrong way. The house is south-west facing but the rooms we use are facing north-east.

I'd be looking at this. Can you swap around your use of the rooms? There are no rules about what has to be at the front of the house and what at the back - or even upstairs v. downstairs. Spend a day looking at how the sunlight moves around your house, and what you typically do (or would like to do) in the house. Then decide what configuration of rooms would suit you best. Darkness can be an advantage in a bedroom where you're not woken up at crazy o'clock in midsummer by light streaming through the curtains (or kids aren't woken up who then wake you up). That could be a reasonably cheap first step.

As others have mentioned, increasing window size, enlarging an ordinary window into a taller french window, or even changing glass type from frosted to clear can make a huge difference. So can new windows such as a velux in the ceiling.

Also, it's possible to create light tunnels/sun tunnels into most rooms even if they wouln't normally get much natural daylight or be adjacent to the roof. Essentially they're a skylight leading into a tunnel with reflective surfaces designed to reflect the light all the way to where it needs to be. Google and you'll see loads of examples.

Edit: Blackbox got ahead of me while I was typing!

Even if you cannot afford s builder or s massive revamp done changes can be done for modest money.

If it's an old house the insulation may be poor. Houses build in the 60's-80's had poor insulation. Varies can now be pumped this is a cheap fix but not as good as external insulation. Windows and doors may be teak upgrading to PVC down the line can change this.

Painting and deco can change the dynamics of a house going from carpet to tiles or wood floors, changing paint colours from dark to bright colours. In the garden cutting back overhanging growth, painting walks and boundary fences bright colours will also change the garden. Plant flowers that thrive North facing gardens etc.

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Could be bad time to sell, but if you're unhappy, there's probably no point staying, best of luck whatever you chose

On the 'bad time to sell' opinion. I'm not so sure. With supply very limited in the Dublin region (-23% this June compared to last year) prices haven't moved that much (<3% compared to June last year). Look at the latest daft reports for trends in specific areas of Dublin https://www.daft.ie/report?fr=touch

Obviously this trend could change next month, but consider the change in your equity Vs change in prices in other areas of Dublin. Waiting to buy mightn't make any difference. Also factor in the cost of a refurb and offset that with walking into a complete house with work done.

spaceHopper wrote: »

We did an extension, the architect did and initial consultation for about 100 to 150 euros, it was to stop time wasters. They'd give you good idea. First things I'd do is get a price from a tree surgeon to deal with the trees and offer to split the cost with the neighbours. See if you can fix it. Selling and moving will eat up 30 grand and you'll probably end up doing the work to the next house.

This is a very good post.

Op...talk to your neighbours see if they're open to thinning out the branches to let you get some light. Most people are reasonable about this sort of thing.

A professionally designer to view your house is also a great idea.

So is your back garden facing north East?

There have been a few posts on will I buy a north facing house lately and this is the reason for saying no.

OP needs to decide whether he dislikes the house because of the light (which can be amended) or the quality of light which is probably impossible to fix.

All the big windows, painting white etc, will not bring sunlight into your home. The light coming into a room with no sunlight is a slightly grey dull light as opposed to the mood lifting warm sunlight.

Personally having lived in house with a north facing back garden it was the lack of sunlight rather than light which made the house not feel cosy. I'd never do it again as it's just too much if a mood dampener.

Sitting outside the back door on a dull patio when the sunlight beamed to the end of the garden was a no no.

If its the sunlight that's causing the issue rather than the light, I'd not waste time money or effort re configuring the interior. You cant change the fact that no sunlight shines directly into your back garden at the back of the house, where you enjoy living.

I'm going against the grain here, agree with the paint etc as an interim solution where you haven't spent a fortune, but if you are someone who sunlight rather than light is an issue, I think you should consider moving.

Point about flipping and relative is a consideration.

I didnt realise it was sunlight I needed until I had it.

We just bought a house that was darker than we expected. We have builders starting next week to replace two small velux windows in the kitchen extension with one big long feature window, getting bigger bifold doors installed to replace the small patio doors and we're getting a pillar in the middle of the kitchen diner and visible beams removed to open it all up more and create more light. I've also bought a brilliant white paint and the whole of the downstairs will be repainted and the flooring replaced with a much lighter vinyl. We're also getting a lot of new lighting installed.

The previous owners had a fondness for a dark teal colour which I do like but it doesn't suit a house with a dark downstairs. One of the walls in the kitchen/diner was wallpaper in a dark coloured paper. We've stripped it in preparation for the builders and behind it was a plain white wall - even that has made a big difference. We do have some sunlight coming in though so that helps.

I'm looking forward to seeing how our house will look - there are things that you can do for sure. If you like the location and you got a good deal on the house it may be worth staying. You can do a room at a time, it doesn't need to be a Dermot Bannon job. Only you know if it would be worth it or you hate it so much you need to move on.

Can you get a velux into the attic?
You spend hours a day up there.

I'd sort it first and quick.
Will improve your humour.

Dehumidifier in short term when youre out.
Look to sort the damp asap

Woshy wrote: »

We just bought a house that was darker than we expected. We have builders starting next week to replace two small velux windows in the kitchen extension with one big long feature window, getting bigger bifold doors installed to replace the small patio doors and we're getting a pillar in the middle of the kitchen diner and visible beams removed to open it all up more and create more light. I've also bought a brilliant white paint and the whole of the downstairs will be repainted and the flooring replaced with a much lighter vinyl. We're also getting a lot of new lighting installed.

The previous owners had a fondness for a dark teal colour which I do like but it doesn't suit a house with a dark downstairs. One of the walls in the kitchen/diner was wallpaper in a dark coloured paper. We've stripped it in preparation for the builders and behind it was a plain white wall - even that has made a big difference. We do have some sunlight coming in though so that helps.

I'm looking forward to seeing how our house will look - there are things that you can do for sure. If you like the location and you got a good deal on the house it may be worth staying. You can do a room at a time, it doesn't need to be a Dermot Bannon job. Only you know if it would be worth it or you hate it so much you need to move on.

Would op have the same budget for a builder? Maybe even if it got a makeover it might help to push up the price a bit if they decide to sell.

If the OP got the house for very little they'd have a lot of equity to afford a move to another area. As they said, they're in a good area of Dublin but no social or family ties to the area.

Would you move out to the stix op? Like meath.?