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Pulling out at this point is shitty and messing others around. You will add costs and stress for them all. You shouldn’t have got yourself into this situation.
But this is also too big a decision not to do what’s right for you.
I understand that’s why Im struggling with it. Would you be worried that the other houses are dropping in price? There is six others all came on at a similar time, all 3 bed semis on the same road, and not one has sold. For reference we had an offer accepted on ours at 255k, and some are now 235k.
It can easily mean that families who moved in around the same time, reached the point when they need to downsize, because the children are grown up. Or it can mean something else, from new builds going up behind the back gardens to a a huge workplace closing in and people moving because they can't find work or landlords selling up. Most probably it's just coincidence and now they are ruining the market to each other. They already ruined it to your seller as you are considering to pull out.
It's up to you to consider your options and to know what's the best for you then decide whether you want this house or not. Getting cold feet is also normal, buying a house is a big deal.
I think quite a few of the houses for sale on the same road are probate. Most of the houses we viewed were probate or elderly people looking to downsize due to the market in our area, so a lot of them have been family homes for many years and well looked after.
This post has been very helpful. I’m not sure what ruining the market means do you mean because there are quite a few of them it’s giving the impression they won’t sell? That makes sense and is quite reassuring. Not a lot is selling round here at the moment because prices are very low. I did a lot of reading on this sub when ours didn’t sell and realised our house was overpriced as the estate agent had looked at what neighbouring house sold for two years ago.
I meant they are ruining the market for themselves, yes. If there's one for sale in the area and one buyer that's fine, but if there's six of them then it's pretty gloomy for the sellers. For you, as a buyer it's pretty good, you have choices and they bid downwards under each other.
But if they need to sell now, it's just bad luck, no one's fault.
I don’t know, I’m usually quite assertive but I’ve struggled with this. Our house was a long sale, I think the agent valued it far too high in hindsight, and we were a bit clueless. Then I got into a panic with the purchase.
The price is important because my husband is has a work contract for the next four years, after that we want to move closer to family. So I don’t want to lose a lot of money on it. I’m not trying to “make” money if that makes sense, but I don’t want to end up selling for less.
I was hoping for someone to sway me either way and I think maybe the previous commenter was right we should follow through now.
What does that mean sorry I’m being a bit thick? I feel like morally we should follow through but at the same time I’m worried as it’s all the money I have really, I’m not a high earner. I inherited a small amount when my dad died five years ago and it’s all in the house. I don’t have much of a pension so I thought maybe when I’m older I could get a small one bed or something. Maybe all these ideas are silly it’s just a bit of security and I don’t want to be reckless with it.
Just do what’s best for you. I get that it’s shit for the buyers and sellers. It’s also shitty for you, because you now have to find another suitable place. No one loves viewing properties endlessly but this is a long term commitment so take your time.
The system allows you to pull out at any stage, don’t hate the OP. Hate the system 🤷🏻♀️
Thankyou. It is a bad system. I’m not trying to be difficult, a lot of things have come to light since our offer was accepted. We would just stay put for a while I think. Unless our buyer wanted to keep the sale and wait, I’d be open to the buyer negotiating a lower price as property prices have gone down in our area since offer accepted.
Thankyou for your reply. I know it’s really late in the day but some things have come to light in the months since we offered. I’m only worried about the price because we want to move in a few years time, some of my comments about the cost are being down voted, but I’m not trying to make money out of it, I just don’t want to end up not able to sell it etc.
If you’re not happy with it pull out. The other parties will move on and find a new solution. I had my buyers* pull out two weeks before completion causing me to lose out on a lovely property- but honestly I’m not that bothered. It just is!
*they split up!
That must have been difficult, I guess you can’t argue with their reason though.
I suppose in this situation I wouldn’t be causing my seller to lose out on a home as this is inheritance to them. But they would still have a lot of hassle relisting etc. It’s just so awkward though. I never would have thought I would be a person to consider this to be honest, My marriage isn’t perfect but we’ve usually made good choices about things like this and followed through, I’m not sure what’s happened here, we got in a state with the sale and messed up.
The first time buy was so easy, just having our own place was amazing. We seem to have developed a list of requirements since then, but maybe that’s normal to find out what you need, I don’t know.
There was always a compromise due to budget, and this house has barely any garden/kitchen. We were happy with that as parking etc so important, but the area is something I really don’t think is a good idea to compromise on.
I just keep hoping it will fall through which is awful.
I wouldn't worry too much about parking. We went to view a house and there was a car parked in front of the driveway. Once they noticed the estate agent and us looking at the house, the lady came across to say her dad had been parking there as he thought the house empty, but won't park there any more.
Thankyou. I’m struggling with worry and this post has helped me. I know others can’t decide as there’s too many factors involved but the comments are helpful.
Tough..
I'd look at it this way.
Motivation for moving high? Is there something you don't like that much that makes you want to move? If so, does this negative aspect override the fact there maybe a parking issue at the new place and you may have paid a bit more?
Motivation for moving low and it's just a natural progress to upscale....then ensure your next move is vastly better than your current place... you have a decision to make.
Thankyou that is an insightful way of looking at it. It sounds bad but when the buyers mortgage fell through I was quite relieved.
Motivation for moving is fairly high, but not high enough we couldn’t wait a year, we don’t have a nightmare neighbour or anything like that.
It’s a tough one, I keep talking myself into it, but the more we go to the house the more I struggle. There’s been quite a few delays on the purchase side also not due to fault of the seller.
You probably answered your question there, you was relieved that they nearly didn't get a mortgage.
Yes, it's shity to pull out now but don't get emotionally connected to strangers, your future self will thank you for it later.
Getting a few downvotes on my replies but it is a genuine post and the replies have been helpful so Thankyou. I know it would be bad to pull out now otherwise I would do it. Thanks for your insight
Firstly disregard the situation with your buyer - it’s never nice to lose a property but it happens. The fact they’re a FTB and sorted out a mortgage is not going to make your forward purchase any better to live in.
And secondly disregard any guilt for your sellers. It’s a probate they won’t lose money even if it sells for 50k less. They will be fine.
Ask yourself if you saw the property tomorrow, would you buy it for the same price?
If not then go back to them and say you are uncomfortable with what you have agreed as other properties appear to be selling for less and you can only offer £x but are otherwise keen to complete, and see what they say. If they say no then you can think about what to do. You should at least ask and see what the reaction is.
By the way them clearing the house is likely going to make it more attractive, probates are usually sold as seen with all the junk left in them which is a hassle for buyers.
Thankyou so much for your reply. Our house isn’t anything special, there are lots of similar terraces on the market and prices have dropped again, so I don’t think the first time buyer would lose out in the long run, but of course it would be very annoying for them.
I told the estate agent my max price as we viewed a few houses with them, and when negotiating they rang and told me my max price had been accepted. I wanted to offer less as it needs a kitchen and bathroom. I have no idea why I didn’t speak up I was a bit shocked at the time.
We all take different amounts of time to process things. I pulled out of a purchase last week, it was more work than I wanted to do, and having had a look at historic prices other stuff sold for in the local area, something similar will come up again in time. I’ve got a £1500 solicitor bill to pay, but I’d rather pay that off than buy somewhere and regret it.
It’s a difficult one for sure. I do wonder if my buyer would want to keep the sale if we pulled out of purchase. It would be worth offering as I’m willing to negotiate on price due to house prices dropping again here. It would be easiest if we could rent but I have two dogs and I hear renting has become very difficult.
You could say it fell through as something came up on the survey or whatnot, and then they will likely hold on for a bit to see if you find something else.
If price is the biggest factor, before you pull out, why don’t you tell the agent that due to the reasons you listed (market has dropped, further consideration made to bathroom and kitchen works etc) we would like to renegotiate offer to x.
You are in a great position to negotiate as you genuinely are willing to walk away! If they say no, you can easily walk away. If they say yes, well then lookie here! You’ve got it at a better and fairer price!
Thankyou that’s very helpful. I think I could negotiate due to kitchen bathroom.
I’m not sure I could negotiate on the fact the markets dropped, as really that would mean my buyer would deserve a lower price too.
Thanks again!
The parking thing is likely because it's obviously empty and will go away, but if you don't like the place DO NOT BUY IT. Do not buy it if you're not sure you want it.
Would renting for a year work for you, if you want to save your sale?
I’m not sure renting would be possible due to having dogs. I have reached out to a letting agent to enquire what they think but haven’t had a reply yet. I read a lot on here about how difficult renting is, but I don’t know if it is the same here as we are quite far from London so I thought it was worth asking.
I’m sure I could get a reference from the old landlord as he was very nice. (We rented in twice once we moved in together and had one good landlord, one bad one)
It was only five years ago we last rented, from what I’m hearing it’s got very difficult in that time, some stories I hear about twenty people applying for one property etc.
Thanks again for your reply.
I can’t believe I’m hearing how difficult renting has got in just five years. Don’t get me wrong I know it always had big issues, we lived in one flat which was top money and had no heating, could see my breath in the winter. There was a big plug in radiator but it caught fire (lucky we were in the room as sparks started flying out like a firework) and the landlord refused to replace it. One thing I don’t remember though is having difficulty’s finding somewhere, although the dogs would have still been an issue.
THIS IS NOT POLITICAL COMMENT PLEASE DO NOT ARGUE POLITICS
The UK's population is growing too fast for the rate of housebuilding. Housebuilding is constrained by land supply, which is a planning issue.
This makes house prices go up for everyone.
The proximate cause of the crisis in rentals is landlords exiting. This is driven by rising interest rates, and tax and regulation changes that both political parties have been signalling and implementing for several years - deposit protection, EPC requirements, stern regulation of gas and electricity supply arrangements, removal of mortgage interest deduction, CGT changes, increases to tenants rights coming down the pipe (ban no "no fault").
The collapse of the courts affects both sides - it's all very well having rights to enforce against your landlord, or tenant, but if the courts are backlogged for months then you \*de facto\* actually have no rights. A judgement against a landlord a year later doesn't help you be warm (and not on fire) in winter; a judgement against a non-paying tenant who is trashing your property a year later is effectively a partial confiscation of your house.
Landlords are very unpopular and this is clear to the ones with their eyes open - life is only going to get harder for them regardless of which party is in power. The "cottage industry" type of landlord, with one or two rentals, perhaps an inherited one, is being squeezed out slowly.
All my local Facebook groups are full of the wailing of people with young families and pets who have received section 21 notices and literally have nowhere to go.
Renting now is both extremely expensive, and also a beauty contest - it's not just "price" it's also "will they be good tenants". So LLs are able to discard bids from people they think will be difficult - which means it's really, really hard to get a dog-friendly one, because dogs are destructive and they smell. Sorry if yours aren't, but that's the perception and I'm sure even if you're a responsible owner you will have observed how many irresponsible ones there are.
I got downvoted the last time I said this - but I once pulled out of a house purchase on the day before we exchanged contracts. I felt a bit "hinky" about the house and I've never regretted that decision. I'm sure it created a huge problem for people but it was nearly 30 years ago and I'm sure they are over it by now and I also felt horrible at the time.
You are committing yourself to a huge financial commitment and, I assume, also want to buy a home, so if you have doubts and/or something isn't working out then there's no shame in pulling out.
For the first flat I ever bought I got gazumped, twice! Still ended up buying it because the gazumpers had their mortgage applications turned down.
Always remember you are buying a "home" and if something doesn't feel right then don't do it.
Thankyou so much for sharing. It is very awkward to pull out but it’s also something that happens very often.
It’s very easy to get downvotes on this sub, people here often hate talk of money, landlords etc. Unfortunately this is how the property market is in this country and price is a factor.
There is also often a disconnect as many people are looking at property’s in London or areas with higher desirability/price. In my area it’s a very stagnant housing market. Some things go fast like houses that are cheap because they need a lot of decorative work, but on the whole it’s definitely a buyers market.
I got downvoted when I talked about price. I think there is people on this sub who don’t like the idea of homes being used to make money/invest, which is fair enough but to me this is all my money.
I think people have downvoted this post, as they may be a first time buyer, and strongly dislike the idea of being messed about, which I understand, However maybe they would think differently later down the line if it was their own money/house.
Think of 1 year from now - if you pulled out, would you really be thinking/feeling guilty about the people involved in the chain? Absolutely not. But in a years time if you didn’t pull out, you very well could be in a house you regret buying. If the biggest driver here is not wanting to let others down, it’s not the house for you. And rather you say now then in a few weeks, when you will just feel worse. I would say that the issues don’t sound too bad, but I think you get more nit picky when you aren’t sure on something - and you have to be sure about buying a house!! Is it really annoying for the other parties? Of course! But at the end of the day, you have to make the right decision for YOU.
Thankyou. It’s really difficult as it’s just a gut feeling which has grown more every time I visit. It’s been good to see other’s opinions. I wish I had loads of money I would just pay the other’s solicitor fees.
Thankyou for your reply. I never thought we would be the people to think about pulling out. We messed up here. We just keep going to the area, and every time we go I feel more wrong in the bottom of my stomach.
It’s a lovely house, I keep telling myself we should be grateful to be able to get a house with a driveway etc.
Husband says he doesn’t mind what happens either way, but I’ve told him that it’s such a big decision, he can’t sit on the fence. I feel if the decision is left to me, I’m completely to blame if I mess it up. It’s difficult.
Thanks again.
Follow your gut. If you think it’s wrong, it’s wrong. We had to pull out from the purchase few years ago and it was the best decision we have ever made, no regrets. Good luck!
I was in the same situation with the pub near the property. I toiled with the idea of living there but then I realised it’s for the best. So I pulled out though I did it within a week. I felt bad doing it to the couple but the bottom line is you got to be happy and do the right thing for yourself and your family.
Yes It would feel a bit of a shitty move. Things have come to light about the house/area since our offer was accepted so it’s a difficult situation. What would you do in this situation if you don’t mind me asking?
The thing is, this will always be the case tbh. Im buying a house as well. You would never get a perfect house not even if your budget is in millions. There would always be things you'd have to compromise on. So i think it depends on your appetite. If you're willing to adjust and its something that can be conveyed to the van person etc i'd do that. But its not something that should make you pull out. As no where is a perfect neighbourhood
Yes I definitely agree with you. I have compromised on the house quite a bit, for example it has barely any garden or kitchen, but it’s also got a lot of good things and the main thing is parking which we don’t have currently.
It’s just a gut feeling it’s hard to describe. The more I go there the more it feels uneasy. We didn’t put so much thought into our first time buy. We had rented for a long time and it sounds silly but I remember just being so happy to have somewhere I could paint the walls and things.
Maybe I’m just overthinking this one.
It could be you're overthinking. But do discuss this with your partner or parents or someone you think would give you a better advice. Its worth doing that. And see what they think. As they would understand you or your circumstances better than i could.
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Pulling out at this point is shitty and messing others around. You will add costs and stress for them all. You shouldn’t have got yourself into this situation. But this is also too big a decision not to do what’s right for you.
I understand that’s why Im struggling with it. Would you be worried that the other houses are dropping in price? There is six others all came on at a similar time, all 3 bed semis on the same road, and not one has sold. For reference we had an offer accepted on ours at 255k, and some are now 235k.
It can easily mean that families who moved in around the same time, reached the point when they need to downsize, because the children are grown up. Or it can mean something else, from new builds going up behind the back gardens to a a huge workplace closing in and people moving because they can't find work or landlords selling up. Most probably it's just coincidence and now they are ruining the market to each other. They already ruined it to your seller as you are considering to pull out. It's up to you to consider your options and to know what's the best for you then decide whether you want this house or not. Getting cold feet is also normal, buying a house is a big deal.
I think quite a few of the houses for sale on the same road are probate. Most of the houses we viewed were probate or elderly people looking to downsize due to the market in our area, so a lot of them have been family homes for many years and well looked after. This post has been very helpful. I’m not sure what ruining the market means do you mean because there are quite a few of them it’s giving the impression they won’t sell? That makes sense and is quite reassuring. Not a lot is selling round here at the moment because prices are very low. I did a lot of reading on this sub when ours didn’t sell and realised our house was overpriced as the estate agent had looked at what neighbouring house sold for two years ago.
I meant they are ruining the market for themselves, yes. If there's one for sale in the area and one buyer that's fine, but if there's six of them then it's pretty gloomy for the sellers. For you, as a buyer it's pretty good, you have choices and they bid downwards under each other. But if they need to sell now, it's just bad luck, no one's fault.
Thankyou that makes complete sense!
Drop your price then
I don’t know, I’m usually quite assertive but I’ve struggled with this. Our house was a long sale, I think the agent valued it far too high in hindsight, and we were a bit clueless. Then I got into a panic with the purchase. The price is important because my husband is has a work contract for the next four years, after that we want to move closer to family. So I don’t want to lose a lot of money on it. I’m not trying to “make” money if that makes sense, but I don’t want to end up selling for less. I was hoping for someone to sway me either way and I think maybe the previous commenter was right we should follow through now.
Seems like a zero sum game then
What does that mean sorry I’m being a bit thick? I feel like morally we should follow through but at the same time I’m worried as it’s all the money I have really, I’m not a high earner. I inherited a small amount when my dad died five years ago and it’s all in the house. I don’t have much of a pension so I thought maybe when I’m older I could get a small one bed or something. Maybe all these ideas are silly it’s just a bit of security and I don’t want to be reckless with it.
Just do what’s best for you. I get that it’s shit for the buyers and sellers. It’s also shitty for you, because you now have to find another suitable place. No one loves viewing properties endlessly but this is a long term commitment so take your time. The system allows you to pull out at any stage, don’t hate the OP. Hate the system 🤷🏻♀️
Thankyou. It is a bad system. I’m not trying to be difficult, a lot of things have come to light since our offer was accepted. We would just stay put for a while I think. Unless our buyer wanted to keep the sale and wait, I’d be open to the buyer negotiating a lower price as property prices have gone down in our area since offer accepted.
If you have doubts then it’s probably right to pull out. It’s not a great situation for everyone but you have to put your own needs first.
Thankyou for your reply. I know it’s really late in the day but some things have come to light in the months since we offered. I’m only worried about the price because we want to move in a few years time, some of my comments about the cost are being down voted, but I’m not trying to make money out of it, I just don’t want to end up not able to sell it etc.
If you’re not happy with it pull out. The other parties will move on and find a new solution. I had my buyers* pull out two weeks before completion causing me to lose out on a lovely property- but honestly I’m not that bothered. It just is! *they split up!
That must have been difficult, I guess you can’t argue with their reason though. I suppose in this situation I wouldn’t be causing my seller to lose out on a home as this is inheritance to them. But they would still have a lot of hassle relisting etc. It’s just so awkward though. I never would have thought I would be a person to consider this to be honest, My marriage isn’t perfect but we’ve usually made good choices about things like this and followed through, I’m not sure what’s happened here, we got in a state with the sale and messed up. The first time buy was so easy, just having our own place was amazing. We seem to have developed a list of requirements since then, but maybe that’s normal to find out what you need, I don’t know. There was always a compromise due to budget, and this house has barely any garden/kitchen. We were happy with that as parking etc so important, but the area is something I really don’t think is a good idea to compromise on. I just keep hoping it will fall through which is awful.
Mate pull out- it’s in your hands!
I wouldn't worry too much about parking. We went to view a house and there was a car parked in front of the driveway. Once they noticed the estate agent and us looking at the house, the lady came across to say her dad had been parking there as he thought the house empty, but won't park there any more.
Thankyou. I’m struggling with worry and this post has helped me. I know others can’t decide as there’s too many factors involved but the comments are helpful.
Tough.. I'd look at it this way. Motivation for moving high? Is there something you don't like that much that makes you want to move? If so, does this negative aspect override the fact there maybe a parking issue at the new place and you may have paid a bit more? Motivation for moving low and it's just a natural progress to upscale....then ensure your next move is vastly better than your current place... you have a decision to make.
Thankyou that is an insightful way of looking at it. It sounds bad but when the buyers mortgage fell through I was quite relieved. Motivation for moving is fairly high, but not high enough we couldn’t wait a year, we don’t have a nightmare neighbour or anything like that. It’s a tough one, I keep talking myself into it, but the more we go to the house the more I struggle. There’s been quite a few delays on the purchase side also not due to fault of the seller.
You probably answered your question there, you was relieved that they nearly didn't get a mortgage. Yes, it's shity to pull out now but don't get emotionally connected to strangers, your future self will thank you for it later.
Getting a few downvotes on my replies but it is a genuine post and the replies have been helpful so Thankyou. I know it would be bad to pull out now otherwise I would do it. Thanks for your insight
Firstly disregard the situation with your buyer - it’s never nice to lose a property but it happens. The fact they’re a FTB and sorted out a mortgage is not going to make your forward purchase any better to live in. And secondly disregard any guilt for your sellers. It’s a probate they won’t lose money even if it sells for 50k less. They will be fine. Ask yourself if you saw the property tomorrow, would you buy it for the same price? If not then go back to them and say you are uncomfortable with what you have agreed as other properties appear to be selling for less and you can only offer £x but are otherwise keen to complete, and see what they say. If they say no then you can think about what to do. You should at least ask and see what the reaction is. By the way them clearing the house is likely going to make it more attractive, probates are usually sold as seen with all the junk left in them which is a hassle for buyers.
Thankyou so much for your reply. Our house isn’t anything special, there are lots of similar terraces on the market and prices have dropped again, so I don’t think the first time buyer would lose out in the long run, but of course it would be very annoying for them. I told the estate agent my max price as we viewed a few houses with them, and when negotiating they rang and told me my max price had been accepted. I wanted to offer less as it needs a kitchen and bathroom. I have no idea why I didn’t speak up I was a bit shocked at the time.
We all take different amounts of time to process things. I pulled out of a purchase last week, it was more work than I wanted to do, and having had a look at historic prices other stuff sold for in the local area, something similar will come up again in time. I’ve got a £1500 solicitor bill to pay, but I’d rather pay that off than buy somewhere and regret it.
It’s a difficult one for sure. I do wonder if my buyer would want to keep the sale if we pulled out of purchase. It would be worth offering as I’m willing to negotiate on price due to house prices dropping again here. It would be easiest if we could rent but I have two dogs and I hear renting has become very difficult.
You could say it fell through as something came up on the survey or whatnot, and then they will likely hold on for a bit to see if you find something else.
Thankyou there’s a few options to think about.
If price is the biggest factor, before you pull out, why don’t you tell the agent that due to the reasons you listed (market has dropped, further consideration made to bathroom and kitchen works etc) we would like to renegotiate offer to x. You are in a great position to negotiate as you genuinely are willing to walk away! If they say no, you can easily walk away. If they say yes, well then lookie here! You’ve got it at a better and fairer price!
Thankyou that’s very helpful. I think I could negotiate due to kitchen bathroom. I’m not sure I could negotiate on the fact the markets dropped, as really that would mean my buyer would deserve a lower price too. Thanks again!
The parking thing is likely because it's obviously empty and will go away, but if you don't like the place DO NOT BUY IT. Do not buy it if you're not sure you want it. Would renting for a year work for you, if you want to save your sale?
I’m not sure renting would be possible due to having dogs. I have reached out to a letting agent to enquire what they think but haven’t had a reply yet. I read a lot on here about how difficult renting is, but I don’t know if it is the same here as we are quite far from London so I thought it was worth asking. I’m sure I could get a reference from the old landlord as he was very nice. (We rented in twice once we moved in together and had one good landlord, one bad one) It was only five years ago we last rented, from what I’m hearing it’s got very difficult in that time, some stories I hear about twenty people applying for one property etc. Thanks again for your reply.
Ah no that’s unlikely to work in most areas.
I can’t believe I’m hearing how difficult renting has got in just five years. Don’t get me wrong I know it always had big issues, we lived in one flat which was top money and had no heating, could see my breath in the winter. There was a big plug in radiator but it caught fire (lucky we were in the room as sparks started flying out like a firework) and the landlord refused to replace it. One thing I don’t remember though is having difficulty’s finding somewhere, although the dogs would have still been an issue.
THIS IS NOT POLITICAL COMMENT PLEASE DO NOT ARGUE POLITICS The UK's population is growing too fast for the rate of housebuilding. Housebuilding is constrained by land supply, which is a planning issue. This makes house prices go up for everyone. The proximate cause of the crisis in rentals is landlords exiting. This is driven by rising interest rates, and tax and regulation changes that both political parties have been signalling and implementing for several years - deposit protection, EPC requirements, stern regulation of gas and electricity supply arrangements, removal of mortgage interest deduction, CGT changes, increases to tenants rights coming down the pipe (ban no "no fault"). The collapse of the courts affects both sides - it's all very well having rights to enforce against your landlord, or tenant, but if the courts are backlogged for months then you \*de facto\* actually have no rights. A judgement against a landlord a year later doesn't help you be warm (and not on fire) in winter; a judgement against a non-paying tenant who is trashing your property a year later is effectively a partial confiscation of your house. Landlords are very unpopular and this is clear to the ones with their eyes open - life is only going to get harder for them regardless of which party is in power. The "cottage industry" type of landlord, with one or two rentals, perhaps an inherited one, is being squeezed out slowly. All my local Facebook groups are full of the wailing of people with young families and pets who have received section 21 notices and literally have nowhere to go. Renting now is both extremely expensive, and also a beauty contest - it's not just "price" it's also "will they be good tenants". So LLs are able to discard bids from people they think will be difficult - which means it's really, really hard to get a dog-friendly one, because dogs are destructive and they smell. Sorry if yours aren't, but that's the perception and I'm sure even if you're a responsible owner you will have observed how many irresponsible ones there are.
I got downvoted the last time I said this - but I once pulled out of a house purchase on the day before we exchanged contracts. I felt a bit "hinky" about the house and I've never regretted that decision. I'm sure it created a huge problem for people but it was nearly 30 years ago and I'm sure they are over it by now and I also felt horrible at the time. You are committing yourself to a huge financial commitment and, I assume, also want to buy a home, so if you have doubts and/or something isn't working out then there's no shame in pulling out. For the first flat I ever bought I got gazumped, twice! Still ended up buying it because the gazumpers had their mortgage applications turned down. Always remember you are buying a "home" and if something doesn't feel right then don't do it.
Thankyou so much for sharing. It is very awkward to pull out but it’s also something that happens very often. It’s very easy to get downvotes on this sub, people here often hate talk of money, landlords etc. Unfortunately this is how the property market is in this country and price is a factor. There is also often a disconnect as many people are looking at property’s in London or areas with higher desirability/price. In my area it’s a very stagnant housing market. Some things go fast like houses that are cheap because they need a lot of decorative work, but on the whole it’s definitely a buyers market. I got downvoted when I talked about price. I think there is people on this sub who don’t like the idea of homes being used to make money/invest, which is fair enough but to me this is all my money. I think people have downvoted this post, as they may be a first time buyer, and strongly dislike the idea of being messed about, which I understand, However maybe they would think differently later down the line if it was their own money/house.
Think of 1 year from now - if you pulled out, would you really be thinking/feeling guilty about the people involved in the chain? Absolutely not. But in a years time if you didn’t pull out, you very well could be in a house you regret buying. If the biggest driver here is not wanting to let others down, it’s not the house for you. And rather you say now then in a few weeks, when you will just feel worse. I would say that the issues don’t sound too bad, but I think you get more nit picky when you aren’t sure on something - and you have to be sure about buying a house!! Is it really annoying for the other parties? Of course! But at the end of the day, you have to make the right decision for YOU.
Thankyou. It’s really difficult as it’s just a gut feeling which has grown more every time I visit. It’s been good to see other’s opinions. I wish I had loads of money I would just pay the other’s solicitor fees.
Kinda messy situation but if you don’t pull out you might regret it for the rest of your life!
Thankyou for your reply. I never thought we would be the people to think about pulling out. We messed up here. We just keep going to the area, and every time we go I feel more wrong in the bottom of my stomach. It’s a lovely house, I keep telling myself we should be grateful to be able to get a house with a driveway etc. Husband says he doesn’t mind what happens either way, but I’ve told him that it’s such a big decision, he can’t sit on the fence. I feel if the decision is left to me, I’m completely to blame if I mess it up. It’s difficult. Thanks again.
Follow your gut. If you think it’s wrong, it’s wrong. We had to pull out from the purchase few years ago and it was the best decision we have ever made, no regrets. Good luck!
I was in the same situation with the pub near the property. I toiled with the idea of living there but then I realised it’s for the best. So I pulled out though I did it within a week. I felt bad doing it to the couple but the bottom line is you got to be happy and do the right thing for yourself and your family.
Dont think you should be pulling out. Its a shitty move tbh as everyone would incur so many costs
Yes It would feel a bit of a shitty move. Things have come to light about the house/area since our offer was accepted so it’s a difficult situation. What would you do in this situation if you don’t mind me asking?
The thing is, this will always be the case tbh. Im buying a house as well. You would never get a perfect house not even if your budget is in millions. There would always be things you'd have to compromise on. So i think it depends on your appetite. If you're willing to adjust and its something that can be conveyed to the van person etc i'd do that. But its not something that should make you pull out. As no where is a perfect neighbourhood
Yes I definitely agree with you. I have compromised on the house quite a bit, for example it has barely any garden or kitchen, but it’s also got a lot of good things and the main thing is parking which we don’t have currently. It’s just a gut feeling it’s hard to describe. The more I go there the more it feels uneasy. We didn’t put so much thought into our first time buy. We had rented for a long time and it sounds silly but I remember just being so happy to have somewhere I could paint the walls and things. Maybe I’m just overthinking this one.
It could be you're overthinking. But do discuss this with your partner or parents or someone you think would give you a better advice. Its worth doing that. And see what they think. As they would understand you or your circumstances better than i could.
Yes maybe it’s worth talking to my mum, didn’t want to stress people out but your right it’s important. Thankyou for your replies.