To pull out of house purchase

You’re undoubtedly right but I think I’m allowed a moment of self pity! 😉 I’m over it now. We have a new buyer and I’m keeping everything crossed 🤞

That's why house moves are so stressful. So many things can go wrong before the final day (on both sides). Feeling sorry for the seller can't be a deciding factor in anything. If they suddenly got a better offer do you think they'd say no because of you?

The problem is that there will always be a better house. At a certain point you just have to have confidence in your decision and proceed with a sale.

We pulled out of a house purchase. It was a big renovation project. We had bid low on it & then got pushed up by sellers saying there was lots of interest etc. in retrospect nobody else ever actually bid & we should have held firm! Anyway went to our upper limit then fairly quickly realised there was far more to do costs wise than we had allowed for, & pulled out. I don’t lose any sleep over it. It recently appeared on right move all renovated so it obviously sold in the end.

There is absolutely nothing stupid about any of my posts. You put something up for sale , somebody considers it, but then there is a change of mind due to their circumstances, in this case a better property. People need to get over it and move on, instead of the usual Mumsnet complaining about buyers.

I didn't say otherwise!! Of course buyers need to buy the best house, for them, they can afford.

But your post was stupid. Of course people get 'precious' about their sales going through, many will have something 'big' depending on it. Life changing for many.

Could it be that buyers don't want to spend hundreds of thousands on a house when something better and more suitable has come up? Buying a house because you don't want to 'upset' the seller is beyond ridiculous.

At the end of the day it comes to caring about the low opinion of someone who you never have to see again , or making the right choice over the most expensive thing you will buy.

Speaking as someone who had four sales fall through, for various reasons not connected with my house, mainly personal circumstances of the buyers changing (one couple split up, one couldn't afford the mortgage, one had the sale of their own fall through and one was relying on the money from a divorce settlement that never appeared). I was devastated each time but I still say buy the house that you actually want. It's a massive purchase and you can't go ahead just to keep the vendors happy. It's an upsetting thing to do and I feel very sorry for your vendors but these things happen.

Why? I've bought and sold in England and most recently (18 months ago) bought and sold in Scotland. The only significant difference is the seller preparing the home buyers report. The buyer of our cottage in Scotland pulled out 6 weeks after making an offer which we had accepted - until the missives are agreed , which can be very close to completion, the Scottish buyer had exactly the same rights to pull out of the deal as in England. I think it's probably more frowned upon, but the practical impact is the same.

Luckily we'd had 2 other offers, both still interested and we sold another 8 weeks later to one of those buyers for just £1k under the price we'd agreed with the buyer who pulled out, and we had a very good seller that we were buying from who kept to the offer we had made rather than mess us about

But it really isn't the "once an offer is accepted you're locked in" approach that I think lots of folk think it is. You're locked in when the missives are agreed, which is pretty much the same as when the exchange happens in England.

Because things like this happen.

You have done it now. You can’t live in regret so your going to have to pull out.

But I really would recommend you don’t look next time you offer. You will always find something that might be better and trip yourself out about it.

And I also believe in a weird kind of fate of ‘what’s for you won’t go by you’ as long as you have good house buying karma. But I’m a bit weird like that. I certainly wouldn’t be hopping from offer to offer. Buying houses are easy. Selling them is crazy. So you want that karma in good nick.

Anyway what’s done is done. Better to pull out sooner than later.

You buy the house that best fit your needs.

At least, you haven’t put the offer in ages ago and haven’t strung the seller along for no reason at all.

If that house is better, pull out of the current house purchase and go for it.

I find this ridiculous. But you're obviously not in a rush to sell so your prerogative. People must do what is best for them, not anybody else.

I’m on the opposite end of some replies, so we were buying a house and the people who were selling pulled out at the last minute leaving us absolutely gutted! However, I have to say, go with your gut! And it might work out better for everyone all round. A week after the seller broke our hearts (and I mean broke our hearts I cried and cried and cried!) we found the perfect home on the perfect road and have been here for several years and I can honestly say the people pulling out on us was the best thing to happen. Buying a home is the biggest thing you’ll buy, you need to be sure on it x

Well if that's your attitude, why are you hand wringing over your sellers feelings??

you wouldn't be looking if you weren't willing to pull out of your agreement with them!

We are selling deceased MILs property and turned down a buyer because he had just pulled out of another purchase due to a change of heart.

I think there's a difference between mucking people about at the last minute to gain a few quid, and pulling out for a genuine reason.

If you've seen a house that's a better fit for your family then that's a genuine reason in my book.

Presumably becaus, at the time, it was the best option for the money they had!!!

now there's more on the market & they can now buy something that is better for them??

unless you have unlimited funds a house is always going to be a compromise between what you want & what you can afford.

it is incredibly shit for the seller, but with our crap system in England, it happens.

I would only pull out if the new house was a LOT better in some way. 6.5 sq m, wouldn't be enough but downstairs loo & closer to schools would for me.

@Bluewhoglue as above. But I'd withdraw tomorrow morning. There's more than one house you feel is a better buy, so even if you don't get the house you're talking about you'll get another one. Yes the sellers will have a very low opinion of you (fair enough) but I'm afraid that's life in England property.

We had someone turn around at the last minute demanded money off when those stamp duty discounts were in place. We had to start all over again and they cost us £17k in stamp duty (because I pulled out because didn’t want to sell to them anymore). Dick move from them, but I don’t think about it at all. We sold for more than their original offer in the end and interest rates dropped so we saved on mortgage.

i can’t imagine you’re very far down the process. I’d go see them (pictures are usually nicer than reality). And see how you feel.

make sure different estate agent

This is why the Scottish system is so much better!

You might get away with it int he current market, but unless I was totally desperate to sell, I would not sell my house to a buyer who messed a seller around like this. An issue coming up in the survey or something is one thing, but this would make you an unattractive buyer.

if you hadn’t seen this other house, would you be happy with the one you’ve offered on? Or might you not want the original house come what may?

I would...

@Brahumbug

I wonder why that is?

could it be the hundreds of thousands£££?

coukd it be jobs are depending on it? Schools?

could it be financial ruin?

gosh. So hard to understand??

Why did you make an offer on a house you didn't want and then continue to look? What happens if you secure the second one and something better again comes up? Will you pull out of that one too?