Offering on house....when already offered on another

[HowYouLikeThemApples]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone else has done this?

Firstly, we are not lucky enough to be able to buy two houses! We are considering offering on another house, when we already have a sale going through on another

We do have a complete chain, but one of the vendors keeps changing their mind and offering on different properties, some chain free, some not, so we're now feeling anxious, as we are second in the chain and our (chain free) buyers offered on our house a few months ago now. We felt the sensible thing to do was to keep looking, but as a back up, more than anything.

However, we've now found somewhere within catchment to my DDs school (other house isn't), in a village with more going on, more sense of community and very short chain. Some might say chain free- they're moving to a new build, so sort of I suppose.

House A is in a quieter village, further away from DDs school, with only a pub (albeit very friendly) and community shop. The house itself has more kurb appeal than house B, but both have equal amounts of potential.

Oh I don't know! It's terrible house buying karma isn't it?! And we would lose money at this stage, but honestly I'd feel worse about letting our sellers down. This is such a huge decision though. It's our future. This is suppose to be a long term house too, so we can't turn our backs on somewhere that could work better for us because we feel bad, can we?

Thoughts please. Feeling really confused and conflicted.

TIA

As the vendor is faffing about is just go for it.

Had they been further in and had paid for surveys on the next place I'd say don't as it's unfair.

That said, you have no legal obligation- go with the one that better for your family..

You had me at 'catchment within DDs school' I would go for the second house - plus it gets you out of a difficult chain.
I often see houses go under offer, off the market, then back on - I think it's relatively common so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

They will have paid survey and solicitors fees like us. I actually hadn't thought about that.

@fastliving, this was definitely the biggest headurner. The first house I would need to take DD to the next village to get the bus and pay £240 a term for a spare seat which she may not be able to keep. I could drive her all the way, but it's obviously not ideal. It's only another 5 minutes further out, but it's obviously a lot more restricting.

Meant to @ you @colinsleftnipple

Definitely put an offer in on the second house then!
Your sellers can find another buyer, they don't have to lose the chain, or their money for the survey etc.

If they hadn't faffed about, you wouldn't have been looking for other houses so they seem to have bought it upon themselves.

Surveys and searches etc can sometimes be sold to the next buyer when a sale falls through.

I’d opt for house B regardless now.

Second house.

Check when the new build is due to be build complete and if it’s got a roof. If it’s due to be build complete in June but hasn’t got a roof on yet your vendors will exchange on notice With a six month termination date meaning you could be moving any time between June and Christmas. If it’s got a roof it’s only two months so using the same example of June you could be moving between June and August. If it’s build complete then great, fixed dates all round!

If it’s the worst case scenario and it doesn’t have a roof see if the owners of house B will consider breaking the chain and moving into rented whilst waiting for their new build before making an offer 🙂

Second house. You’ll be living with the consequences of your decision for years and don’t want to be wishing you’d bought the other house! It’s a painful fact that in England you are within your rights to pull out anytime before exchange. Good luck!

Bad!!!!! Poor people... don't mess them around

Go for it OP. Sadly there is no certainty in the English buying process until completion.

Do what’s right for you. There is nothing to stop the faffers from deciding not to sell and stay put right until the end (happened to me on day before exchange of contracts in 1991).

You don’t have a moral obligation to anyone but yourself.

Do what’s right for you, buying a house is the biggest investment you are ever likely to make, location is key, you aren’t under any legal obligation until exchange, if the vendors are faffing about, who’s to say they won’t withdraw from the sale later down the line.

I've had sellers pull out after I've spent loads of money on searches, surveys and solicitors - I even met the sellers twice! They decided not to sell a week before exchange. I've been gazupmed only to have sellers call me a few months later as their sale fell through to see of I'd still go with them (too late). I've even had sellers make a race (heady 80s) saying if I could exchange in a week it was mine (against another buyer who was being slow) - so paid for fast tracked searches etc and morning of exchange they exchanged with the other buyers! No remorse from any of these people.
I've had buyers offer make all the right noises then disappear. I've had buyers faff about forever.
It is the terrible system here that you are not legally obliged to buy (or sell) until exchange. So while it may make you feel bad, go with your heart and offer on the second. Beware there is the possibility you will end up with neither.

Thanks everyone.

I'm going to have a second viewing tomorrow and will ask about the new build. If it's not ready within the next few weeks and doesn't have the roof up, then we'll stick with the first house. We knew we were going to have to make sacrifices and were obviously willing to do it, so if the second house doesn't work, then we'll have to adjust our mindset and remember that we did genuinely like the first house enough to buy it!

@Alsoco, if it was a problem and they said they would break the chain and rent, I'd be on edge because that's exactly what happened with our awkward vendor andhe then changed is mind....twice. I think it's quite common.

Just bear in mind it may still be a long process with a new build. We were FTB and our vendor had part exchanged on a new build, still took 17 weeks to go through. Lots of delays at their end. Good luck!

@IamMoana, yes I think there are no guarantees with house buying/selling and we would definitely be taking a risk.

Bad!!!!! Poor people... don't mess them around

You can't make a huge investment and manage a whole lifestyle based on not making a complete stranger disappointed. They're not disappointing their buyers, just the faffers further up.

@TheYeaSayer, I agree, but I would still feel bad, because I know how I would feel If our buyers did the same.

Of course Apples I didn't mean to imply you (or anyone) shouldn't care less - I'd feel bad too - just that it can't be the deciding factor in the decision you make.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. House buying/selling is such a faff... glad I'm in my last house!

I didn't think you were implying that @TheYeaSayer Just wanted to make it clear that we wouldn't be making the decision lightly.

We did this. Had had an offer accepted on a house, then another one came up that we fell in love with and was much better for us for lots of reasons. I felt bad about disappointing the first sellers (even though they had been quite unhelpful about a lot of things) but ultimately we had to prioritise making the right long term decision for us, over inconveniencing someone else. It's a huge decision and huge amount of money involved so you have to do what's right for you.

@HildaSnibbs, how did you approach the situation? When you viewed the better suited house, did you let their EA know that you had already had an offer accepted somewhere else? When you decided to offer on the next house, did you retract your offer on the other first?