To buy a house I know a colleague wants?

[Height]

I live in a village, this means that the number of properties that come on the market are few and far between, it also means the ones in our price range are even rarer. We have been looking to buy since selling our home 7 years ago.

Before Christmas my colleague put their house on the market and put an offer on a property, in January their buyer pulled out so both properties are on the market. I know my colleague still wants to buy the other property.

Because the other property have somewhere they want to buy, they have substantially reduced the price on theirs. We can afford it now, and would love to buy it, but I feel I am doing the dirty on my colleague. We are not friends but do have to work together.

AIBU to go for this property? Or should I leave it and wait another 7 years for something else to come on the market?

[Hissy]

Go for it. It'd be insane not to.

You could always sell to her privately one day in the future...

[ReginaBlitz]

Maybe cast off is the wrong word..shattered dream? It's someone else's choice someone she knows.

[PrimalLass]

Or would have been her dream home but she couldn't afford it beforehand?

[Duck90]

If you registered interest when the property went on the market, then I would say fine, why didn't you do that if these houses are so rare?

In this situation I cannot subscribe to the "dog eat dog" scenario. If I was one of the other colleagues in the office I would be thinking it was poor show, and would think twice about the persons character. Just my opinion, I value integrity

[FlatOnTheHill]

Yep buy it

[WonderingAspie]

Buy it. Surely it's worth a lot more than the price they have dropped to so it would be financially savvy of you to do so anyway. Plus 7 years is a long time to wait for a house!

[ILoveACornishPasty]

Buy it!! If it were the other way around do you think your colleague would pass it up? Nah. Love a house buying bargain!!

[sleeponeday]

If you registered interest when the property went on the market, then I would say fine, why didn't you do that if these houses are so rare?

Because she couldn't afford it when it first went on the market, as it wasn't in her price range. She clearly says so. The seller is now dropping the price sharply to achieve a quick sale, as they have their own new house lined up and need the chain to be completed to secure it. So it is now in the OP's price range.

The colleague has a bigger budget, but she's in a chain, so can't move swiftly. The seller has signalled as clearly as possible that they are unprepared to wait, by slashing the asking price to attract others.