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AIBU?

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Original poster

To pull out of house purchase so close to exchange or gazunder?

940 replies

TitaniumBev · 13/05/2018 17:24

Totally miserable - any advice/views/abuse welcome!

We're FTB's, both 30, scrimped for years to get deposit together. We both grew up dirt poor & wanted to have a bit of security before children so are keen to get going now and sick of private renting.

Offer accepted on house end of Jan, the asking price was kite flying given location (Croydon). They wanted 460k we settled on 440k, only now due to exchange next week after delays (both sides, minor errors).

Since then though all the news around the economy & housing especially around London has been terrible. Monthly drops of around 1 - 3.6%. Terrible rics reports & rightmove data etc. Similar properties in the area are coming on for less but there is not a lot coming on so hard to judge. Properties hanging around for a long time.

I now feel the agreed price is too high, a lot has changed in 4 months and I think it's best to walk away. I know this will screw over the vendors & the chain but don't like DH's suggestion of asking for a reduction so close to exchange. He thinks we should at least give them the chance. (How lucky!!!) Prices seem to be down around 6% he reckons split and ask for 3% off. (£13,000 ish)

Its such a big transaction, the market looks soooo bad and its not dream house or anything. Should I walk or offer lower? I'm not going to over pay for a house just to be nice/honorable unfortunately.

URGH!

OP posts:
TatianaLarina · 14/05/2018 13:26

I'm amazed at the economic idiocy of some of you. @sunshine txt rules are changing for landlords. Thank god! Higher rate taxpayers would be hammered if they tried to rent out

All it means is that the level of profit is reduced compared to the past.

Previously you could deduct BTL mortgage interest payments from taxable income before you calculated your tax bill – so you were taxed on profits rather than overall turnover. Now you can only claim relief on 75% of mortgage interest and will get a 20% tax credit on the rest.

DialMforMordor · 14/05/2018 13:27

one of my friends from university has been waiting 'for the market to show its hand' since we graduated. In 1997. I dread to think how much rent he's paid in central London since then. Still, if it gives him satisfaction to know he's bought when the market's at its lowest (despite it having crashed at least once in the last 20 years)...

LoislovesStewie · 14/05/2018 13:28

But the OP states earlier that now she doesn't think it was the house for her. So why put an offer in then? It is a big decision, but don't offer if you are not sure.

Huskylover1 · 14/05/2018 13:28

I can't believe how many people are giving the OP such a hard time
She is absolutely not obligated to put the sellers financial well being before her own - that would be nuts

House was on the market for £460k. The Op negotiated the price down to £420k. This was 4 months ago, and since then everyone in the chain will have been getting their affairs in order to move, such as hiring removal companies, getting mortgage offers, possibly buying new furniture, changing schools, packing up belongings etc.

Op now decides maybe the value of the house has dropped (it won't have) and decides to pull out, leaving everyone else in the chain up shit creek without a paddle.

Shocking behaviour, which she doesn't seem to "get".

HoneyDragon · 14/05/2018 13:30

The op and her do need to be honest about their reasons though. Negotiating a discount is not a solution for cold feet; it’s not going to change the area or the house. It’s reneging an agreement for no good reason.

Huskylover1 · 14/05/2018 13:30

Sorry, negotiated it down to £440k

Cuppaoftea · 14/05/2018 13:30

Given our solicitor has our best interests at heart and deals with property sales in the local area I think her warnings over the last few weeks are not to be ignored.

I'd be careful with this. When we bought our house last year (FTB's) we also had the option of using a relative to do the conveyancing for us but instead chose to instruct a solicitor arranged through our mortgage broker.

It helped us to receive independent advice and services from professionals not emotionally attached.

Kamma89 · 14/05/2018 13:33

www.propertyindustryeye.com/property-market-slowdown-rippling-out-from-london-and-south-east/

If OP is reading endless stories like this it's no wonder. And that is from an estate agents industry site! I don't think people understand how scary it is to be a FTB right now. The numbers involved are so big. Life altering sums. If you're not london/SE based I don't think you're going to understand just how bad & how quickly the market is turning. Horrid & scary.

Kamma89 · 14/05/2018 13:36

@Husky why do you keep repeating non facts? Your rage getting the better of you?

OP clearly does "get" that the behaviour is poor. Has said so multiple times & we don't know the position of the rest of the chain!

SpandexTutu · 14/05/2018 13:39

I'm in my fifties so I kind of imagine OP is close to my daughter in age and I think the advice I would give my own daughter would be...
This is the biggest financial decision of your life, not a popularity contest.
Your are entitled to reconsider and back out if circumstances change. This is your life, your hard earned savings and your long term financial security. You does not have to go through with it just to keep the other buyers in the chain happy.

Tinkobell · 14/05/2018 13:50

All boils down to how much the OP wants THAT particular house. If they do withdraw, fingers crossed in the future their crystal ball on plateauing house prices will prove right. Unless you're a developer intending to build then quickly sell, property should be for the mid to long term investment.

bettytaghetti · 14/05/2018 13:58

This reply has been deleted

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Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 14/05/2018 14:07

I sense a lot of fear on this thread

I just hope you don't rely too much on your intuition in your professional career! Most of us would love prices to drop 50% so we can buy nicer houses and our children can maybe buy houses one day.

If you don't really see yourself living in Croydon and now think you can afford something better (and your long term earning potential probably means you can) that's fine. But you really shouldn't have offered on the house without thinking through the harm you would do to others.

FindoGask · 14/05/2018 14:09

bettytaghetti no, because frankly that is more than a little weird and stalkery.

FanFckingTastic · 14/05/2018 14:10

This kind of horrendous behaviour is exactly why I wouldn't sell to a FTB ever again. I think that other sellers are also cottoning on to the fact that FTB's feel that they are in a position to do this and now regard them as a less attractive buyer.
OP - I had this happen to me with my FTB's. We got to the day of exchange and our buyers decided that they wanted us to drop the price by £10k. No rhyme or reason, just wanted a bit of discount at mine and my kids expense. They had clearly waited until the day of exchange so that we were more likely to agree to their terms - a bit like you have done by the sounds of it. We told them to get stuffed, as most people would. The rest of my chain were very sweet and all agreed that they would wait for us so I felt quite reassured that we were doing the right thing. House went back on the market and low and behold the FTB's came back a week later and re-offered at the original price, having realised that maybe the grass was not that greener elsewhere. We exchanged and completed quickly.
What the FTB's had not remembered is that they were moving into my neighbourhood. The neighbours were all friends of mine and, of course, I had told them what kind of shitty people were moving in. They were certainly less inclined to be neighbourly towards them and even less inclined to agree to the planning applications that the FTB's put forward shortly after moving. Before we left the house I made sure we took every last lightbulb. We also made sure that one of the kids took a very large shit in the toilet and I just must have forgotten to flush it.
I suppose what I am saying is think of the other potential consequences to your actions. If you genuinely don't want the house then pull out. Do it gracefully and apologise to the seller and to the chain for wasting their time and money. If you are just wanting to get a bit of money off then be prepared for there to be repercussions down the line.

TireSwing · 14/05/2018 14:23

@FanFckingTastic - OUCH! Re: the shit in the toilet Shock

bettytaghetti · 14/05/2018 14:24

FindoGask yeah, 'cos commenting on a public forum on the minutiae of other people's lives isn't at all nosey. Let's just shut down MN now shall we? Hmm

bakingdemon · 14/05/2018 14:33

I had a buyer pull out on the day of exchange last year. I've never met the guy but his name is etched on my brain and if I ever meet him I will struggle not to punch him in the face. The stress triggered serious illness in my DH, nearly cost us the house we were trying to buy & cost us c£10k in additional rental/agent fees in having to put our place back on the market. It is a shitty shitty thing to do. If you like the property, go through with the deal and don't mess about.

phoebemac · 14/05/2018 14:35

It is a very shitty thing to do, but if you really don't want the house then walk away. But never ever mess anyone else around like this again, it is really not decent behaviour.

isthisspring · 14/05/2018 14:41

kamma we are higher rate tax payers who rent out while we live overseas, the system isn't as crazily stacked in our favor as it was the first time we did it but you certainly don't get hammered. As we get accommodations overseas it is still the easiest way we know of reducing our mortgage in big chunks while being allowed to write off home maintenance as a tax deductible expense. This couple should definitely consider it if they plan to return to the UK.

FindoGask · 14/05/2018 14:42

"yeah, 'cos commenting on a public forum on the minutiae of other people's lives isn't at all nosey."

It's not the commenting I find odd, it's the digging about on other sites and then posting your results here. I've reported your post anyway, so we'll see whether Mumsnet admin agree.

TatianaLarina · 14/05/2018 14:55

I remember the days you could get a house in Wandsworth for 535, and it wasn’t that long ago...

Take that first maisonette on Jessica Rd. A two bed flat of similar description on Jessica Rd (could be the same one) sold in Jul 2003 for £287,000. So 535 would be nearly double in 15 years.

TatianaLarina · 14/05/2018 14:58

we are higher rate tax payers who rent out while we live overseas, the system isn't as crazily stacked in our favor as it was the first time we did it but you certainly don't get hammered

Exactly my point above.

It’s simply that the profits are not as big as they used to be, that’s all.

Oliversmumsarmy · 14/05/2018 15:08

I sense a lot of fear on this thread, maybe because my decision is indicative of faith in the market. If FTB's can't or won't buy in London/SE in the numbers required the market locks up

Depends on the FTB. You might think your sort of FTBs hold the keys to everything but they don't. I have bought and sold a number of homes you would describe as FTB properties and always sold on to Landlords.

I have tried to sell to FTBs but they do pull stunts like the one you are pulling.

You think that people don't have cash to buy FTB homes and then rent them out/do them up.
Or other FTBs are like you and waste people's time picking and choosing.
The market will definitely not lock up because you as a FTB decides to fanny
around.

We obviously don't feel good about this decision, I'm sure some posters imagine us skipping off into the sunset laughing leaving a trail of destruction behind us. That is not the case I assure you

But that is exactly what you are doing.
What do you actually think happens when you go.
Chain collapses. People's plans get put on hold. Children can't get to the school they thought they were going to. All because you decided it is not the house for you after spending ,4 months messing people around.

No wonder FTBs cannot afford to buy given the amount they waste on aborted attempts to buy a house

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