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

[TitaniumBev]

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!

Was it not your own fear that caused you to start this thread in the first place OP? Sounds like you are projecting quite a bit.

Why is this still going . OP doesn't sound gleeful. She doesn't have to honour a verbal agreement and spend over 400k just because a load of MNetters are giving her shit. Get some bloody perspective. 1 in 3 house sales falls through. That's life unfortunately until they change the crappy system.

Cannot believe this has had over 700 messages! OP IS pulling out and tbh, it's got sod all to do with any of you holier than thou MNetters who clearly would happily spend nearly half a million quid just to be honourable yeah right.

I've not read the whole thread (29 pages ) but I have just sold my house. My house went on the market in January 2017 and we had an offer 4 days later. 4 weeks later (after planning permission for a 2 storey extension was denied) they pulled out. Another buyer and we pulled out after 4 months and he still hadn't applied for his mortgage. Another buyer and day before exchange he wants to lower the offer because house prices had gone down (Not according to our EA), we refused and buyer vanishes. We lost the house we were buying. More house hunting. Another buyer and he pulls out after 5 weeks (no reason given) Finally we accept an offer in December and, after problems with their buyer, we moved in April. Very, very stressful

I also can’t believe the moral outrage on this thread.

The system is flawed, it shouldn’t be allowed to take this long to buy a house, but it is.

OP it’s your money and your future, you can offer less and risk the vendor not taking the offer and the vendor can risk rejecting your offer and having to find a new buyer. It’s business!

Really bad behaviour.

I’m always completely amazed that the U.K. housing market manages to keep moving at all. It seem so ridiculous and long winded. How do you ever manage to get the full chain to work??

'WeirdyMcBeardy
Cannot believe this has had over 700 messages! OP IS pulling out and tbh, it's got sod all to do with any of you holier than thou MNetters who clearly would happily spend nearly half a million quid just to be honourable yeah right.'

OP asked for opinions. She got them. It's selfish and dishonourable behaviour in most people's opinion.

It's complete madness to buy in a falling market. I bought a flat in 1992 for £56k. The pervious owners had paid £89k for it.

We thought the market had bottomed out. But 4 years later we sold the flat for £49k. We were forced to sell because we were relocating. Had the flat on the market for a year. Negative equity is a nightmare.

Run for the hills and don't look back OP.

That’s terrible purple.

Currently wondering about selling and renting then buying, so don’t have the hassle of a flakey buyer (who may have a good reason for pulling out) sinking the chain.

I'm afraid my sale was protracted for over 6 months, 2nd, 3rd and 4th viewings. Open house day and we accepted not the highest offer but one that was supposed to be easier as they were first time buyers.

In my opinion, 2nd viewings are when you can spot faults and open talks about a lower offer etc. Not days before exchange.

I'd booked time off 4 times, and 3 times had to change plans, with v.little notice. Thankfully we moved in and bubba two arrived a week later.

Sold several houses and i think the open house was the best method, but people asking for money off when they openly get into a bidding war isn't great.

There is no UK property system
Scottish and English systems are different

Fuckedoffat48b Really? Comparing rent/mortgage to driving a car/taking public transport? You do realise that the vast majority of cars depreciate the moment you drive them off the forecourt? Absolutely no comparison to money spent on owning your own home whatsoever.

I wouldn't be spending half a million quid to be honourable WeirdyMcBeardy, but then I wouldn't have waited a week before exchanging to make this decision, especially if I had a family professional continually raising concern 'as the weeks went on'.

This thread is making me glad to live in Australia! Once you offer on a house and get it accepted it’s 1% immediately - then you have about 10 days ‘cooling off’ the. It’s non refundable 10%!! If you buy at auction it’s immediate 10% non refundable dep. makes it very clear cut.

That's kind Carolyn thanks so much. She has been well prepared for the trials and tribulations of life by a really traumatic death in our family that has required us to move to start afresh. Our house has taken a while to go under offer. Of course my children have been involved in the new house, they're not babies and we were so close to finally getting that new start we need. Now we're back to where we were months ago, living out of suitcases. We're entitled to be upset. It's not the pulling out of purchase, it's the late stage. But hey feel free to criticise my parenting and ridicule the fact we're upset.

MN, the only place where people will have a breakdown over a property purchase but happily LTB because he forgot to put the bins out

There is so much self fulfilling prophecy stuff. A rumour starts that things are looking bad (e.g. economically) it spreads, and ends up creating the situation that everyone was afraid of in the first place due to investor hesitancy. BUT the question is, are you looking for a home or a guaranteed safe investment? The former surely makes sense weighed against paying out dead money for rent. The latter is pretty much a myth.

I'd pull out, and warn the EA that you won't be happy with them telling other EAs your personal information in any circumstances, which is what gossiping about what you've done amounts to.

Honestly, the people on this thread and the holier than thou bullshit . Why would you spend that much money on something that you don’t want. It’s shitty for the rest of the chain but ultimately they aren’t your responsibility.

Yes - you can always get the EA to purge your data under GDPR

Daft English system. Bought three houses, sold two in Scotland - the longest length of time between offer made and completion was eight weeks.

This is one of the biggest transactions you will make OP and you must do what is right for you despite the abuse you are getting on here.

“Where is your morality?? You agreed a price and signed a contract, do the decent thing and honour it.”

Talk about getting the wrong end of the stick. No-ones signed a contract; no-ones agreed a price.

If the house is as good as about 200 posters seem to think then the seller can get another buyer no probs. But personally I’d be very nervous spending that much in outer London with the price drops rippling out from the centre and Brexit not even happened yet.

I'd like to echo everyone's POV. It's a shitty thing to, even pulling out so late. The vendors have probably found a property they really like and are relying on your exchange. It's bad manners

Why would you spend that much money on something that you don’t want.

This. It has taken ages and you've changed your mind. Yes that is dreadful but you cannot spend £440000 on a house you no longer want, just to stay nice.