Due to reserve off plan house today and having a panic attack

[Helpppp123]

Been wanting to buy a property for years, never found anything within school catchment area for 2 years. Saw this plot a while ago which was really perfect. Spoke to residents who have moved in, all good, freehold, no service charges.

Sales woman rang yesterday to say it’s ready to reserve. Due to be ready in December. House is currently built to above front room window.

I suffer with anxiety and woke up an hour ago in a complete panic. I’m now sat downstairs trying not to wake anyone, I want to throw up, I’m scared.

What if the house is delayed,
What if my OH gets made redundant between now and December
What if brexit affects our mortgage offer
What if we need to pull out through no fault of our own, loose our savings and then potentially get sued by the development.

I’m panicking. Everyone’s excited but as usual my anxiety is ruining my life.

Please help.

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling anxious OP.

I think it's natural to have some concerns when buying a house - it's a big purchase and there are lots of things that are out of your control. But chances are everything will be ok.

If you're feeling particularly panicked, see if the 5,4,3,2,1 technique helps you:

5: list 5 thing you that you can see right now
4: list 4 things that you can touch right now
3: list 3 things you can hear right now
2: list 2 things you can smell right now
1: list 1 thing you can taste right now

It might sound silly, but it really helps me when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Also, I hope you can find some reassurance in knowing that every worry feels so much worse at night. I'm hopeful things will feel better during the day tomorrow.

I forgot to add - I think your concerns are good questions to ask the developers and/or your mortgage provider. If you're still worrying later today, I would contact them and ask for clarification.

For example:

What happens if the house build isn't completed on time?

What happens if my husband loses his job before we draw down on the mortgage?

Is Brexit likely to affect our mortgage offer? If so, in what way?

What happens if we don't go ahead with the house purchase? Under what circumstances would we get our deposit back? Would there be any legal action from the developers?

If youre reserving off plan it's only usually a cursory deposit/reservation you pay - for some builders it's £99 most is £1000 and then the rest isn't due until you exchange and complete which with new builds is often on the same day and not until the house is nearly finished. so unless your being asked to put down tens of thousands as a reservation (which no I wouldn't at this stage of build) then take a deep breath and stay calm

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted They want exchange within 28 days of reserving. Which is where all my panic comes from, legally bound to buy the house a few months before completion. Exchange and complete at the end I wouldn’t be having these panics.

I think I’m gonna email and say we’re not reserving today. I don’t think I can do it.

Wish it was built already would take all this stress away. House is gonna get snapped up and I’ll be back to square one.

@Catamapella thank u so much x

How many years will your mortgage be fixed for? They’re estimating a 10% drop in house prices if no-deal happens (which is looking increasingly likely - thanks Boris) which means you don’t want to be in a position where your fixed term runs out and your property is worth less than you paid for it.

@Helpppp123
If there is lots of demand then they probably won't renegotiate unfortunately otherwise I'd say try and agree that you won't exchange until the house is more complete - is it one of the big house builders?

I think I’m gonna email and say we’re not reserving today. I don’t think I can do it.*
*
I'm not sure of your timescales, but don't rush in to anything. I know that horrible panicked feeling and wanting to sort things out RIGHT NOW to create a sense of control and calm... but you're best off making a call when you're feeling less anxious. If you have time before you need to commit to the developers, I'd strongly recommend waiting a few days before you email them.

At the very least wait until Sunday evening or Monday morning - presumably they won't check emails over the weekend so that gives you a bit of time to sit with the idea.

I (a divorce solicitor) had a client many years ago who had exchanged off-plan many months in advance. Couple of months before the property was to be completed her ex-husband announced his retirement and said he'd be stopping the maintenance. She lost her mortgage offer which put her in breach of contract.

It got to court but I don't know what happened as the client was unhappy that there was no immediate remedy for her to be able to force maintenance to carry on as before so went elsewhere, but your concerns are perfectly valid.

After being witness to this lady's experience I wouldn't proceed to exchange in a situation such as your unless I was able to secure a mortgage offer that would pay out irrespective of any change of circumstances between exchange and completion (including the collapse of the property market), and I had suitable insurance in place to deal with the risk of loss of employment.

If you can't get that, you are effectively insuring the builder (a company probably worth millions) against a downturn in the economy.

Don't let cold feet let you lose this house. It is scary, you just need to take a deep breath and go for it.

The question about your dh getting made redundant.....well that can happen at any time. It could happen a year after you've moved in. Hopefully it won't happen though and if it does hopefully he'd find another job.

Mortgage offers are normally fixed for a length of time, politics shouldn't make a mortgage company withdraw it.

If the house is affordable and something you've been hunting for for a long time go for it.

Ah don't let your anxiety ruin this for you. You've waited two years. People buy houses all the time. It's normal honestly.

People buy houses off plan all the time. Instruct a local solicitor. People are already living there. Go for a walk and chat with them.

I understand how you’re feeling OP- we’re in the middle of the paperwork for our long awaited house move and I feel nothing but stress and anxiety.

Questions to ask:
-how long is your mortgage offer valid for? Do you have a firm offer or an AIP. If you have a firm offer on that property and it is valid for 6 months (as many are) then provided you complete in December it would be very very unlikely that they would withdraw it.

• what are the builders terms for your withdrawal if you have a change of circumstances? Would you lose everything?
• How often do their build times run over? Is your move date likely to be delayed? They should be able to show you stats on this if you push (it is a quantifiable question)
• could you delay exchange so that it happened closer to completion? Remember that they don’t control every aspect of this process. If they want your money then the terms have to be agreeable to both of you, not just them. Negotiate until you fee happier to part with your money

We reserved off plan having seen the scaled plans, knowing where our plot would be in the scheme of things etc. Best thing we have ever done. We have been here for a year and a half now and love it. The only thing I would say is that there was only one builder we would've gone with in our area as the horror stories are true so definitely do your research.

I have emailed them to say I need a few weeks to proceed. I cannot cope right now.

Think my OH is annoyed with me.
Sales woman will be annoyed with me too I bet.

Can’t cope with the stress and I’ve allowed anxiety to win again.

Thanks I’ll for your help and words x

All*

I had similar anxiety before buying my new build but it’s great now I live in it.

Your mortgage offer should be valid for 6 months.
I paid £1k to reserve and another £1k at exchange.
Brexit may cause house prices to fall, but that will apply to your current home too, unless you are renting.
My house was delayed by 2 months. It’s seems that it’s usually houses that are due to be finished in Spring that are delayed due to bad weather in winter. If they are already up to first floor windows they are well on their way.

Talk to your husband, the builders and your mortgage company. How much do you want to move to this house now vs the actual risks of proceeding rather than the amplified risks from your anxiety.

I wouldn't buy right now. General consensus seems to be that prices will drop sharply over the next 18 months. We are already seeing signs of a housing price decline and with the GDP results yesterday which showed a contraction in economic growth we are facing the very real prospect of a recession.

I think your anxiety is fully justified. Suspect the builders are pushing hard because they know all of the above is about to happen and they want to lock you in so you take the hit when he prices slide post October.

Don't confuse common sense with anxiety

@Giraffesinscarves thank you

I start to wonder if my anxiety is making me over exaggerate these issues, but deep down I do think they are justified x