For refusing to put an offer on a 'dream' home

[Megank1989]

We currently rent and a house came up for sale on the street over. We LOVE our area and have always intended to buy here once we have a reasonable deposit (about 10k off).

He convinced me to go see it and, it is everything we'd need. Due to being a HMO previously it's a good 50k cheaper then it has rights to be with two converted rooms in the basement that could be used for office/gym/guest space plus two massive upstairs bedrooms and a kitchen with the counter space we really need. It's on the market at our absolute limit (due to the LISA) so would likely be outbid anyway but still.

The issue for me is I simply do not feel equipt to deal with this process right now. I'm 7 months pregnant with our first DC and it's been a really difficult time:

• She was conceived via IVF after 3 years of infertility so since Dec last year I've been on hormones/been jabbing myself with needles/been pregnant
• 1st trimester he was travelling a lot so I had to deal with some pretty miserably symptoms on my own
• 2nd trimester he was keeping himself off the ledge of a breakdown due to a horrible work environment (ongoing)
• 3rd trimester and it looks like I'm going to get diagnosed with SPD so managing pain whilst trying to work out if my birth plan is worth the paper it's written on

When did you get your mortgage offer in principal? As you are now (visibly) pregnant, you would declare a future child on applications and that will reduce your affordability if it wasn't included in previous calculations.

Personally I'd at least try and get a new mortgage offer in principal for the asking price of the house and see if you're still even eligible. Could be done online in not too much time and would help you decide if you can even still offer that or not.

First, there's no such thing as a 'dream house'. It's unrealistic and will only cause disappointment. If it feels like a house that meets enough of your priorities, then I'd put in an offer. It won't get any easier once baby is here. But I would consider if it needs a lot of work and how you will finance that, it always costs way more than you expect. it sounds like a big house for a first property. We've just done a renovation of an average 3-bed house, and it was exhausting.

Someone may be keen for a quick sale of the house that was a rental investment - does it have only two bedrooms? They might well accept an offer below the asking price as they will probably have made money from it both in rental income and capital appreciation. And the asking price doesn't mean the actual value though it does have a powerful influence. There is also a mortgage company valuation and your own view of its worth.

The costs of renovating and returning to single use may exceed the £50k 'discount' - I'd take a long hard look at it, the condition it's in and the practicalities and costs of reconfiguring it. Do you really want a basement? I'm not sure I would. Given the type of house and need for work on it, I might be offering well short of asking price, although it depends on other factors too. Current market conditions and level of interest and competition from other buyers might dictate otherwise.