Pull out of property purchase

[ChampagneLassie]

We’re in process of buying the house we rent. And now our ideal house has come to market. The main difference is cost. The house we’re currently buying is 5 bed huge garden. And is 20% more expensive. Whilst we can afford it that obviously comes at a cost to other lifestyle choices. I posted before as it’s more than we wanted to spend but we’ve been looking for 2 years and not seen anything we really wanted. Until now. It’s ideal, it’s 4 bed, a decent sized garden. I actually prefer the look of it, wooden floors throughout, nice period features. And it’s 20% cheaper. That saving would make such a difference to our lives.

But the dilemma if we pull out our current landlords will obviously be very disappointed. I’d offer to cover their legal costs and be hugely apologetic. Do you think that would be sufficent recompense?

we’re about 1-2 weeks away from exchange.

i worry about bad karma. I worry that if we switch and the new property perhaps the sellers pull out / change their mind (they’re looking to downsize), it would serve us right. Thoughts

Make an offer on the other house and see what happens. As long as you continue to pay rent, the LL's hands are fairly tied.

I thought the more likley reason was that the Landlords house was a bit over valued - but the op will know what price her survey came back at ?

If this is your forever home - then you must feel happy with it.

I think this is too much pressure. There's always some compromise. OP obv felt happy enough to get to this point and there's often a last min cold feet moment even with forever homes that people live happily ever after in. But the forever home label almost invites doubt and it's always easier not to see things through. I'd stick with the known quantity at this point. Even sounds like they're getting a good deal as LL could get more for it on the open market and so could OP if they wanted to move again down the line. The other house could fall through for all kinds of reasons and they may not sell to the OP anyway.

Also, a colleague of mine was just ready to sign a new property, had given notice to their rental and two weeks before, the seller pulled out. It turned out it was a divorce case and one of them manage to get the funds to buy the other one out and stay in the property.

My friend found themselves homeless and had to rent again for 6 months elsewhere as their previous rental had already gone.

Take it step by step. What is right for me? Which house suits better financially and as a house I'd love to live in? What are the risks and how can I minimise them but still go ahead with a hope and a prayer, knowing that there are no guarantees in life? Am I prepared to take that plunge and accept the outcome whatever way it goes or will I compromise on what I want and live with possible regrets and what ifs for the next however many years in the future? What is the impact on the landlord and how much of the responsibility for his risks in life and business should I take on myself?

As far as the landlord goes, I would urge you not to get ahead of yourself by rushing in with an offer to do all these recompenses etc. Take it step by step and see how it goes. I would tell the landlord the truth, i.e. the financial difference, the suitability of house and that you regret the late pull out but you feel the finances are compelling and you must do what feels right for such a critical life purchase. Wait to see his reaction and listen to what he says before jumping in with some rash offer, just because you feel guilty and a pressure to 'make it right' for him.

Remember a landlord deals with the ups and downs of business and may well understand your reasoning and your point of view. He is running a business and in the general scheme of things a landlord is usually in a better position in life than a tenant so there is that imbalance to recognise too. If he takes it badly, accept that, understanding that he is acting in his own interests but do not give up your position of acting in your own interest and your rights as a tenant if he wants you to leave. You can apologise profusely without swaying about with every wind that blows. It takes courage and resolve to see it through and be prepared to take the risk and the consequences if it goes wrong.

I bought the house I rented. It saved me a fortune in moving costs etc. I already knew the house and that was reassuring as well. I would hang on to it.

Being served notice is a risk though. Which means OP then needs to find an interim home. If I was the landlord I would absolutely see through that tactic and be thinking I need to have a Plan B in place.

We just sold a house. First buyers pulled out just before exchange, it was annoying but didn’t cost us anything! Same costs for solicitor and estate agent and you pay on completion so we didn’t actually lose anything other that time. Solicitor and estate agent totally unconcerned, it’s since gone through with a new buyer.

id go for the one you love and your gut feeling!

This is a family decision.
You need to go with what suits your family and your circumstances at present.
Looking longer term, would you be able to downsize from your current intended purchase with a significant profit, should you wish to, or is it just convenient currently as you would be saving on estate agent fees?

Just keep your fingers crossed the second one doesn't fall through!

OP be sure....be really sure...its not the halo effect of seeing something you "could" have at the time of making a huge decision in your life. kind of advance buyer's remorse.

Does the Landlord also know all the neighbours as well - did they used to live in the house?

Exactly this

We were going to have to do this when the seller took the house of the market. No apologies to me. Our favourite house of all time came back to the market four years later the week before you were due to confirm our offer. We had bought our current home in between.
Things happen. I would offer to pay their legal fees but don't be surprised if they serve notice.

COL has really effect the 4+ bed market so watch that. It took me a year to sell!

It's not just a question of disappointing the vendors/ landlord though, they may throw you out before you're ready to move to the new place, that's what makes this a very precarious situation.

However it's your future hanging in the balance, the most expensive purchase you're likely to make and a very expensive mistake to remedy further along the line (also the other property sounds perfect and these don't come along very often).

I would explain the situation to the landlord, offer to reimburse them for every expense that has left them out of pocket and do it with the utmost contriteness. Hopefully that will soften the blow and they won't chuck you out before necessary. If they do though, you'll just have to cross that bridge. Buy the house you really want, this will feel like a distant problem when you're finally living there.

IF they finally get there though. The OP may not get that house and be left in very expensive limbo.

Moving house is always a gamble. It’s particularly complicated when the choices aren’t entirely yours ie a landlord involved. Im not saying OP should put the potential actions of the landlord first, but Im pointing out that there are a lot more serious considerations than what the neighbours might think!

You must buy the house that works for you OP, and most buyers who pull out do NOT think of paying the seller's costs. It's just one of those things.
What you do owe them is to be straightforward about what is going on from the point you have had an offer accepted on the new house. If you make an offer which is rejected, the LL don't need to know, provided you want to continue with the purchase.

Its not about 'hurting feeling' its about massively messing with other peoples lives, costing them opportunities and possibly costing them thousands of pounds. If you don't even care to think of the effects your actions have on others around you must be a pretty selfish person.

OP is in a different situation to most buyers as its a rental and the landlord would need to re-rent if she moved regardless, so as a business investment not a personal venture of the seller moving houses and chains etc... they lose very little and the fact OP cares enough to be offering to cover any costs from the sale failure just shows she has a basic human conscience.

You can't make out she's stupid for thinking of the other people though, in most other cases of buying and selling its a shitty thing to do. She is also right that if something goes wrong in the second sale it could have massive consequences, all logical things for her to think about.

You will always regret it if you t least don't put an offer in for the cheaper one, plus ou'll be gutted if it sells for even les for example.
I'd view it and put an offer in quickly if you like it. It's probably the most expensive thing you'll ever buy so don't feel guilty if you have to pull out of the other house. Bad karma is for liars, cheats and murderers!

Nothing surprises me given the stories I've heard over the years from both buyers & sellers in England.The amount of gazumping & gazundering that goes on is diabolical.

An Offer isn't legally binding in Scotland. A lot of English people seem to believe this. You can withdraw your offer before the contract is in place and just now that is happening nearer and nearer the move date. The only difference is you can't gazump or gazunder here.

Happily the law has changed and minimum notice period from landlords is 4 months. If I was the OP and there was a month or so overlap, I wouldn't be moving out before my sale had gone through. The court process to evict wouldn't even had got off the ground!

A seller who is lucky enough to get a buyer with no chain (OP is renting) should want to move quickly and OP should massively plug this when she makes an offer.

OP have you viewed the property? Asked what the vendors situation is in regards to chain etc? I'd put the offer in with the provision you want a quick sale.

Have you given any notice yet on the current rental?

If offer is accepted, just tell the landlord you've decided you can't go ahead with the sale. You don't have to give a reason. They can give you notice but it'll be 4 months minimum. Court process to evict would take minimum 3-6 months so you'll be fine. Any court fees will be cost effective to pay as alternative would be finding another rental or storage fees if you have someone willing to put you up, 2 x moving fees etc. There is no criminality or mark on your record. It's civil.

I would not offer to compensate the landlord at all. It's business. They weren't doing you a favour letting you buy the rental and I'm sure if you weren't in a position to buy, they'd have lost no sleep over getting you out so they could sell!

@InAbsoluteHell But all those timings re eviction process are theoretical. OP could find herself in the situation of being evicted and not being able to find something suitable long term (6 months isnt long to find , but and move into a new property) so may have to pick up additional rental and removal costs.

You could also suggest helping to sell the house in terms of viewings etc. as you will still be living there until it goes through on the new house (that is of course if the offer is accepted!
I think the LL will want to keep you sweet until they actually manage to sell the house/you leave so they can keep getting your rent.

if someone came along and offered the seller 15k more do you think they would hesitate.

Its the legal system here.

It’s the biggest purchase of your life, if interest rates increase - when you re- finance, what other peolle think ain’t paying your mortgage. Quite simply, it’s life. You already have the local searches, so technically you should be able to move quickly on the legal process on the other one.

Ensure the seller you will be incredibly reasonable re. Viewings and that this works for your family better, and you trust they understand blah blah blah. Offering to pay the legal fees is above and beyond and incredibly fair of you. I would suggest you ask them to have their solicitor invoice you, this is perfectly legal and happens all the time. Anyone can pay the law firm’s fees, it’s only the beneficiary of the legal invoice that may be issued with a VAT invoice. Given it’s a resi sale - that won’t make a difference and legal fees (as I understand it) cannot be used in an income tax calculation -
so it’s makes no difference

Its life.