Viewing a house after having an offer accepted on another - advice please

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We have had an offer accepted on a house, mortgage approved, solicitors involved. It is still early stages, the survey has not yet been done. It is DH who prefers the house, it needs quite a lot done to it. I do like it but have reservations.

Another very similar house has come on the market that I really want to go and view - location is better and it does not need anywhere near as much work doing to it. Is viewing it a real no no do you think?

You have to view it.

We had an offered accept in January, we have sold ours, moved out into rental, mortgage sorted, survey done, searches done and we are STILL looking just in case something better comes up.

Do you think? It's so difficult, I don't want to mess our vendors around but it is a significant (to us) amount of money we are spending. Houses around here in our price bracket (low!) don't come up very often.

Thanks for the advice.

If you don't view you'll live with "what if". It's not like you're walking away from the first one.

That's true. Thank you.

go see it. If it is better then pull out from the first one quickly. Stop the survey until you are sure.

business transaction - the biggest one you ever make.

You have to see it. When you are spending so much money, you have to be absolutely sure you are getting the best deal.
Is it with another agent?

Oh I'm glad you all seem to think viewing it is a good idea. It may well be that we don't like it anyway, but I really need to know.

It's a different agent. They will ask our position. Do I tell them we have had an offer accepted on another house? Do I not? Do agents speak to each other?

I would say you are in a good position, but not that you have offered on another house.

Thanks - that's what I was thinking.

The interesting part will come if we decide we prefer the second house. Do we offer before withdrawing on first house? We could end up with neither.

Anyone have any ideas/experience?

I guess you'd have to, but it would be dishonest to let the agent think you didn't have another offer agreed. And agents do know one another and they do talk. I see why others say you must view, I really do, but if your vendors took a better offer you'd be fuming. What you're proposing is perfectly legal of course.

As Pickle says, agents do talk. My friend recently had her buyers pull out on day of exchange. Two days previously the agent of the house my friend was buying told her that her buyers were still viewing other properties. So she took further viewings on hers and accepted another offer before her buyers pulled out. If they hadn't pulled out, they'd have been a bit stuck.

Personally I think the Scottish system is a lot better and people should be bound to offers once made. But if you're going to keep looking, bear in mind it's not without risk.

So you wont be annoyed then if the vendor is doing the same to you?

I do have to agree with sunny- if you don't want other people doing the same thing to you than you should stick to your word and offer. I don't really understand why people do that tbh, if you are not sure about a house then DON'T put in an offer meaning you want to buy it! I know it's legal to walk away at any stage but I also think you have to put yourself into your vendor's shoes. House buying is becoming so stressful because people get away with being fickle and unreliable and changing their mind at a very late stage. If you are that unsure about the house you shouldn't have put in an offer in the first place.

Thanks for all your comments.

I do feel uncomfortable about viewing the second house. I admit we maybe should not have put in an offer on the first house, but we had seen a few unsuitable ones, and there are not many in our budget in the area we are looking at. It's still a case of houses selling within a couple of days where we live.

I'm not trying to make excuses, but DH is definitely the one who wanted the house we have offered on. I'm still not sure what to do.

Op if you aren't 100% sure then withdraw and rent until you are absolutely sure. It's horrible for the vendors but this is the biggest purchase you will make. I disagree with peggylane and don't think you should go along with the sale because you offered on it and gave it your 'word', you obviously aren't in Scotland so you aren't tied in yet. Shitty for the vendors but ultimately you can't buy a house because you feel guilty!

Personally I would go and look. You may not like it as much. The other house may fall through. The survey may through up huge problems.

A house isn't sold until the contracts are exchanged. People pull out before then for a whole host of reasons.

I would view the new house asap. And pull out of your current situation also asap if you much prefer the new place. It just shows that you don't really want the current house and would be better off waiting for another better place even if you don't get this one. Rent if you still would prefer to sell your current home and be in a great position to secure your dream place.

Or view it and realise that the first house is in fact better and thus feel much happier about it.

I don't think you should be tied into buying the other house because you gave your word. You haven't signed anything yet, and you still haven't had the survey done - a lot of sales fall through at the survey stage, or renegotiate the price, so it's not like the vendor is able to assume the sale is going ahead at that price yet.

Of course you shouldn't buy a house because you feel guilty about hurting the vendor's feelings. My point was that you shouldn't OFFER on a house when you aren't 100% sure about it. I think that this is why house buying/ selling is becoming increasingly stressful because people offer and then change their minds or continue to view other properties. I always thought that most people felt the Scottish system was much better because it does give security when buying and selling houses. I am sure that if the OP had complained that her buyers had pulled out because they found a "nicer" place people wouldn't be so understanding...

In the Scottish system you get the survey done before you make an offer, you have to have got all your ducks in a row first. Then often it can go to sealed bids, and you can find you have wasted a lot of time and money on a house that someone has out bid you on.

I have bought houses, I have sold houses. People have pulled out on me for various reasons, I have pulled out on others for various reasons. It's life. As long as it isn't a last minute thing, then you have to be pretty philosophical about it.

Op go view the house and do what makes you happy. Good luck!

Thanks all. I think we will go see the house, just to put my mind at rest. I think it is a case of the grass always being greener, but I do need to know.