Having second thoughts about house we've had an offer accepted on, and seen another property with the sane agent. What to do?

[Pipsqueak83]

We've had an offer accepted on a house which is in a great location in a lovely town. It has it's compromises though (I.e a strange layout and garden) and it requires a lot of updating. We had our survey back and basically needs new electrics, boiler , windows, roof installation and kitchen and bathrooms. I'm worried that it will cost more than first thought to do up.
Today a new house came on the market which is less expensive, and not quite such a great location but still good, with more space and wouldn't need updating and with a lovely garden. I'm really interested in viewing it, as I've been so worried about the house we have had an offer accepted on and I think it would help confirm if it's the right decision for us or not. However both houses are on with the same agent and i'm worried about what they will say and how to go about this. Any advice? Thanks in advance !

Sorry same agent not same !

See it, as it will clarify for you what you want to do. It's a lot of money buying a house so it's reaonable you investigate all options.

Just be honest with them, the survey has thrown up a few unexpected bits and you want to check this one out so you can make the right decision. As said above they just want to sell houses.

That house needs major things done, I would back off that one completely.

Thanks. I will arrange a viewing, my DH says it's unethical unless we have pulled out completely!

Rubbish. You are just seeing what else is out there. It's a house you are buying; there's no place for "second best â??.

If you've got as far as a survey presumably you have paid for solicitors, mortgage fees etc? And possibly your vendors have too. It's one thing changing your mind after a few days when you've put an offer in but quite another if you are several weeks/ months down the line. You must have factored some of the costs of updating the property when you put in your offer, a survey doesn't tell you that you need a new kitchen or bathroom. And you knew about the strange layout/ garden. I'm selling my house and am a few weeks from exchange. I'd be massively pissed off if my buyer pulled out now, and if I heard that they were looking at other houses whilst still ostensibly proceeding with purchasing mine I'd be raging.

Yes we have paid for a survey and mortgage fees, and of course we factored in cost of bathrooms and kitchen when making an offer. However new things keep on being added to the list and our budget is not limitless, and I want to be sure we are not compromising too much. I feel awful for the vendor and I'm not saying we will pull out, but it is a huge amount of money to buy a house and I need to know it's the right decision. We would lose out on our fees too.

The ea should tell your vendors that you are looking at other properties; they are working for them, not you. If they think you are looking at other properties through other agents as well they should advise the vendors to put their house back on the market.

You shouldn't proceed on a house you aren't happy with though.

A builder is coming to look around the property with us at the weekend to give us an idea of the cost of things that the survey brought to our attention. It seems fair to the vendor to wait until we've made a decision about that property before viewing the other one, if at all.

Those are huge things the survey found: a new roof, new electrical, all new windows, and a furnace! Yes, you could see the need for a new kitchen and bath, but thank goodness your inspector could tell you the state of all those other things.

We had a buyer pull out at this stage.

I also lost about £800 in fees that I had paid out. Meant that I couldn't afford to put my house back up for sale, as it happened at the same time as DH losing his job.

I really really don't understand why people put offers in with so little thought! You knew about the strange layout/crap kitchen etc etc when you put the offer in.

I seriously think the law needs changing. Buyers should have to pay the costs of the seller if they pull out imo.

We are not reconsidering because of the layout. It's the damp, electrics, heating and other things that have been bought to our attention. We also found out from the searches that it is a medium flood risk area, which the EA assures us isn't a problem. But it seems like one thing after the other, making me nervous.

Had we been given this information before making an offer, we would perhaps have turned straight away. We paid for a survey to give us more information, and did not make an offer lightly.

We have lost sales at the last minute, and it is awful.

I agree with the first few responses. Buying a house is a big decision and you have done the right thing to employ professionals to ensure you're making a sound decision before you go ahead. It's perfectly acceptable (and sensible) to explore other options (i.e. investigate other properties) in case things don't go ahead - after all sellers sometimes back off leaving buyers high and dry. You have no moral or legal obligation to buy if surveys have uncovered things you're not happy about. It's tough on both sides.
Maybe the seller would drop the price to cover the unexpected necessary work?
It can also strengthen your bargaining resolve if you know there are other suitable properties around.

The decision to buy or pull out isn't necessarily yours alone though- if significant issues were found at survey, it's reasonable to expect that any mortgage provider would reconsider their loan amount and terms, and could make the decision for you (lend a lesser amount or refuse to lend at all.)

You offered in good faith. The survey informed you of significant issues that were unexpected. Surely it's normal to renegotiate or walk at this stage?

I would pull out. We had to pull out of a house after survey and searches etc and we were nearing exchange but there was a problem getting the mortgage approved and we decided to walk away as the house required a lot doing to it and we decided that it wasn't worth it.

We are in a house that I love now. It's not perfect and we too are going to have to fork out for a roof at some point, have just had the bathroom done and kitchen is starting next month but every day I look around and I am so happy that it's ours and as soon as we pulled out of the previous House (after agonising for ages and it was a private sale so I couldn't even use EAs to break the news) I was so relieved and have never looked back.

Its such a huge decision that you do want to make sure you are making the right one. It's also natural that a survey like that will make you think twice and the agents have to expect that. I think I would pull out with a survey like that.

I seriously think the law needs changing.

Didn't it change so surveys were done first but the govt scrapped that?

In Scotland the seller pays for a home report before the house can go on the market. No surprises that way.

Look at the other house. It's far too large a purchase to worry about being polite.

go through the survey report again and properly with the builder. Surveyors often suggest something needs further exploration and 'looking at' but that doesn't always mean that when an expert (roofer) looks at the house they will say the same th ing. You could have years in the roof but the surveyors will just cover themselves by suggesting everything should be checked.

Yes it will piss everybody off if you back out of the purchase but until you have reached EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS that is exactly what you can do - it is how the system works. The sellers can also pull out if they change their minds too.

By all means look at the other house - it might not look so good when you actually get there - photos can be deceptive.

Good luck.

you don't spend ££££££ on the wrong house just because you don't want to upset anyone.

you've had the survey done and it has thrown up problems. That's why you do a survey. You've now found what might be a more suitable house.Go look at it and decide. Try to be as quick as possible but you need to buy the right house.

in the much lauded Scot-topia system you have to pay for a survey before offering. So you'd have been no better off.

In case anyone is interested... I'm in Scotland, and yes the seller pays for a home report which is freely available to prospective purchasers. The home report must be available before marketing the house, so in theory buyers should know the valuation and the condition of the house before deciding whether to view it. Before the law changed to the seller providing the home report, buyers would pay for a valuation before offering to buy. With the offers over / sealed bids system, popular areas saw 10+ valuations / home reports being paid for by buyers who were thinking of making an offer. Which outs why sellers now pay. Sales can break down after offers are made, but it's rare, (e.g. mortgages can't be secured, or detailed terms of the sale can't be agreed) and usually making an offer to by means you are tied into the sale. (You'll be negotiating moving in dates etc through the solicitors, but since each sale stands alone legally, there are no chains to get tied into. If you found a buyer for your house before offering on another, you may try to negotiate an entry date to suit you.) People often move a month or two after the offer is accepted. The sort of timescales that happen with English chains is really unusual.

In a case like this, the OP would have seen the home report before viewing (or have had the chance to read the report) so would have known about the issues. If the OP was not confident with the seller's home report (which is supposed to be independent) she could have paid for her own report or asked a builder to visit and quote for work etc. before she made an offer.

The idea of negotiating a price first then finding out the condition of the house later is the opposite to how it's done here.

We are so much more sensible mipmop

You haven't signed any contract, you have no obligation.
I think it's ok to say that the survey revealed more than you expected, and that yqare reconsidering your offer, which I going to include looking at a couple of other properties. Give them a date by which you will confirm whether you're going to proceed or pull out - not too long, as they will want to get it back on the market asap if you aren't buying it.
Would you consider proceeding if they agreed for the price to be reduced by an amount reflecting the extra costs you weren't expecting when you put in the offer?

Do not trust the estate agent's assertion that a house in a flood risk area is fine. His job is to sell difficult-to-sell houses, not intelligently assess risk.

specialsubject Fri 16-Jan-15 16:05:56
in the much lauded Scot-topia system you have to pay for a survey before offering. So you'd have been no better off.

Nope. Keep up. As I said above, the seller pays for the home report now.

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/BuyingSelling/Home-Report

Go and look at the other house.

I have bought and sold 4 times, have never pulled out of a sale but I have had people pull out on me.

Until the point of exchange, that's the deal. It's a lot of money, don't be guilt tripped. You've got unforseen issues with one house and a new potential opportunity has come up - all you are doing is exploring it before making a decision.

The people who offered on my neighbours house pulled out after months and bought mine when it came on the market because they preferred the angle the sun came in.