Is it too late to change my mind now- how do we do this?!

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Right at the moment we have agreed price for our house and had an offer accepted on another- surveys etc done and we've had a mortgage offer and house had searches etc and instructed solicitor but not exchanged.
I'm been wobbling about house for a few reasons small living space and road is busy but there was nothing else...except another house in village has been reduced today which would make it affordable now. I've arranged a viewing but can I even do this?

• can we use the mortgage offe on another house if we pay to have it checked again
  
• would we have to pay the solicitors more than just doing the searches for the new house?
  Are we allowed to change mind at this stage?
  Before I get told off I know it's not good for the people whose house I agreed to buy but they had another 2 asking price offers besides ours so in sure it would sell again quickly.
  Any info much appreciated

[lenibose]

Yes you are. You can change your mind any time before exchange. It's probably frowned upon BUT houses cost a lot of money and you simply have to get the decision right. Otherwise it would be a very expensive mistake. I would view the other house and put in an offer.

[lenibose]

And yes your solicitors will bill you for the hours they have already worked. It is usually not a massive sum though.

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Ok might be ok then- this reduced option needs less work so we wouldn't have to spend as much on plastering Etc so as long as the bills aren't too much it could work then?

[RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog]

Yes, of course you can change your mind! We pulled out of two purchases the time before last (2011) after we decided one house had an odd layout that would be difficult to change (listed building) and the other the vendor/their EA lied about some new builds that would obscure the views over open fields, by saying they were going to be bungalows. We weren't getting a mortgage so can't advise there but our conveyancing solicitor just added the fee for work done so far to their overall bill. It wasn't a huge amount.

[Moving15]

Your mortgage offer will be on the other house so depending your lender you may have to start with a new application on the preferred house. Again depending on the lender they might refund the product fee but you will have to pay for a new valuation / survey.
Although changing your mind at this point is very annoying for everyone it is important to get this decision right so it's better to do it now than on the day of exchange!

[Wishfulmakeupping]

Right I need to speak to my broker Tomo really- I thought I'd have to pay again for valuation/survey but I'm hoping they would just transfer to this property the risk would be the same to them- same purchase price, same amount we'd borrow etc. I haven't asked the broker so far as she's based at the agents our buyers are selling through (still with me?!) so don't want her to say anything to worry our buyers

[JT05]

Sorry to sound harsh, but this is why the Scottish system of buying is so much better. You would be paying a financial penalty to do this at this stage. There you have to be 100% sure you really want to buy a property before embarking on the process. Even putting in an offer ( a note of interest ) costs the purchaser.

But of course you can change your mind.

[Wishfulmakeupping]

That's fair JT I'm kind of hoping I hate it when I've viewed it but on paper it makes so much sense, I really don't want to piss people off or the extra hassle for myself either

[movingonup2015]

check your solicitor terms - I pulled out on a house before exchange because the survey came back with nightmare problems and solicitor did not bill me at all because they had a "no completion, no fee" policy so they just carried on with the house I found later on.

[Spickle]

Of course you can change your mind at this stage, but do bear in mind:

Your buyer might be hacked off because changing your purchase will delay matters. Do you think they will wait or go elsewhere?

New Memorandum of Sales from EA and new solicitors means your solicitor waiting for the seller's solicitors to send draft paperwork before they can begin work.

New searches mean another wait and extra costs. Usually no refund on first property searches unless you can sell them to a new buyer.

May mean new mortgage offer and new admin fee.

New survey.

Is your contract with your solicitor on a low fee scheme, i.e. no completion, no fee?

New property's sellers may not have somewhere to move to or have a long chain.

However, you must choose the house that is right for you and your family.

Good luck!