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Original poster

Has anyone pulled out of a house purchase?

21 replies

alazuli · 12/05/2016 21:04

And did you regret it? Or did you go on to find something better?

I've written on here before about having doubts after my offer was accepted on a place in London but it's coming to crunch time and I really need to tell the EA/seller if I'm going to pull out.

Went for a second viewing - my head says yes (house prices are only ever going to go up - what if I get priced out completely?) but my heart says no (it's a studio and while I thought I could compromise on space for the location when it comes down to giving away all my life savings I would rather live in a 1 bed).

OP posts:

EustachianTube · 12/05/2016 21:07

Yes, twice during the last house-hunting. Both were really gutting, we'd loved the houses and had to pull out for various reasons. We then found our dream home, which is just loads better than either of the other two and we've been here a year now. Absolutely the best thing that could have happened, but awful to go through at the time.
Good luck making your decision

Original poster

alazuli · 12/05/2016 21:10

Thanks, EustachianTube. It's so hard to know what to do. I would like to think I can find something better but I'm not sure how realistic I'm being with London house prices.

OP posts:

EustachianTube · 12/05/2016 21:13

Have you viewed any others that you can afford? Can you get a 1-bed for your budget? I'd spend the weekend seeing as many alternatives as you can, just to give you an idea of what you want is achievable, then make a decision after that.

Kummerspeck · 12/05/2016 21:16

We pulled out of one a while ago but it was because of issues on the survey that we couldn't feel comfortable with. We did indeed find a much better one

Original poster

alazuli · 12/05/2016 21:17

I have. On my budget I could afford a 1 bed but a bit further out. There's nothing much on the market at the moment but hopefully in a few months when all this EU stuff has settled.

OP posts:

Waitingfordolly · 12/05/2016 21:22

Yes I have. I found out the EAs and the sellers had lied to me but I was already having doubts, so that was a convenient excuse. I didn't love the house, it was more that it ticked theoretical boxes. The only other time I did that - bought a house with head not heart - I regretted it too.

Original poster

alazuli · 12/05/2016 21:25

Yes, Waitingfordolly. This place ticks lots of boxes (apart from not being a 1 bed) that's why I've not pulled out already.

OP posts:

Waitingfordolly · 12/05/2016 21:33

How important is location to you versus one bed? And what's predicted to happen to prices after referendum? Is it worth buying now to get on property ladder even though you might move again soon? I ended up spending much more money on my house than I originally intended to get something better. I do love the house and the road but I regret spending more.

Original poster

alazuli · 12/05/2016 21:41

Before I put my offer in I thought location was worth compromising for space but now I'm not so sure. I think it we leave the EU prices might go down, if we stay (more likely IMO) it'll remain the same as it has been.

Yeah, I'm not sure it's better to jump on the ladder now even if it's not somewhere I can see myself living long term. Also if I move again there are all the costs for that.

OP posts:

Waitingfordolly · 12/05/2016 21:45

I guess it depends whether the place you've got an offer in on is in an area where prices are likely to rise more than other areas, e.g. up and coming. Otherwise if the other location is okay I'd probably go for that, particularly if I wanted to have people to stay sometimes.

Bragadocia · 12/05/2016 21:51

Yes, after an issue with the survey, we went back for another look, and realised that the owner had told us a couple of fibs when we viewed. We realised that as he'd been dishonest over those things, we didn't feel happy about proceeding. Also cost of the issues that were in the survey, and TBH I didn't really want to buy it much anyway.

PortBlacksand2016Resident · 12/05/2016 22:52

If you live on your own or only with a partner / husband i can't see much difference between a studio / bedsit and a one bed tbh. We had one when we first got married - who needs a sofa as opposed to living further out of town...still have many happy memories of our bedsit!

I backed out of a house when all of the outside window sills crumbled when we lent on them at our 'measuring viewing' ...and then a window fell out! ... first proper house and we were very green up till that point!

Mia894 · 12/05/2016 23:56

Where is this flat and what is your budget ?

Original poster

alazuli · 13/05/2016 00:06

It's in Walthamstow. My budget's around £220k.

OP posts:

MightyMeerkat · 13/05/2016 06:30

How long do you plan to live in the flat? If you're thinking this will last you for 2 to 3 years and then you'll be able to afford something bigger then I would go for the studio - you're on the ladder and will be able to take advantage of increases in the market (one the referendum is done I suspect prices will be on the rise again!), you're in a location you like and will likely have no problem selling in the future. If however you are thinking in the long term then I would stretch yourself as much as you can and buy a bigger place in as best a location as you can. You'll get used to the location and it will become home and you won't outgrow the flat as quickly as you would a studio.

CuntingDMjournos · 13/05/2016 06:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

icklekid · 13/05/2016 06:50

It depends on if there is something better avaliable now? Like you say you don't want to wait too long and be priced out however it's expensive to buy and sell! Sometimes have to be guided by head not heart...

noisytoys · 13/05/2016 07:03

I backed out of a flat because there was clearly no work done to the building in decades yet the ground rent and service charge was extortionate (thousands per year). It was obvious that I would be burning money if we lived there. Still compromised on this place - an extra bedroom but no outside space.

BeYourselfUnlessUCanBeAUnicorn · 13/05/2016 11:47

Yes I've pulled out and no I don't regret it. It definitely wasn't a case of loving the house, the location was convenient and I'd often said if this house came up for sale I would buy it. It would have needed a ridiculous amount of money in work doing and wouldn't have hugely increased in value due to the construction. It was also further away from DCs school.

Now in another house that I used to drive past and think it looked like a good size. Love it here and whilst is has needed work, it was definitely the right decision.

yellowbirdie · 13/05/2016 12:01

Yes, twice. First house was beautifully done and was well in budget. However after the initial buzz of wanting to make it work we realised it wasn't the home for us. It was on a busy, narrow road with no parking, and although a beautiful house in a lovely, market town the layout would have frustrated us in no time and there was also no storage. Second House, also comfortably in budget was functional and boring. We had to pull out due to a redundancy, we could still afford it but the bank pulled the plug! We felt very guilty and embarrassed both times. It was the right deciscion we ended up with neither house. I only feel a bit guttered about the second house as the value has increased so much just due to its location.

We missed out on lots of houses in our search and finally ended up with some thing that is an expensive money pit. Slowly we are making it our own so I hope we don't regret it!

Good luck.

namechangedtoday15 · 13/05/2016 12:06

Yes but only because we weren't brave enough at the time. It was a complete do-er upp-er (from top to bottom) and it went to sealed bids and we got it.

I had 3 year old twins and was 6 months pregnant. About 3 weeks into the process, I bottled it. Didn't think we could live through the renovations (and we couldn't afford to live elsewhere whilst it was done).

Do I regret it? Kind of. Love the house that we eventually bought (still needed work but not to the same extent) but the house was done up and put back on the market very quickly at a massive profit. It would have been an amazing investment for us and I do see it as a lost opportunity that we weren't brave enough to seize upon.

(By the way, the sellers didn't lose out - I think they'd accepted our offer because we were chain free because the people who bought it paid more than the offer we'd made).

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