Pulling out of a sale

[lenny2011]

Ok we have agreed a private sale with someone we sort of know (school mum). Great house but maybe bit small. Top end of our budget but agreed to price as nothing and I mean nothing on the market for months and we need to be out of our house very soon.
Estate agent has let me know of another property about to come on next week. It is a 90k cheaper and roughly about the same size (maybe even nicer inside than other house). Location not just as good - access up a private narrow road but actual house has a lot of space.

If we pull out of original house the 1st house people will lose their house! My husband doesn't care about things like this but he doesn't have to see family most days. I understand you can't pay 90k extra to be nice. Original house actually looks nicer from outside though. They had it valued by estate agent pre brexit though and we have agreed 20k less than they wanted (as they are saving on estate agent fees). Now I feel we are paying too much when a similar house down the road is cheaper (further from station and down narrow lane).

My brain is mush! We might not even get 2nd house if it goes on open market whereas original house didn't even go on market so didn't have this hassle.

You obviously need to see the other one ASAP and pull out, unless you have 90k spare to save the feelings of the couple.

I would send the vendor an email first, explaining exactly what you said here and then call them to discuss. If they are reasonable they will understand.

Good luck and remember this is a lot of money just to be "nice" and it is a business transaction.

Look at the other house, then secure it if you prefer it.

I wouldn't tell the lady unless i had an offer accepted on the other house. Why put her in a panic prematurely

This is why I'm glad I'm not buying/selling in England. It's a really shitty thing to do, to pull out so late or renegotiate a cost you'd agreed on. A bird in the hand etc.

That strange access you talk about could be the reason for £90k? Maybe not as much but I'd query why so much cheaper

Where are the houses? Where I live (London zone 3) I have seen properties come on cheaper than before. Also 90k is a lot of money but if the house is £1m then not that much, on 250k is a lot in percentage.

Prices are slowly going down, why would you pay more than you have to?

My buyer pulled out and it's a shitty thing to do in my opinion. Sorry, but it's had a huge impact on my family.

I think it's happening a lot post Brexit.

You said that nothing had come on the market So they can probably engage an estate agent and arrange a quick sale.

I'd look at the other one, secure it if you want it, then tell the original vendors.

I would proceed with your purchase but keep an eye on the market.

An estate agent telling you a house is 'about to come on the market' sounds to me like the vendors aren't really sure about selling or using that particular agent or aren't in any particular hurry. Meanwhile the agent will be telling them "I've got buyers lined up to view as soon as you put it on the market".

This could end up biting you on the arse and you'll be left with neither house.

I know it's a really awful thing to do that's why my head hurts with it all - it's just such a massive price difference for us- 90k extra will mean we need to add another 10yrs onto our mortgage. House we have offered on is 450k and one about to come on is 360k,

We were really pushing ourselves for 1st house and it's not perfect- smaller than our present house but moving for schools.

We felt we had to grab it as nothing and I mean nothing in area we wanted had come up in over 6mths.

If we go for other house we don't have to extend our mortgage term. It actually has an extra bathroom too. It's up a narrow lane though and this might be why?

We have this feeling that we are paying way too much for other house- but we agreed to it. Price came down from 470 they wanted! We thought it was fair price at time but last 2 properties we have bought we have made NO money on so hate feeling we have made a bad decision again.

I feel awful about it as we will meet the parents at various events at school but 90k!!!!

House is coming on. I have been sent pictures , layout etc. Will be uploaded to website next week

Can't you say tyo estate agent you want to see it now. Get there ASAP, if you like it offer asking price on the condition no more viewings.

Then you need to arrange to view it within the next day or two.

Fwiw I agree that yes, depending on how far along you are with the current sale/purchase, pulling out of an agreed sale a shitty thing to do.

So the nicest way of doing it (not that there is one), is to give your current vendors as much notice as possible, to prevent them spending out any more money on surveys, searches, solicitors fees, etc, on the property they are hoping to purchase.

Don't keep stringing them along for another few weeks while you dither about.

One thing to think about is that even if you love the second house ,you might find yourself in another's chain with all the risks etc that it entails.

Look out for your family not someone else's. This is 90k we're talking about. Why pay more than a house is worth just to be polite? That's madness.

Maybe tell them you're thinking about the other one and see if they'll renegotiate. If they won't then you have your answer.

I also think it's telling that the first house didn't go on the market. They must know they would't get what you've offered if it did.

If houses in the area are that scarce, a real estate agent's valuation means less - they base the valuation on recently sold comparable properties. So you really are taking a huge risk with the first one of paying too much.

And I agree with PPs that it's suspect that they haven't listed it if it's genuinely such a tightly held area near decent schools. They could get more in a bidding war than they save in agents' fees.

What did the valuation on the house you're buying come back with?

I'd go and see the other house, but bear in mind it might be priced low to start a biding war. Or there could be a good reason - aside size - that it's so much cheaper.

90k!! I know it's shit but you don't know that they will lose their purchase because of it.

If you are already in a chain why is the estate agent telling you about another property that's coming on the market anyway?

What was the mortgage valuation on the first house?

A private access road can hugely devalue a house - particularly if it's shared. It can be a total nightmare to arrange repairs etc. It will put a lot if people off

For the sake of £3, I would be inclined to purchase the title deeds to the new house up the narrow private lane just to read through the title and confirm that the property has full rights to access and cross the land for both pedestrians and vehicles. The title plan should show the access road clearly edged (usually in blue). Read through the restrictions on the title - check if you are a shared owner of the private land and therefore need to contribute towards its upkeep, or if not a shared owner, that you have the rights to use it.