To pull out of house purchase so close to exchange or gazunder?

[TitaniumBev]

Have just posted over in AIBU but thought good to post here too for traffic

Totally miserable - any advice/views/abuse welcome!

We're FTB's, both 30, scrimped for years to get deposit together. We both grew up dirt poor & wanted to have a bit of security before children so are keen to get going now and sick of private renting.

Offer accepted on house end of Jan, the asking price was kite flying given location (Croydon). They wanted 460k we settled on 440k, only now due to exchange next week after delays (both sides, minor errors).

Since then though all the news around the economy & housing especially around London has been terrible. Monthly drops of around 1 - 3.6%. Terrible rics reports & rightmove data etc. Similar properties in the area are coming on for less but there is not a lot coming on so hard to judge. Properties hanging around for a long time.

I now feel the agreed price is too high, a lot has changed in 4 months and I think it's best to walk away. I know this will screw over the vendors & the chain but don't like DH's suggestion of asking for a reduction so close to exchange. He thinks we should at least give them the chance. (How lucky!!!) Prices seem to be down around 6% he reckons split and ask for 3% off. (£13,000 ish)

Its such a big transaction, the market looks soooo bad and its not dream house or anything. Should I walk or offer lower? I'm not going to over pay for a house just to be nice/honorable unfortunately.

URGH!

bunce people have been saying London will crash for the past 25 years. It's fallen in certain areas but always bounced back - particularly houses as decent family houses are few and far between.

@sunshinesupermum

Do you not think the situation is totally different now though? I'm a recent FTB & only managed to buy with a surprise inheritance. The OP and her DH have high paying jobs & can't afford to buy a house further in than zone 5? Who is coming up behind them to buy that house from them in 5 -10 years?

I have bought expecting no gains & in the knowledge that if we need to stay put 15+ years we can. Lots of people can't commit to that though?

Its cyclical you get 10 years of boom followed by stagnation and a big drop and so it continues. Infinite growth is not possible.

I’ve been in my house for 17 years. No big drop yet just steady growth. (In Croydon as it happens)

You are lucky enough to even get to your position. Don't destroy other people's dreams.

I agree with oreosoreosoreos up thread

LUCKY!? OP and DH have clearly worked hard to get to where they are with no family assistance.
The entitlement of older home owners is mind blowing.

If you find another house, by the time you go through the process then presumably if the market goes the way you think it's going THAT one will have dropped in price too in 4 months, so you will forever be pulling out of chains at the last minute because you think you're paying over the odds. Turns out on the other thread you don't actually like the house anyway. But it's still shitty of you to leave it so late to pull out.

Why would you be a week away from exchange on a house youdont even really like? People should really think properly before they put offers in.

Kamma18 I agree that few people are in the fortunate position of having family to help them get on the property ladder. I didn't and neither have my kids. One is still at home simply because her earnings preclude her from home ownership - if she could afford it I'd be more than happy for her to live in Croydon.

Like you (and I guess many others) I bought a home to live in with my family with the long term in mind. When I was a FTB many years ago we didn't move straight into a family home (as the OP plans to do) but into a flat and moved on to a small house from there. Main difference now is that the costs of moving are so high many FTBs are stuck in their first homes :-(

As for the OP if she and her partner want to travel after a few years they can do what we did and rent out their home while they are away. I would never sell up in their situation.

Meanwhile Croydon may be Zone 5 but it takes less time to get from East Croydon to Victoria than it does from many Zone 2 locations to the centre of London!

@sunshinesupermum

That's an interesting perspective. I find this so close to my circumstances So following closely.

I, like OP and many others have had to skip first step homes due to age & for me fear we'll be stuck here long-term. Like you said it's so expensive to move now. Renting out is NOT an option anymore, especially as higher rate taxpayers due to section 24.

Kamma are both of you higher rate tax payers? My SiL is but my daughter isn't so the problem is solved as the rent is in her name. I do sympathise greatly with people trying to buy their own homes today.

Me & DP are both higher rate taxpayers but we're in our house for the long long term so hopefully not an issue!

Why is this thread so much more balanced/informative than the other? I'm new to mumsnet. Got some very helpful advice recently with my own property woes I find aibu wild

I understand the steady growth has been fantastic BUT there will come (and i believe it here now) that property prices have escalated to a point where they are unaffordable to even people on decent middle incomes - I'm not talking average wages - that happened a long time ago.

At some point there is going to be a correction- wages are not growing at anywhere near the same rate.

To those saying there is no cycle - record low interest rates, HTB mortgage guarantee, HTB equity loan, HTB ISA, WE.... where were these gimmicks 12 years ago? The crash that should have been wasn't allowed to happen. The can has been kicked down the road to present day. There are no more props.

(I'm a would be FTB who's gone from looking at poky 2 up 2 downs to 3 bed 2 receptions just by virtue of the falling market. To the OP - I'd sit tight, if it's not even a dream home it's more than likely going to become a nightmare in the next couple years)

Apologies for not updating, shouldn't have started 2 threads. On a week of nights so hard to read every post but here is an update for those who wanted one.

We called up to pull out yesterday afternoon, the EA didn't say anything for a bit, sighed and told us our vendors vendor who had delayed exchange and pushed for a very late completion had pulled out of the sale via solicitor that morning.

Our vendors lost their buyers and onward purchase on the same day. I can only assume they must have done something TERRIBLE at some point previously and this is that bad karma so many have been mentioning...

This process has been a steep learning curve for us, it's a shame this came at others expense but we're secure in our decision and feel like a weight has been lifted.

not karma, just a comprehensive screwing from both sides. however no one should buy the wrong house just to be nice.

@specialsubject I think OP is referring to all the posts on the other thread that were raging they hoped karma caught up with her & all future purchases fell through, cost her money, made her lose an eye etc etc by the rules of that thread what happend to OP vendors must have been well deserved. Rubbish of course, hopefully will make some of the nastier posters think twice

Now I really want to know where the vendor's vendor was moving to and why they pulled out!

@howabout Me too! Also was this planned all along hence why delays and 2 months between exchange & completion? V suspicious of vendors vendors

Our vendors lost their buyers and onward purchase on the same day. I can only assume they must have done something TERRIBLE at some point previously and this is that bad karma so many have been mentioning...

I assume that this is a stab at sardonic humour but have a bit of fucking compassion, OP.