Should we pull out of this purchase?

[Thursday37]

I'll try to keep this short-iash as it's quite a complex lot of circumstances that led to us moving in the first place, but not all relevant to my post I guess.

We live in a tiny hamlet in an individual new build, it's big enough for us but we don't love the area and there's a practical issue with schools. We didn't have DD when we bought it (she was an unexpected bonus). House was built in 2018, has air source heating with all sorts of fancy smart tech which keeps running costs down. EPC rated C. Everything is new so maintenance free.

We are close to exchange on a thatched cottage in our most perfect village, we've wanted to live there for years. Slightly smaller than what we have now, but schools are perfect. It has oil heating, single glazed, needs a new kitchen and we are waiting on a thatchers survey as well as RICS level 3 to come back to see what sort of state it is in (ridge was done recently and the oil boiler is fairly new so house is E rated which could be worse for a cottage). It is stretching our budget to the max. It's also beautiful.

We knew running costs plus mortgage were going to be higher and kitchen will have to wait but with everything going on it's now looking insane to buy it. We are stretching ourselves to buy it and we have 2.5 years left of nursery fees. After that we will be much more comfortable, but we are now really worried about going ahead with all the uncertainty over energy and the economy. Heating oil costs are terrifying and it would not convert easily (house is not listed, but even so).

Houses where we are looking to move to are a rare as rocking horse poo - this is the first one that's come up in 9 years so it's not like we can defer it for 12 months and try again. If we stay here we will have to run the gauntlet of applying for out of school catchment as we can't use the local school (long story but it's an absolute no for practical reasons). The new house has guaranteed excellent and suitable schools at primary and secondary so it is a long term move for us.

I feel sick at the thought of pulling out but also sick at the thought of the costs to live there and the risk it places on us. Do we stay here or take the risk that things settle in a year or so and it will all be fine? We don't have long to decide as the mortgage is in place and the searches etc all done. I know wobbles are normal but this is not your usual wobble.

Our town shows very little chance of prices coming down for houses. I would view the surveys and then if they’re all okay I’d move.

MIL had a thatched cottage and it was a money pit and it was always freezing (even in the summer!).

Insurance was astronomical and had to be arranged through a specialist broker. Most insurance companies wouldn't touch it.

Her cottage was listed, so she couldn't do most of the things you could on a non-listed house to improve energy efficiency (double glazing etc).

As for the thatch - constant source of worry knowing it'll need to be completely replaced periodically at huge cost.

She got shot of it just before the pandemic and a huge burden lifted. She struggled to sell though as lots of people won't even consider thatched and some lenders also won't lend, so financing is more restricted.

I would move. Things will
Settle down in the future oil price-wise. In the meantime, hold off on renovating where you can.

I doubt I'd pull out but I'd never have considered a thatched cottage (spiders). Location is everything.

It does sound like you are pushing it. Your daughter won't benefit from anything enough to compensate for hugely stressed parents.

Why this particular hamlet? If there are several schools with wrap around care presumably there are other villages?

It comes down to how essential this location is to you. Only you can know that.

Personally, I'd be really worried and would probably stay put. It feels a big risk but if you'll never get over not living there then I guess you have to go for it.

Just be certain there is enough wrap around provision that it is guaranteed

I lived in a listed thatch cottage for years. It is/was not damp or cold. We had secondary double glazing, not pretty but effective enough.
Open fire in living rooms. Insurance from specialists but not astronomical. Shop around as usual.Good use of curtains and sausage dogs at doorways, blankets on the sofas, closing curtains when it was dark meant it was snug and cosy. Plus great in summer as didn't fluctuate in internal temperature through the seasons, so lovely and cool on hot days in summer. Thatch repairs are expensive if seen as a one-off, but over 40-50 years are good value as it really insulates the house. Yes to spiders, but they eat the bugs/flies so all good. Plus we had lots of over-wintering butterflies which was fantastic in Spring.

I'd move for the school, ideal house and perfect location. Those things do not come up in combination very often, so I'd grab it while I could.

The 2 years of your DC being in nursery will be the hardest financially, but they'll go quickly, and you'll be so pleased with the extra money once passed. I'd also live with the house as is for the first 2 years, so as not to spend any money, but also to figure out best use of money on the house.

Move. Worst case it sounds as if you could sell easily if necessary.

We have a thatched house. The cost to redo the whole roof is £70k. Gas and electricity is £550 a month. Building insurance is £2k a year because of thatch and grade 2 listing. Chimney sweep is needed twice a year to comply with insurers. Electrical safety check every 10 years is £££. However, some of those costs are because it’s a big house. we’ve been here years and it’s a much loved family home. I don’t regret it as we’ve been here 20 years but once we move I’m not sure I’d buy a thatched house again.

Personally aside from the financial aspect, I wouldn't want my small child in a fundamentally freezing cold property. My grandmother's house was like this and I cannot tell you how awful the cold was in winter. She had a fire in every room and we adored her but my godddd the cold. I can still feel it when I think of that (otherwise fabulous) house. Your hands & toes were permanently cold no matter what you did. Getting out of baths were plain torture! I was used to a warm house at home.

She ended up with Rheumatoid Arthritis & terrible Asthma which may not be caused by exposure to cold, but it was certainly made much worse by it.

Also the many, many Spider nests that will be sat in that thatched roof 😱 🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷This alone would be enough to have me run a mile.

I live in a new build.

@TheFabulousSamathaJones

We have a thatched house. The cost to redo the whole roof is £70k. Gas and electricity is £550 a month. Building insurance is £2k a year because of thatch and grade 2 listing. Chimney sweep is needed twice a year to comply with insurers. Electrical safety check every 10 years is £££. However, some of those costs are because it’s a big house. we’ve been here years and it’s a much loved family home. I don’t regret it as we’ve been here 20 years but once we move I’m not sure I’d buy a thatched house again.

The one we are buying is not that grand :) yours sounds amazing. Re-thatch (straw, not reed) would be circa £25k and insurance around £600 (it isn't listed). But we don't have the £25k at the moment, we'd need a good 5 years + for that. I've seen the receipt for the recent re-ridge and that was just under £6k which isn't too bad and that has 2 years warranty left on it.

Local thatcher is doing a survey for £150+VAT next week so we'll get an idea of the state of it alongside the actual house survey.

@MotherofAutism

Personally aside from the financial aspect, I wouldn't want my small child in a fundamentally freezing cold property. My grandmother's house was like this and I cannot tell you how awful the cold was in winter. She had a fire in every room and we adored her but my godddd the cold. I can still feel it when I think of that (otherwise fabulous) house. Your hands & toes were permanently cold no matter what you did. Getting out of baths were plain torture! I was used to a warm house at home.

She ended up with Rheumatoid Arthritis & terrible Asthma which may not be caused by exposure to cold, but it was certainly made much worse by it.

Also the many, many Spider nests that will be sat in that thatched roof 😱 🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷This alone would be enough to have me run a mile.

I live in a new build.

Did it have central heating though? I have lived in a cottage without central heating and that was really cold. But cottages with central heating are not as cold as that! We viewed it on a very cold day in Feb and without the fires lit it was toasty warm - it has a modern Worcester Bosch oil boiler with radiators so we aren't worried about it being especially cold (although will be draughty for sure), just the cost of heating it to a nice level.

Thatch is definitely marmite though I agree and not for everyone. I'm not worried about spiders as the cats like to eat them :D

Sounds like a cold money pit. That energy rating is very bad and will cost you a fortune to heat in winter. And all that heat will just escape your house as no double glazing. Have you checked that you can put double glazing in eventually? That there isn't a protection on the windows in place or something stupid like that ? The thatched roof is also a big worry. As beautiful as they are, finding someone/a company who has a decent thatching experience to maintain/repair them are becoming more and more rare. It could be a huge ball ache in regards to fire regulations and building/contented insurance too (which tend to cost more because of the type of roof). I wouldn't necessarily pull out but you need to be realistic about what you're buying. It sounds like a house with many problems in the present but also in the future due to its age. It will always cost you a lot of money to maintain because older house do cost more to maintain compared to new builds but you know this already. Sounds like you have been dreaming of a beautiful house like this but just beware of the honeymoon phase ending. Sounds like the school and village location are important to you so go for it but be prepared for all your money to potentially go into the house and insurance, utility bills, etc... which are only going up and up each year. The government wants to ban gas energy in the next decade or two, think about what will replace this and could it be harder/more expensive to install in a thatched property?

Love how people are saying if it doesn't work out you can just sell it. Like that would be no hassle at all. Even if you wait a year and the house has risen by £50k it's not guaranteed with all its problems that you'll have a quick, stress free sale. Moving costs so much both financially and emotionally, and with school looming, op would be feeling the pressure even more to move before primary starts. Plus, you've lost money in the meantime with the additional move no matter how you look at it.

Schools, villages and catchment areas aren't the only things that matter. What if op comes to resent the house in her day to day life ? Or is consumed by prices on everything increasing and thus can't even enjoy the house ? The move sounds very risky and op needs to be aware of that. I suspect if she's asking on here perhaps her gut is trying to tell her it doesn't feel right ? We've all been there - it's hard to let go of that dream house when the reality of it not being right for you is knocking at your door.

Just re read your post and it's oil heating ! Sorry but if this was me, that alone is a big enough reason to not buy the house. Too risky.

It's so bizarre that so many Mumsnet posters are encouraging this purchase. "Putting on a jumper and eating soup" makes financial difficulties sound like a Famous Five adventure. They're really not. OP, read the business pages. Quite apart from energy prices, look at commodity prices. A major correction is coming. It was coming before Ukraine, let alone what's going to happen now. This is an appalling time to stretch yourself. This house will be cheaper in six months.

Also, it's getting harder and harder to insure thatched houses, so have a look at that too.

@Wilfulchaos

It's so bizarre that so many Mumsnet posters are encouraging this purchase. "Putting on a jumper and eating soup" makes financial difficulties sound like a Famous Five adventure. They're really not. OP, read the business pages. Quite apart from energy prices, look at commodity prices. A major correction is coming. It was coming before Ukraine, let alone what's going to happen now. This is an appalling time to stretch yourself. This house will be cheaper in six months.

The OP is not struggling financially. She has zero options for schools and childcare if they stay where they are and houses in this location come up rarely

If she wants to move there, this might be her only chance.

Incidentally, posters on MN have been predicting a market correction for years. Still not happened.

This is an appalling time to stretch yourself

I’ve never heard of a 50% LTV being “stretching yourself” on a property purchase

@MotherofAutism

Personally aside from the financial aspect, I wouldn't want my small child in a fundamentally freezing cold property. My grandmother's house was like this and I cannot tell you how awful the cold was in winter. She had a fire in every room and we adored her but my godddd the cold. I can still feel it when I think of that (otherwise fabulous) house. Your hands & toes were permanently cold no matter what you did. Getting out of baths were plain torture! I was used to a warm house at home.

She ended up with Rheumatoid Arthritis & terrible Asthma which may not be caused by exposure to cold, but it was certainly made much worse by it.

Also the many, many Spider nests that will be sat in that thatched roof 😱 🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷This alone would be enough to have me run a mile.

I live in a new build.

I live in/near the Cotswolds and adore the look of our local thatched cottages.

I've always longed for a thatched cottage.....but it has never ever occurred to me that there would be a ton of spiders lodging in the thatch.

Thatched cottages can piss right off now.

misses point of thread

Spiders, mice, squirrels, rats and wasp are all attracted to thatch, I love looking at thatched cottages they are so pretty but I could not cope with the insect issue and I would be constantly worried about it catching fire.

How would you feel if tomorrow (or later today, looking at the time!) you had been gazumped! The owner sold to someone else…

Relief or gut wrenching heartache??

Sometimes when we have a few options, we rightly dither, not knowing what is best, it’s the biggest purchase of your life so that’s only natural.

Search your feelings! On here you’ll get the totally risk averse along side the cavalier. Only you, young Skywalker, can walk this path.

@Thursday37 No it had no heating at all, just the fires. It was a 1930's semi 🧊 ❄️

Just a quick update - we're still in progress as there's a little restrictive covenant issue to resolve (nothing drastic, but seems the vendors need indemnity for a shed). We also need an up to date electrics cert, that is something we aren't budging on.

But the survey was really encouraging - small amount of damp due to lack of surface water drainage - needs a french drain around the back and new doors/windows (we knew they were poor) - nothing above a 2 and the majority of the house a 1 (1 being fine-normal maintenance required, 3 being a major cause of concern, get a quote).

Thatcher survey also really good - thatch is all in very good order, ridge required in 8-10 years and new thatch 15 years+. There's some moss on the north face to be taken off in a few years but not a big issue. Chimney pots where the open fires are could do with being bigger apparently, but the stacks themselves are ok.

So fingers crossed we will be going ahead. I feel less anxious now. A kitchen, windows and doors in a couple of years and a bit of small ditch digging this year is all not too scary.

id move to the dream house and wear extra jumpers