Doubts re buying leasehold and now survey issues

[PygmyPuff]

Looking for some advice/ thoughts/ a friendly ear!
We have sold our 2 bed freehold house, moving areas, into 3 bed leasehold maisonette… everything going through nicely
Had homebuyers report back yesterday, went to view property again today… damp on walls that was not evident before, report is saying roof needs repairing (though also saying tiles may be asbestos?!) chimney breast and external walls also need repairing, signs of damp in all rooms but the 2 small bedrooms.. all of these are level 3/ red/ needs attention
Along with electrics, gas and water needing checking (also level 3 but easily rectified)
some level 2 things relating to wood boring beetles in loft, windows not too great and some other bits
We need to get the work quoted but my worry is how much of a potential headache it could all be, repairs get split 50/50 between the maisonette and the downstairs property
Dont know whether to go on with it, there aren’t really any other properties in our budget in our chosen area, we already are having to sacrifice certain things/ choose between
Thought this would be the best thing to do this now while the children are still young but maybe it’s best to wait until I’m back at work properly and we have a bigger budget to work with
Any advice or thoughts would be so appreciated ❤️

If it were me I would wait as you suggest and get something you really want with the bigger budget when you are working again.

It sounds as though there’s quite a bit of work to address which would put me off for starters. Lastly I really would not want a leasehold maisonette, but a freehold house. Nothing wrong with LH maisonette I had one when younger.

If you can make your current house work for the time being I’d stick with it. When you say sold I’m assuming you mean you’re under offer etc.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and replying. I feel so isolated at the moment and so confused with what to do for the best so I really appreciate your response. Yes our current house is under offer, I hate the thought of letting the buyer down 😞 but I have a lot of growing reservations with it all. Maybe it just isn’t the right time
Thanks again xx

I understand you don’t want to let your buyer down and that’s commendable. But it’s such a big decision and you need to do what’s best for you and your family. Try as hard as you can to take the emotion out of it and think of it as a business transaction.

Everything you are saying is indicating that it’s not the right purchase for you. Sometimes this happens. I nearly bought a house where after the initial offer I felt pleased, then gradually it was gnawing away that it wasn’t right. Lack of planning approval etc made me pull out, but actually the house was wrong and I ended up buying a much more suitable house.

Listen to your gut feelings. They are there for a reason and are telling you something. Yes your buyers will be disappointed but sorry that’s life. I’ve also had a buyer pull out on the day of exchange so you aren’t doing that!

Properties come and go. There will be a future one for you that is more suitable by the sounds of it and at a better time. From what you’ve said I would stay put and reevaluate at a future point. I’m assuming your children are young and can continue sharing a room for a while longer.

As my late mum used to say. “It will all sort itself out in the wash”.
Good luck and if you do decide not to proceed with your sale etc just stick to your guns and don’t be browbeaten by the estate agent. They’ve seen it all before remember.

Moving kids into a house with damp is not a concession I would want to make. Idk how bad it is, but I wouldn't mess with young kid's respiratory health. But then I was exposed to mould which trigged M.E. that I have not been able to shake off for seven years. So I would say that.

It sounds as though you are having to talk yourself into it and I don't think that's enough reason to move.

Perhaps your buyers would want to hold on until you find something else. You can always offer them the option.

Wait a while longer and what you can afford will hopefully be cheaper.

Wouldn't touch leasehold with a barge pole, particularly in the current climate. You need to be able to have control over when and if to spend on maintenance. I had a leasehold property at one time which was managed by a property company who it as a way of keeping the builders fully employed. Allsorts of unnecessary works got billed to us. Works that were needed were done in house so no comparative quotes sought so we paid way over the odds.

Back out now. We did on a house with similar problems, found a nice place months later. Dampness and your families health are too important. Leasehold is also to be avoided

Thank you @friendlycat I feel so much lighter now. It’s useful to hear your experiences, it sounds as though fate did play a part for you, and I’m a great believer in gut feelings too. I love the wise words from your mum ❤️ Thank you for sharing that
Thank you again for some really helpful advice xx

@KievLoverTwo I’m sorry that you had to experience that. Mould is an emotional trigger for me as I grew up in a really damp house. We had some problems in this house last autumn which was due to a combination of blocked/ knackered gutters (fixed now) and delaying putting on the heating/ not airing out the house, drying the endless washing inside etc. And that was not good for my anxiety so it has really put me off with this new house. If we pull out of the sale then we will probably stay out for a while longer, as everything else is out of budget/ we’d be pretty cramped. Our current house isn’t huge but it’s manageable at the moment as the children are very young. Thank you so much for your advice xx

@Isthisreasonable That’s shocking that they were able to do that! I’m glad you eventually got out. Leaseholds do sound very complex, I admit I haven’t got much of a clue so I’m really grateful for your input, thank you! Xx

@justasking111 Thank you for sharing your experience, I’m glad it worked out for you in the end. It can be scary to buy a house without knowing exactly what you’re getting into, even the survey can only show so much, I think that’s what I’m afraid of, and I keep thinking ‘better the devil you know’ and telling myself it will work out. We just had our hearts set on having a fresh start. But maybe it just isn’t the right time
Thank you for your reply I appreciate it! Xx