FTB close to exchange but offered on another house

[iwasgonnasay]

We’re FTB close to exchange but a much better house in a preferable location opened up (more than ours by 25k)
We posted a letter through their door because their agent is our agent already and asked if they would accept the lower amount, of what we already have a solid mortgage offer for.

Anyone had an offer accepted when approaching directly?

The system really sucks in the UK. I mean, the sellers of your current "offered on" could pull out tomorrow too and you wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. Then you'd be gutted that you hadn't tried to get the one that's just come up.

As a seller, I would automatically rule you out as purchasers.

The English system of house purchasing relies on trust (which is why it breaks so often) and you have outed yourself as untrustworthy from the off.

Knowing you were prepared to pull out of another chain and collapse it at the last moment - and going about it in an underhand way - would put a red flag against you, and make me very uneasy about your behaviour if eg the survey threw up problems.

(You do sound dangerously naive about why this property is affordable, tbh. You would, I would hope, get a full survey done?)

Same. I would prefer a lower offer than risk months waiting to see if someone was going to actually commit to exchanging this time

Don't be silly. Of course people will sell to them if they've got the money. Everyone's money is the same, you don't have to respect or like or think your buyers are good people.

If you're buying or selling under the current E&W law then you need to be fully aware that at any point until exchange either party can pull out, however much has been spent on surveys etc. It's just the way it is and it happens all the time. It doesn't make someone immoral if they do it, whether they're the seller or the buyer.

If OP pulls out the seller has lost a sale but hasn't lost any actual money, they just go back on the market. No chain so no one else affected.

More annoying, but again not immoral because it's perfectly legal, is when sellers pull out. This happened to my son and DIL last year, they'd paid for full survey, had builder out etc, solicitor had everything ready for exchange, then with no explanation seller took the house off the market. Luckily their buyer was prepared to wait and they luckily found a much better house a few months later. They lost all the money paid out but didn't go round calling the seller immoral or a shit, because it's just part of the potential issues that can arise.

Wow, what a CF. 4 months is very reasonable! I hope karma gets you.

Well they are FTBs so they’ll probably learn lessons from this case. I expect they’ll lose both houses now. Next time they might not be so capricious.

I disagree. I think FTB are in the strong position at the moment - to be able to pick and choose and have the flexibility to change their minds. If you need to sell its tougher at the moment.

Possibly in some areas with some houses. A desirable house is a cheaper one that needs modernising - lots of buyers will have their eyes on that. And most won’t offer much under asking, if at all. Still these are the lessons one learns through experience.

I think using past trends as experience may not be that helpful at the moment. Houses that need modernising used to be more desirable I would agree. But the costs of modernising have taken a huge leap forward, even if you have the time and experience to do it yourself. I see that locally houses that would, in the past, have been ideal candidates needing refurbishment are not selling. In times gone by they were snapped up, but not at the moment. You are right though that as always it varies from area to area.

You’ve said the latest house is very appealing in the area so what make you think someone wouldn’t come in over your offer and take it from you?

I agree do what’s right for your family but there is no way if someone comes along and offers the asking price, or over it that the sellers won’t go with them and leave you back to square one.

that would be my main concern. You have to do what’s best for your family absolutely, but this is a risky move indeed

Same

I agree with this , OP don’t beat yourself up about this as nothing is finalised until you have actually exchanged- and everyone who has bought or sold a house knows this!

Every single one of the posters on this thread who is acting all high and mighty and moral would absolutely sell out every other poster here if it financially benefited them and we all know it !

A house purchase is the biggest financial commitment you will ever make, and if you end up in house that isn’t quite right it can be very stressful and costly, if you have seen something which suits your needs better absolutely go for it.

My bit of extra advice would be if you are still finding better houses then the one you are currently in the process of buying isn’t the right one for you - I would pull out of that one anyway, and if you aren’t successful with the new find then you can still keep looking for the right one.

‘Every single one of the posters on this thread who is acting all high and mighty and moral would absolutely sell out every other poster here if it financially benefited them and we all know it !’

Thats just not true. But it says a lot about you.

That’s true actually. Cost of labour and materials has gone up astronomically hasn’t it. Like everything else..

My bit of extra advice would be if you are still finding better houses then the one you are currently in the process of buying isn’t the right one for you - I would pull out of that one anyway, and if you aren’t successful with the new find then you can still keep looking for the right one.
I don't think the OP can do this though, as she says that the reason she took the house that she isn't as keen on is that she is living with family who themselves want to move and so is under pressure to move out.

You keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.

I call bollocks. Anyone who would rather see their own family disadvantaged in order to advantage another family is either a fool or a liar.

Ah well the fact you can’t even imagine or contemplate doing the right thing, says a lot also. Scary stuff.

What is the “right thing” though , and for who ?

The language you use is very interesting-

Ah well the fact you can’t even imagine or contemplate doing the right thing, says a lot also. Scary stuff

It seems you are rather missing my point - it’s incredibly easy to imagine and contemplate being generous even at the expense of your own family.

The reality of course is somewhat different.

Realistically many of us who would happily go out of our way to help others out day to day and put them first when the stakes are relatively low will do what's in our own interests if hundreds of thousands of pounds and housing security is on the table. To put a stranger first in that situation wouldn't be sensible.

The buying and selling process in England and Wales is a nightmare, and I doubt many people get through it without some sort of stress, and most of us have had a sale fall through at some point in the process at least once. It's a risk we take. If I were your seller, OP, I'd obviously be devastated to lose a sale at the last minute, and I'd be out of pocket, and probably cursing you to heaven to everyone I knew. But as a buyer with the opportunity to get the perfect house for me over a less-perfect one I'd pull out of my planned sale because the big picture is that you shouldn't be taking on a huge financial and life commitment just to save someone else's feelings. And I say that as an inveterate people pleaser.

Having been caught up in house buying for a year and having two sales fall through - one due to a seller and one because we’ve pulled out because the seller and the estate agent don’t seem to be able to tell the truth, you come to realise literally nobody will think twice about fucking you over if the time comes and it makes them money. It’s an awful awful system,

The OP has every right to behave like this. They have the right to do it covertly rather than having the courage to do it openly via the Estate Agents.

However as a seller I also have a right to say ‘this is not a trustworthy buyer’ and not accept the offer, simply because of how it came about and the buyers’ circumstances. That’s not a ‘moral’ judgement, but a pragmatic one based on my perception of the likelihood of this sale moving smoothly to exchange / completion with a demonstrably flaky buyer.

Karma will bite you on the bum.
Why do I get the feeling you're a man?

OP, you are not doing anything wrong. You've not yet signed a contract so you have every right to change your mind before committing to such a big purchase.
You've clearly explained your reasons. I would do no more; no further explanation or justification is required. It's disappointing for the seller but the house buying process allows for this, right up until the signing of contracts.