AIBU to pull out of buying this house?

[BeQuaintLion]

Please be kind, no judgement about money please. I’ve come from very little and worked really hard for what I have. I know I’m lucky to be able to buy but this is a massive thing for me and I’m worried about getting it wrong.
Buying an older house for £250k. Mortgage offer is through, solicitors are doing their thing and now I’m having serious second thoughts.
I knew it needed work, wasn’t expecting to just move in and put my feet up. But looking at it properly I reckon it needs at least £70k just to bring it up to a basic liveable standard. No luxury finishes or anything fancy. Electrics, heating, kitchen, bathrooms, general repairs etc. The heating is currently disconnected too.
It’s in a former pit village and there are cracks in the house which are worrying me. I’ve also found out that land at the back was refused development, from what I understand because of mining concerns and contaminated land. I know that doesn’t automatically mean there’s anything wrong with this house or that the cracks are connected, but it’s made me much more nervous about them. I’m looking into a level 3 survey as I don’t know whether they’re cosmetic or something more serious.
There’s also a loft conversion where we still don’t know what approvals there are. It just feels like the further we get, the more questions there are.
I have savings for work but I don’t want to spend everything getting the house sorted and then find something else major needs doing. I’ve worked so hard to have some security, the thought of eating through it all is making me feel sick honestly.
We’d be looking at £320k between buying it and the basic work, before fees and whatever else crops up. I’m starting to wonder if I’ve got carried away seeing the potential and not really thought enough about what it’ll take to get there.
It’s been on the market about a year. Other houses nearby seem to have sold for similar money in much better condition which is making me question the price as well.
I keep thinking why don’t we just buy somewhere more liveable for the same money or less and do bits as we go? I work long hours and don’t know if I want all the stress of a big renovation on top.
Then I think am I just getting cold feet because it’s all becoming real now.
AIBU to walk away at this stage? Has anyone felt like this and been glad they pulled out? Or gone ahead and been glad they did? My head is all over the place with it.

It’s a business transaction it’s a massive purchase don’t just continue because you are worried about upsetting the seller.

You've identified so many issues.. You've also not had all the information you wanted disclosed or available. The council should have records of loft approval. If they don't - there's your answer.

However much you think the work would cost now.. have a contingency budget.

Be realistic, once you add on the cost of the work to the house price, could you buy somewhere that needs less work... then you can spend your doing up budget on nice flooring or furniture... trust me... that's more fun than spending it on hidden electrics, roofs or underground pipes.

I'd also be worried about subsidance.. very hard or expensive to insure for that.
Has your mortgage been approved yet?

If it was me - I'd keep looking. It sounds like a Money Pit.

When you say ‘mortgage sorted’ do you mean you have an AiP?

Because honestly I would be amazed if you could get a mortgage on a house in that state.

Anyway, it sounds a nightmare. Not just a money pit now but to sell on in the future, given the contaminated land etc

Don’t even feel bad about it. The processes such as surveys and searches are exactly so that you can make an informed decision. You didn’t know about some of these issues because the buyer didn’t tell you. Now you do!

They don’t have a right to be pissed off.

The OP discovered some pretty serious issues, which is what surveys and searches are for.

Sure they will be disappointed but this is a business transaction of a lot of money

Other houses nearby seem to have sold for similar money in much better condition which is making me question the price as well.

Why buy somewhere that will end up costing you so much more??

It would be an expensive mistake.

Absolutely fine to pull out.

i would walk away from this OP don’t be worried about upsetting the seller ( I speak from a little experience here on the other side of the fence!) we are selling my MILs house and it needs a shed load of work doing on it, it’s been priced to reflect that. The buyer visited several times and seemed very keen then we get the news that they decided to pull out after they realised that renovations were going to be major, take longer time due to availability of local tradespeople and felt they were taking on too much with jobs etc. Also there was a loft conversion done in the 1970’s we were missing the paperwork on that which I think really was the final straw! Whilst we were gutted we can’t blame them as we would be the same, you are investing a lot of money here and as others have said it always costs more than you think. You have the doubts and rightly so there are lots of red flags. There will be another house ❤️

Absolutely you pull out. It’s a business transaction and any offer is always subject to survey.
Why are you only considering a level 3 survey? That would be a must for a renovation project and worth every penny.
As it stands you can save the cost of the survey as you’ve already uncovered warning signs.
Alternatively you could get the survey and reduce your offer by a significant sum to help make the purchase work. But you don’t sound keen or confident for that option.
Pull out today and wait for a better option.

Some of what you’ve said is personal to you, like how much work you want to take on, your finances etc. That doesn’t mean they’re illegitimate or you are obliged to go through with the purchase, it’s huge and it has to be right. but they don’t make it a bad property.

But there are some things that are objectively making this look like a bad decision - the price of other houses suggests you’d be overpaying and won’t get a return on your investment in renovating / will hit the ceiling for the road or area. The contaminated land, depending on the details, might well make it hard to sell on and again affect the value. Those are objectively good reasons to walk away.

I would also walk away OP.

I’ve had two houses that needed just modernisation and they have cost £££. DD bought a Victorian house and so far unexpected costs have been £20k for new roof, brickwork, rendering and chimney removal, 3k for tanking a room and replastering, 5k to take a room back to brick, rewire, insulate as it’s vaulted and replaster. New joists and flooring needed in addition as they had rotted where they met the damp walls. Most of the other rooms will need to go back to brick and be rewired and replastered too. This is before you consider the obvious and expensive upgrades like bathrooms and kitchen.

This is absolutely not for the faint hearted or those without endless money, time or trade skills. DDs house was described as being well maintained by previous owners.

You will be sad for a bit, but I bet you will also be relieved. You don’t owe the sellers anything.

Run.

Do you know any tradesmen, can you do anything yourself?

If not then 70K is a underestimate, and I would be confident saying this without seeing the property - prices of material and labour has risen significantly.

I spent over £60k ten years ago doing a house up, it was awful to live through but I know it will be easy to sell when the time comes, it doesn’t sound like this one is.

In your shoes I would back out now.

This sounds like a money pit.

The contaminated land would bother me.

Yes, its shit, but I would pull out of this one.

If you are already worrying about this and thinking its a mistake then it probably is. The worry you will feel when you own it will be worse.

Old houses are cold and prone to damp also and are pretty high maintenance just to live in it, even when its done up. I know, I lived in one for 16 years and sold it last year to move to something that was warmer and less needy.

Trust your gut feelings and instinct on this one.

Its a lot of money to throw at something that may have never ending costs.

Good Luck OP.

Because she hadn’t had the survey revealing it all yet Einstein

I would walk away @BeQuaintLion and no need to feel guilty. These issues are what searches and surveys are for - identifying and giving you the opportunity to make a more informed decision on any purchase.

If the house has been on the market for that long and the wider planning rejection for the land behind is known by the vendor (I would put money on them being aware either through local news, council updates or previous viewings), a decision to pass won’t be a surprise.

Pull out OP. You’ll be taking on all these additional problems. It’s not the place for you and another will come up.

Walk away OP. Too many red flags.

Renovating an old house is exhausting, disruptive and always end up costing more than planned as you will undoubtedly start finding new issues as you start fixing the obvious ones...

In your case try to find something that just needs cosmetic updating rather than a full on renovation and maybe expand your search to new locations.

They kind of do, not with OP but just with the whole sad situation. Lost their parents possibly before they expected. Got a second home to deal with against their wishes and are suddenly having to pay all the bills and everything on it. Now finding buyers not wanting it because it has issues they didn't even know about. Probably spending more money that they have on their parent's death and now faced with a buyer pulling out, months more of bills and things they can't afford. It's a horrible situation to be in, especially if parent(s) have let the house go a bit and you haven't realised. Of course it is OPs fault, but it's probably a disaster for the seller that they literally have no control over.

You're not being unreasonable at all. The sentence that stands out to me is "the further we get, the more questions there are" - from viewing older places I'd say that direction of travel rarely reverses. Houses usually get simpler in your head the more you learn about them, not more complicated, and when it goes the other way it's worth listening to.

On the specifics: cracks plus a former pit village plus refused development at the back is a combination I'd want proper answers on before exchanging, not after. A full structural survey (not just the mortgage valuation) and a mining report would tell you weather the cracks are historic settlement or something ongoing. If the loft conversion has no sign-off you can also ask the seller to get indemnity insurance, which is cheap and common.

The money point feels like the real heart of it though. Wanting to keep a cushion after the work isn't greed, it's just sensible - a house that eats every penny you have leaves you one boiler failure away from real trouble. £250k plus £70k plus fees is only a good deal if the house is actually sound, and right now you don't know that it is.

Whatever you decide, pulling out before exchange costs you the survey and legal fees and nothing more. Annoying, but a rounding error compared to buying the wrong house.

The kite flyers trying to sell don"t deserve much sympathy IMO, walk away, this is overpriced.

LOL, take it easy Mr. Holmes.

I wouldnt touch anything that was adjacent to contaminated land. Contamination moves through the soil with water, it doesnt just stop at a property boundary.

There will be another house for you. Its not a decision between this one and no house ever.

You have worked hard to build up that money, spend it carefully