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.

Contaminated land? OMG, run away very fast from this, tell them today.

If it’s all cosmetic then you probably won’t need to spend £70k unless you want a luxury finish and only hire trades people instead of DIY. Get a survey and/or get a builder round to have a look.

Walk away

This!!!!

OP.. When you say 'land at the back was refused development, from what I understand because of mining concerns and contaminated land' I assume you mean land not connected with the property or its garden but wasteland nearby? If that's the case and you still want the house I'd wait for surveys and if anything crops up negotiate a reduction.

Renovating a house is not for the faint of heart. I'd pull out unless you actually feel up for the challenge, which you do not sound like you are.

The other option would be to go ahead with the survey and then revise your offer, and the vendor can then take it or leave it, but I'd only do that if you're genuinely excited and up for the building project, which will take more money and time than you estimate. Always does.

They can be pissed off, absolutely, but you don't have to sign on the dotted line for £250k just so someone else isn't disappointed. This is the system, it's not personal. Do what is right for you, not what upsets the least people.

I keep thinking why don’t we just buy somewhere more liveable for the same money or less and do bits as we go? Yeah - go with that.

We've recently moved house and had 2 buyers pull out on us while selling our house, wasting months of our time and lots of our money. They pulled out for reasons that were obvious- one said he'd decided it was too big. I'd actually said to him when he viewed, and told me he wanted it during the viewing, "It's a big place for one person". The others didn't like the fact it was listed and they couldn't have upvc windows- which I told them when they viewed!! They also didn't like the smell of the cellar, which unsurprisingly smelt like a cellar! Your reasons are completely understandable OP, and nobody could blame you for pulling out.

Absolutely not!

If they can't give you the information you need on building regs and reason for cracks, etc and it all doesn't get explained in the searches and by the surveyor, at the very least I would be looking for a substantial price reduction. If that doesn't happen I would walk away. it sounds like you may have not been given the full picture when you decided to buy. If the land behind is subject to movement due to mining it would seem pretty likely the cracks in your house are due to that too, if it's historic and stable it might be fine, but in some ways why take the risk?

Our first house was a money pit - survey threw up very little in our case.

We moved in thinking new boiler - new boiler had to be moved to new lcoation so cost three times as much doing that showed serioudsly dodgy electrics so had to re-wire then windows failed - in end we spent a small fortune when most strapped for cash and then Dh job changed took ages to sell and sold very much under what we paid - the money was all in unseen basics.

Next house has needed very little and they made us less stressed and freed up more money.

So if you have doubts and it looks expensive walk away now and look again at your options.

It is land that is abutting the house (at the rear of the garden separated by a fence )

Mines are another massive red flag, do you want to throw all this money away then have to move because there has been a collapse? You will be compensated a fraction of what you paid for the house, there are plenty of houses to buy, why this one?

Good advice, don"t buy a money pit next to an old pit!

It's one thing to take on a do er upper ... knowing that you can improve the value.

But this isn't just a do er upper.. There are issues at the bottom of your garden!.
if the mining land investigations are making you doubt the purchase.... what willl that do to the buyer you eventually want to sell to...?

So much will be invested in things that are necessary but don't actually make much difference to the appearance of the house. How much of a profit would you make once you've invested all that money and time in it? Are the nearby houses an easy sell.. .This one has been on the market for a year for a reason.

Imagine your sibling or best friend wanted to buy this place. What would you tell them.. go ahead?

I think you might be able to google what insurance costs in this row of houses.. Or get a quote now.. I'm sure there must be a way to investigate the mine issues. Maybe others on this thread have some ideas. But having lived in a money pit... I think you should avoid this one.

Surveys are meant to highlight issues like these and you can adjust your offer accordingly or walk away, in this case I would be walking away. Cracks in a house in a mining area would be a huge red flag.

You have no obligations to the seller by making an offer.

Very few people will be able to outrun rising mortgage rates or get a value uplift "doing work" now even if looking for cash buyers, the cost of the work means you will be looking at big losses in this market IMO.

I’d back out now, it’s still early days.

Do the highest level survey and make your mind up based on that.

The words cracks and mining would be the deal breaker for me ! Subsidence is very very expensive mk

Yanbu, please don’t keep pouring money into searches and surveys when you have such serious concerns. Probate properties are often a nightmare.

I would go back to the agent and say that the house is clearly overvalued as so many very significant problems were not disclosed. Since it appears the seller had not known about these problems and can’t give a clear answer about the loft, the heating or the electrics you are pulling out. If the seller wants to take on board all the information revealed by the searches and puts the property back on the market at a more realistic value - perhaps you’d be interested, but the issues of land contamination are so worrying that you aren’t sure it’s a wise purchase.

that is very sensible advice.

The old adage applies here - "Let the buyer beware "

I don't understand how this house is ever going to be able to (a) get a mortgage, (b) be insurable in an affordable way, and (c) 'pass' a survey, relating to (a) and (b). Then there's Local Authority building control standards to think about. The whole thing to me screams 'cash buyers only, massively reduced price for estate sale'.

The mortgage company have issued an offer but imposed special conditions that the cracks must be thoroughly investigated and extensive mining searches done. They have also issued the offer on assumption that alterations inside the property have had relevant permissions and been signed off etc.

That would put me off instantly, OP - I would withdraw based on that alone.