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Backing out of house sale

2456712

Comments

  • Consider why you were moving in the first place. What if your son moves next year? Will you regret staying put then?
  • Legal position = you don't owe your buyer anything

    Moral position = you owe your buyer everything they have spent so far to buy your house and a darn big apology.

    Your own solicitor/estate agent = ask them how much you owe them if they stopped work on the sale right now and pay it.
  • Old_Git
    Old_Git Posts: 4,751 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Cashback Cashier
    discuss it with your son before you make any decision .They may be happy for you to stay or even happier for you to move.
    "Do not regret growing older, it's a privilege denied to many"
  • ash28
    ash28 Posts: 1,789 Forumite
    Mortgage-free Glee! Debt-free and Proud!
    Have you discussed it with your son / daughter in law? Do they want you to stay?

    I have a number of friends whose retirement has been blighted because they live near their grandchildren.....childcare, babysitting and generally being at the beck and call of families. Not that I'm saying that would happen to you or if it did that you would mind....but some people do and are frightened to say anything. So think hard about what's best for you.

    You say "we", what does your partner think of this, do they want to stay or do they still want to move?

    If everyone wants you or wants stay then just pull out - we had a buyer pull out on the morning of exchange........!!!! happens.
  • skylight
    skylight Posts: 10,720 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker Home Insurance Hacker!
    Have you spoken to your son and DIL? They may have made plans to move nearer to where you are moving to! Speak to them first but do not make any hasty decisions - don't exchange either though

    All those reasons as to why you were moving in the first place will still be there, baby or not. And its your life, that you cannot put on hold because of a new baby (which sounds very harsh) x
  • ethank
    ethank Posts: 2,197 Forumite
    Holiday Haggler I've been Money Tipped!
    You need to remember what your reasons for moving in the first place were. As long as you feel happy that those reasons no longer apply to you, then you are doing the right thing in staying put.

    If I had granchildren, I would want to be close as possible.
  • ognum
    ognum Posts: 4,879 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I think you are being over emotional about this. It is a buisness deal, you are not bound into it until you have exchanged contracts. You will have incurred some costs and so will your buyers.

    Simply phone and say you do not wish to proceed, you do not have to give a reason. You may upset people but it will be short term and you have to do what's right for you!
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Personally, I think the suddenness and the pressure of time are making you panic. Let the buyer and the seller go hang for a few days; if they are really keen they will give you space.

    The others to be considered here are principally your family members, who deserve to be consulted calmly. Your partner, in particular, may be secretly alarmed at having to alter his plans at short notice, whatever he's saying right now. He may come around to it, or he may reflect on all those other grandparents who seem to manage, even though they are 100 miles from their offspring.

    It's clearly a huge change in your circumstances, but in your present emotional state you are not best placed to meet others on equal terms and work out what you should do.
  • whitewing
    whitewing Posts: 11,852 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I think people may be upset but will understand if you tell them the reason, at this stage I think it would be courteous to tell the truth.

    We moved back to be nearer family when my son was 5. We moved slightly too close (same town). I wish now that we have moved to a nearby town but I definitely did the right thing in being nearby in terms of our children having easy relationships with all generations. That said, DS lives hundreds of miles from paternal grandparents and still has an excellent relationship with them.
    :heartsmil When you find people who not only tolerate your quirks but celebrate them with glad cries of "Me too!" be sure to cherish them. Because these weirdos are your true family.
  • BobQ
    BobQ Posts: 11,181 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    The OP asked for information. Not a lecture on the morality of the decision. Telling her to wait a few days, apologise, etc is unhelpful at best and irrelevant at best.
    Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.
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