In a mess, deeper and deeper...

bluebeary

you say it is near a council estate, that might be an issue for different reasons and im am really not trying to put you off but how many of the houses around the house you are interested in are actually bought ?

in my experience, people are more likely to be looking after their properties if they are bought/ paying a mortgage than if they are renting from the lha/ council etc, not all of them but there is that thing also, ours was the only bought one in the immediate vicinity, is there anyway you can find out how long the current owner has lived there, why are they moving ? what do they say about the neighbours and are their any disputes which need to be declared by law

i feel like im trying to put you off but i wish someone had asked me these questions just over two years ago now, i dont want to put a dampner on your situation/ area which i know nothing about

safesound

Walk away. I get the feeling you've only offered on it because its what you can afford rather than what you want.
When I bought my house (ftb) I had a mental list of the things that I needed; big garden, three double bedrooms, quiet area. The house I ended up buying has a tiny garden, two bedrooms and a tiny little box room and its on a busy main road, but I love it anyway and knew the second I came in to view it that I would be enormously happy here. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if the house was right for you then you wouldn't be having these doubts. You *will* know when you come across the right house, but from what you've said so far this isn't it.

breadlinebetty

I think Blueberry hit the nail on the head about it being on a council estate. It sounds like you'ge got used to the house you're in (which is private) and buyng on a council estate could be making you jittery wuthout you even being aware of it. Of course, there's plenty of lovely council tenants who also keep their properties clean etc, but unfortunately there are some who seem to have the mentality that cos it's council property and doesn't belong to them, they don't care how it looks from the outside.

Maybe worried about 'problem families' on the area, or just the fact it's a council estate and you feel it's not good enough? I understand that lots of people do their utmost to move out of council estates and move up the ladder, so when you said you were worried about your daughter etc coming home from school with friends maybe you feel slightly embarrassed or something?

Whatever, something is bothering you. Have you a link?

By the way, it's true you can't change the location - and I'm afraid location is paramount when it comes to selling. As for neighbours, you can't change them either - but you can move to a place where the neighbours are lovely, and 1 year later they move and the neighbours from HELL move in! So as far as neighbours go - NO-ONE ever has any guarantees on that one. Friend of mine bought a lovely place , lovely neighbours all around, 9 months later the neighbours from hell moved in across the road and made everyone's life total hell.

Davesnave

I think you are most worried about letting the vendors down, but you should not be. Every transaction needs a cooling off period, and it looks to me as if you have cooled off!

Many people pull out of buying a house because either logic or gut feelings tell them their first decision wasn't right. Of course the vendors won't be pleased, but you shouldn't enter into a massive financial undertaking just because it temporarily upsets someone.

We 'sold' our house 4 times in the last downturn and lost about £50k in the process, but we're not bitter towards those who pulled out. Life is what people make of it. Lord knows where we'd be now if our first sale had gone through.

BigTrouble_2

breadlinebetty wrote: »

I think Blueberry hit the nail on the head about it being on a council estate. It sounds like you'ge got used to the house you're in (which is private) and buyng on a council estate could be making you jittery wuthout you even being aware of it. Of course, there's plenty of lovely council tenants who also keep their properties clean etc, but unfortunately there are some who seem to have the mentality that cos it's council property and doesn't belong to them, they don't care how it looks from the outside.

Maybe worried about 'problem families' on the area, or just the fact it's a council estate and you feel it's not good enough? I understand that lots of people do their utmost to move out of council estates and move up the ladder, so when you said you were worried about your daughter etc coming home from school with friends maybe you feel slightly embarrassed or something?

Whatever, something is bothering you. Have you a link?

I'd rather not post the link if you don't mind - and the link wouldn't give any indication of the area. The house itself is lovely.

I rent the ex-council house which is very close to the one I am thinking of buying so I know the area. It is OK but I do feel embarrassed a bit about living here. It is fine if it rented and cheap at that. And yet, properties here sell and sell quickly - some of them - and some don't.

All houses (identical apart from the immediate surroundings) sold for 25-45K more than the price we offered on this one. Some were extended, some had a better curb appeal. A house next door to us is up for rent at £400 more than what we pay (identical house).

I really wish I knew for sure that I wouldn't sell it at a loss should I need to - truth is, I cannot be certain of that. And I cannot afford to lose money on the sale because my salary is 15K and my husband's is 40K - so with this money, our only chance of buying and moving up the ladder is SAVE money, rather take on a bigger mortgage. That's how we are able to buy this one - we have a 30% deposit.

BigTrouble_2

bluebeary wrote: »

you say it is near a council estate, that might be an issue for different reasons and im am really not trying to put you off but how many of the houses around the house you are interested in are actually bought ?

in my experience, people are more likely to be looking after their properties if they are bought/ paying a mortgage than if they are renting from the lha/ council etc, not all of them but there is that thing also, ours was the only bought one in the immediate vicinity, is there anyway you can find out how long the current owner has lived there, why are they moving ? what do they say about the neighbours and are their any disputes which need to be declared by law

i feel like im trying to put you off but i wish someone had asked me these questions just over two years ago now, i dont want to put a dampner on your situation/ area which i know nothing about

It is actually ON the council estate. But private houses are more expensive and are smaller at that.

BigTrouble_2

Can I even afford to pull out? With combined income of 55K, what's the biggest mortgage we can realistically take? Right now it is going to be 175K - is that about right? Because any other house will be 30K more expensive at least - can we afford a bigger mortgage to even think of buying a different property?

Or shall we buy this one, wait for 3 years, build up more equity than what we are saving currently, and THEN go for a dream house, whatever it will be like?

Maybe I am not really in a position of being fussy here, realistically?