Considering pulling out of deal

francohoops

Hi

We had an offer accepted on a house 2 months go. Vendors have now found somewhere and looking to exchange in May and complete in July.

Survey from bank came back and highlighted that it was ex-council. Ever since this we have been a bit nervous over whether to proceed (We were not explicitly told this when viewing house). We previously lived in an area with a lot of council estates and had issues selling the place for the same reason.

Feel quite bad, but it was only the 2nd place we looked at, we liked the house, but are worried that we may struggle to sell and could have potential issues with neighbourhood. The house was on market for 5 months and one nearby has also been on the market for quite a while.

Is this a really bad thing to do? As I said feel bad that we could waste people's time, but really don't want to end up making a mistake.

Advice appreciated!

F

J_i_m

If you are really unsure about it, then pulling out would be the right thing to do for you. The earlier the better as well because if you ooh and err about it there is more chance the vendor will feel utterly messed about.

Yorkie1

Many former council estates have significant numbers of owner occupiers now, I imagine, and therefore the proportion of 'council' properties will be lower.

5 months may not be a long time for houses to sell, and the council element may not be relevant at all - only you can tell that.

If you've done your homework on the area - by which I mean gone round there at different times of day and night and during the week - and it seems fine, then surely that is an important positive factor?

If you really are going to worry about selling in an indeterminate number of years' time, or about the neighbours, then only you know whether it will be an insurmountable problem for you to get your head round. But don't write this new house off simply on the basis of a previous, unrelated, bad experience and perhaps now old history.

jackomdj

Also remember a lot of old council estates where lots of people have bought may have a higher % of owners than a new estate where there has to be a percentage of affordable housing.

Having said that if you have any doubts I would pull out!

cattie

If it isn't immediately obvious that this is an ex council property I personally wouldn't worry. The properties that are harder to sell & receive lower prices than their private counterparts are the ones that are immediately obviously ex council & built on an estate.

So give it some thought & don't make any rash decisions until you are certain you want to pull out or proceed.

budgetdiyer

I don't really see the problem, you obviously did'nt realise it was an ex-council house so chances are future buyers would'nt either.

In my experience council houses tend to offer better room sizes and bigger gardens that similar aged properties. Whilst its true being an ex-local authority house might put some buyers off, equally the crowded aspect and pokey room sizes of most new estates will put some buyers off too.

Richard_Webster

If it isn't immediately obvious that this is an ex council property I personally wouldn't worry. The properties that are harder to sell & receive lower prices than their private counterparts are the ones that are immediately obviously ex council & built on an estate.

So give it some thought & don't make any rash decisions until you are certain you want to pull out or proceed.

I agree - or obvious ex-Council in very small groups on otherwise private roads.

However, if most people would've spotted the ex-Council nature of the property and OP simply didn't know how to tell - by design etc - then he needs to consider more carefully. Generally the house would be worth less than a comparable house on a private development and it will be question of deciding whether the cheaper price makes up for any perceived disadvantages and difficulties in selling etc.