Withdrawing an offer

penguine

We pulled out of a house purchase in 2008 shortly before exchange. The EA had pressured us into making an offer quickly and we were so anxious about moving out of our flat and into a house that we overlooked the fact that the property wasn't that great. We started getting doubts after having the survey done and learning more about the house – nothing all that serious, just realising that it wasn't the right property for us, it was probably overpriced and that our inexperience had made us rush into making an offer before we should have done.

It was embarrassing at the time but we looked at other properties through the same EA in subsequent years and they never seemed not to take us seriously as buyers. But most importantly I've never regretted not buying that house (and it sold a few months later to a buy-to-let investor for £40k less than we'd offered).

fairy_lights

My OH went to the estate agents this morning and withdrew our offer. He explained our reasons and they were very understanding, and even recommended we view another property that has just come on their books so it doesn't look like they've got us down as timewasters, thankfully.
Spoke to our mortgage advisor and it looks like we've stopped it early enough that we won't incur any fees, though there's a possibility we will have to pay for the valuation if it's already been done but I'd rather lose a few hundred pounds now than a few thousand down the line.
It's been a stressful few days but feel certain we've made the right decision now.