Pulling out of a house...

Miss_S_2

Hi, I'm hoping someone can offer me some sound advice to put my head at rest. We sold our property at the end of last year and have been renting since. We have looked at a few properties and liked them initially, then backed away from them before offering.

We saw one we liked last week and put in an offer the next day. We didn't view it twice but used to live on the estate so no it pretty well. The offer wasn't accepted, another note of interest was received and it went to a closing date the following week.

In order to secure the property our solicitor advised a price which we offered. This is over the valuation of the property and over the price that other properties have gone for in the street. The offer was accepted and while I still like the house I'm have severe anxiety about continuing the process, but I can't work out if I have true concerns about the property or whether it is just unharnessed anxiety and all will be ok once we move in.

I have never been like this in the past, I can't sleep, can't eat, feel sick all the time, sore tummies, shaking, cold, sweating.

Some other facts, we lost £15K on our previous property (a new build) on the same estate and I am worried about losing more money and feel silly for offering so much, why did we do that?

While we may not need to sell again, the local area are planning to build thousands of houses which may affect catchment areas and would mean we would need to sell, my partner's job is constantly uncertain. We had got used to this but now that we have offered more for a property if anything does go wrong I'm worried that we will lose money if we need to sell. There are plans for some kind of track at the back of the house, this has been underway since 2001 and we were confident it would come to nothing but now new plans have been resubmitted.

I know I have been very silly offering over the valuation, I wish I could go back to last Wednesday and offer with my head. There is not much choice for properties in our price range in the area, hence why we have been looking since we received an offer on our house six months ago. But things are picking up and more has been coming on the market. Can anyone relate to this type of anxiety? I've always been raised to just go for things and not be held back by "what if's" but it isn't working for me this time. So i'm wondering if perhaps it is a real issue and I should pull out if I still can

thank you for reading x

Annie1960

It sounds as though you really don't want this house.

Are you in England?

Grenage

Buying a house is a big financial move, and shouldn't be made if you have serious concerns or underlying anxiety due to the purchase.

There will always be another house, and it's only been a week; it's kinder to everyone involved to pull out early rather than at the last moment.

Just down with your partner and discuss it rationally. Over-paying by 15k isn't terrible if you're staying there for 20 years, but it's a bit nasty if you could be moving again in two years time.

ellie27

The feeling of paying a bit over what you should have is normal for many folk buying a house. However it sounds like you have lots of doubts, and not just the price.

If I was in your position I would pull out now.

goodwithsaving

I'd pull out. Your gut feeling is obviously telling you something. Who knows what else is around the corner.

Hoploz

OP are you in Scotland? Is the offer legally binding, ie will there be penalties if you pull out?

rosie383

I agree with everyone else. It sounds as if this house is not meant to be for you. Walk away now before the vendor invests any money in the sale. If they have already spent money, walking away now is much, much better than doing it a few months down the line.

ellie27

Hoploz wrote: »

OP are you in Scotland? Is the offer legally binding, ie will there be penalties if you pull out?

OP says it was just last wednesday the final offer went in so doubt there would be any penalties

stator

You need to discus this with your solicitor. Ignore any advice to pull out until everyone knows if this is Scotland or not.

If the house you are buying now is second hand, then it's far more likely to be a realistic valuation. Whenever you buy a brand new house there is always the risk that house prices will fall because the second hand market and new market are not the same. But since the house is now second hand you can be more confident that someone else would be willing to buy it in the same circumstances that you are.

Miss_S_2

Thank you all so much for replying, I am in Scotland. The offer was subject to survey so presumably that means missives haven't been concluded.

audigex

Assuming you're able to without penalty, I'd withdraw - a house is a huge purchase and something you're going to have to live with for a long time, you need to be happy with it.

And my advice is to decide beforehand exactly what a property is worth to you, before making the offer. Sit down and work it out your absolute maximum you'd be happy with. And THEN start negotiating, but never ever go over that pre-decided maximum. That way you can't pressured into higher prices, get caught up in the excitement of a bidding war, or talk yourself into a higher price.

Oh and as a last point, forget "how much houses in the same street went for" unless you have good information on those houses. I've known a house in one street go for £60k while an outwardly identical house went for £120k. Both were probably fair prices considering the condition and work done to both.