About to Exchange / Cheap - Closer Properties Came Online

mazibee

Dear Seniors / Experienced ,

We FTBs, ( realized buying house is a very difficult process) Everything ready from everyone's side to set for exchange June 17 (Our Solicitors, Vendors Solicitors, EA , everyone trying to persuade to exchange as early as possible as the chain is involved.

Today 2 properties came on the Zoopla and Rightmove (both of these properties are closer and cheaper, advertised for £325K, the one we are about to exchange was advertised for £385K, reduced to £365K and offer accepted at £350K

I have already paid the following amounts

£300 to solicitors for Searches
£700 for Building Survey
£265 for Timber Survey

Any suggestions what to do at this time, as getting very nervous and confused (cant explain my situation):sad::sad::sad::sad:

cajef

Only you can decide which judging by the number of posts on here about your house purchase you find it difficult to do, you either go ahead with your present purchase or pull out and start again with a new one, in which case you will lose the money you have already spent, nobody here can make the decision for you, the choice is yours.

foxy-stoat

You should not be looking on Rightmove if you are that close to exchange of contracts, as this is what can happen.

You haven't even seen the other houses yet, you do not know what they would accept nor if there will be a bidding war and the final price exceeds the asking price, or if there are cheaper for a reason as there is something up with them.

You have done your checks and happy to exchange @ £350,000 a few days ago - do that.

SmashedAvacado

(both of these properties are closer and cheaper

Closer to what? If its a sewage works, i can probably understand the price differential.

hazyjo

As FTBs you will always be wondering if you're doing the right thing and buying the right house.

It's an awful lot of money to be spending, so don't feel forced into buying the wrong one.

Words of wisdom though - the grass often isn't greener. It wouldn't hurt to view (if through a different agent - might be a bit awkward if the same one you're buying through!), but before that I would check out the vendor's position. Are they chain free? Do they have a complete chain above? If no to either of those questions, tread very carefully as it could be months before they find somewhere, if at all. I've had people pull out before when they couldn't find somewhere to move to.

Also, I've viewed houses that looked perfect on paper, but I hated in the flesh. Look at the details/streetview carefully to look for things such as shared drives, access issues, Japanese Knotweed issues, no window in bathroom, small rooms, bad layouts, petrol garages a few doors away, etc.

Good luck.

shortcrust

You’ve got no idea what these other houses will sell for so you don’t know that they’re cheaper. All you know is their current asking prices are lower.

It’s true that you’re spending a lot of money and should feel forced into buying the wrong house, but the time to come to the realisation that it’s the wrong house isn’t three or four days before exchange. There’s no way I’d be comfortable pulling out and collapsing a chain at this stage because something a bit cheaper and nearer had popped up on rightmove. I’d only pull out just before exchange if the house of my dreams came on to the market or if some awful info about the purchase came to light.

Slithery

Closer and cheaper are only 2 of the characteristics - and closer to what?

You haven't mentioned size, condition, transport, location, privacy, or any of the 101 other things that go towards picking a property to offer on.

Unless you post links for all 3 properties then all you're going to get is a lot of different random guesses.

diggingdude

You might find renting easier on your own mind

KatieDee

I cannot advise you either way, as this is possibly the biggest purchase of your entire life and a random forum is almost definitely not equipped to answer such a question!

However, I must thank you, because your thread has finally given me the push I needed to remove alerts from Rightmove in the area we're buying it. It's only a matter of time before a better property comes up and I'm faced with the same question :rofl:

There will always be more properties available, possibly cheaper, maybe bigger and closer to your "ideal" home, but there will always be compromises. It isn't likely you'll be able to spot these through an online advert or even a quick viewing - you might not even notice until you've moved in, and forever pine for the house you walked away from!

If the house you're due to complete on suits your needs and you're happy to pay the amount you have done, I'd stick with it. If you're not happy and this is just the push you needed to consider elsewhere, I would consider pulling out.

Fire_Fox

Do not buy if you are not confident in your prior research, and/ or if you are not totally confident this house is for you. You can make a loss on any property if the market stagnates or falls.

Davesnave

Fire_Fox wrote: »

You can make a loss on any property if the market stagnates or falls.

.....but only if you sell it during the period the market affects it that way.


For Example:

My old house in mid 2007 was worth £375k

By mid 2008 it was only worth £325k

By around 2013 similar houses were fetching £375k again.

Now, those houses are fetching £525k

Obviously, where I used to live, the recovery after the Crash of 2008/9 was quite swift. Some places, like parts of Tyneside, have not recovered yet.

If your fairly standard 3 bed semi with no special tweaks is £350k, you are not buying in a depressed area, like parts of the North East, but neither are you buying in a highly desirable neighbourhood, like where my old place was located.