Completing soon on house and having serious doubts

anni_

Sorry maybe I sound harsh but as I’m currently on the receiving end of this I’ll say it anyway: 
You saw a house you liked. Others were interested in the house so to avoid losing out on it you offered above asking price. Now you want the vendor to reduce that price because your survey showed the house you offered on knowing it was a ‘doer-upper’ needs work and you also seem slightly concerned that you are paying above asking price - although you
offered that by choice presumably because at that time you thought the house was worth it. 

The seller already knows that when the house was on the market they had you and at least one other person offer on it. You say the mortgage valuation did not under value the house but the seller still offered a compromise  and reduced their price. You are still arguing over £1000. 

As I am in the position of your seller I can tell you they probably feel quite disappointed that they went with you and not the other people offering. I am not surprised they told the estate agent to put the house back on the market. I would too. 

I think you should have worked through your emotions on leaving the house you love long before you put others in the chain in the position of investing time and money in to their sales and onward purchases. It sounds to me like your vendor has been more than reasonable and I hope you manage to calm your nerves and move forward for your sake and there’s. 

jimbog

£1K is ‘noise’ in the valuation process. What was the asking price?

Their initial £2K offer of a reduction wasn’t an ‘insult’ since their house was in demand     

A rewire wasn’t deemed necessary. The garage roof is not a problem if undisturbed (and you knew what the garage looked like when you put in your offer).

Your position might not be as strong as you think - if I was the seller I would ask the agent to re-list the property as I would have had enough, and would be wary of you pulling something  later on in the transaction 

lookstraightahead

How much do you think you are going to need to spend on the property, as a do-er upper?

AdrianC

sarachristie said:

We are a family of 4 and have been in our home for 20+ years.  Agreed on our house last year and struggled to find a house due to not finding one much bigger than our own.  Basically moving for garden and garage and more space.  So after 3 months we found one bigger than everything we have seen but major project.  Needs rewired, windows, kitchen, bathroom, damp proofed, doors, decorated.

Now you know why this was the cheapest house of its size on the market. You were trading off size for condition. If it was in tip-top condition, you wouldn't have been able to afford it.

Look at it as an opportunity to improve the place - to your tastes and preferences.

Davesnave

The most important thing when buying a do-er upper is not necessarily your financial position, but your personal qualities and the strength of your relationship, if it's a couple. Some people can buy an imperfect house, live in it and make it theirs over time without  excessive stress or being tempted into rear-view mirror regrets when the going gets tough. Others can't do that; they lack the 'jam tomorrow' persistence gene.

Only you know what you and  your OH are really like. No one here can know about that.

Alter_ego

Title says completing soon. Have you exchanged contracts?

MFWannabe

sarachristie said:

well we viewed about 20 houses in 3 months alll not suitable (too small, garden too small, no dining room, box room not suitable as bedroom etc) but one comes along with the space we need that happens to be a doer upper - typical.  The issue is also the money we stand to lose if walking away.  In 2 months there has been no houses for sale in our area at all.  We have been looking since last September and have more or less excluded houses in area within our area due to size/price so we know what’s out there.  This is such a difficult decision.

Why is it a difficult decision? 

You’ve answered it here 
there’s been nothing to meet your requirements since September until this house came along 
You can afford it because it needs work; if it was already done you wouldn’t be able to afford it
See it as an opportunity to do everything how you want it. Even if a house is ‘done’ people still want to change things to their own tastes anyway 🤷‍♀️

FreeBear

sarachristie said: Rewire not mentioned in survey but electrical report said rewire last done late 80s/early 90s.  Earth wires need replacing immediately and only one socket per room so full rewire recommended.

Wiring is fairly new in the grand scheme of things. Unless it has been messed around with by an incompetent DIYer/bodger, it will have plenty of life left in it. Like most things, when the house was rewired in the 80/90s, it would have been compliant with the regulations in force at the time. Standards have moved on since then, so the wiring won't meet today's standards. On that basis, I have my doubts that any earth wires are in need of immediate replacement.

However, if you are wanting more sockets in each room, it makes sense to do it (along with a rewire) before moving in. Chasing out walls for sockets & conduit is very messy, and lifting floorboards is disruptive. Best to get it out of the way before decorating.

If the property has been priced to reflect the fact that it needs a bit of work, trying to drive the price down further is counterproductive.

sarachristie

Thanks for replies..taken note of comments.  Just to add we would be able to afford same house if nothing needed done to it as one in good condition is within our budget, the problem is none are for sale, this one is!!

sarachristie

You say I am buying it because that’s what I can afford but we can afford a lot more.  As mentioned, our problem with finding that house was they were too small for us hence why we went for this one and we are not moving more than 10 mins from where we live.  This house is the biggest one found in the area we want to live but it needs work.