Should I even be thinking about pulling out of a sale?

Emlulo

Hi all,

Looking for some honest (but kind, please) thoughts on my situation. If anyone has had similar, would also be interested!

I am due to exchange on a house end of Jan. This house was a LOT outside of my budget, and I have had to have family gift some of my deposit. I can afford the mortgage payments, with money to spare for savings etc, so it’s not unaffordably tight, however, it will mean less money at the end of the month than I had planned for.

The estate agent encouraged me to go for the house, and I do love it! But as I say, it was way out of my original planned budget.

I have just seen that a house I had wanted before this one (but lost out on) has come back on the market. It’s £80k cheaper than the one I am buying. It’s smaller, but it’s in the same location (which is perfect). I’d likely stay there for less time than the other bigger, more expensive house. However, it’s hard not to think about maybe going for the cheaper house. It would still be a lovely home! And it would mean a saving of around £8k in deposit (meaning no gifts needed for deposit) as well as £400 less a month in mortgage payments.

I have a little dream of working less and spending more time with my kids, and the latter house would make that much more feasible.

Should I even consider this? It would mean losing the money I have already put into solicitors fees (around £1k), plus risking losing my buyer as I’d be starting the process all over. Not to mention, of course I would feel awful for the seller as it’s not a great situation for them. But then again, the potential benefits would be considerable..

I’d love to know your thoughts (not on the morality of the situation, as I am aware of that), but just - would you do it/not do it?

Thanks in advance!  

babyblade41

If you want to go for the cheaper house then go for it especially if it make life more affordable .

As for your buyers then you could break the chain so you won't lose them.

The other thing to consider is why the latter house fell through & what position are the sellers .. you can but ask & make a decision sooner than later .

Emlulo

babyblade41 said:

If you want to go for the cheaper house then go for it especially if it make life more affordable .

As for your buyers then you could break the chain so you won't lose them.

The other thing to consider is why the latter house fell through & what position are the sellers .. you can but ask & make a decision sooner than later .

Great points! Yes, I need to see why the house fell through. Appreciate your thoughts

RelievedSheff

If you wouldn't stay in the cheaper house for long and would move to something like the more expensive house anyway then I would continue with the more expensive house.

Buying and selling houses is an expensive business. I would opt for just one move over two.

It doesn't sound as though the more expensive house is going to be a stretch to service the bills from what you have said.

Sarah1Mitty2

The more expensive house (or similar) will probably be cheaper in future, why not wait a while , how many other offers did they have?

GixerKate

Its a difficult one.  On the one hand the house that has come back on the market is cheaper and you would save considerably on the monthly outgoings which is great (especially in the current economic circumstances), the snag here is that you mention that you wouldn't stay as long in it which isn't so great plus it would add months onto the moving process.

If it were me I'd be leaning towards continuing with the more expensive house, you were happy with it before plus its the more longer term option along with the fact you will be finished with the moving process sooner.

It would be worth finding out why it fell through with the previous buyers also worth considering things such as your salary - is it likely to increase so would soon have more cash at the end of the month?  Also, how do the bills compare such as the energy bills?

GiantTCR

The numbers you're talking about are quite significant (80k less on the house and therefore £400 a month less on the monthly mortgage).

If you like the cheaper house enough, then yes, I would seriously consider pulling out. It may be a last second decision but at the end of the day your happiness is all that matters. And I don't know about you but I'd be way happier with 400 extra a month in my pocket.

SprostonGreenHead

Only you can really answer this one obviously, but it sounds like you don't consider the smaller house to be a huge step down in terms of comfort, and given those numbers and the fact you'll be able to spend more time with your family as you wish to, it sounds like a good move on the face of it.

That said, you're close to exchange on something, having dealt with all outstanding issues and enquiries to get to this point, whilst the other house could have some unwelcome surprises that come up on searches / surveys etc, so there's still a bit of risk attached.

Other thing to consider that you didn't mention is the mortgage offer you have. Is there sufficient time remaining on your offer-in-hand to use it on another property, or is there a risk you might have to go back out to the marketplace and accept a higher rate?

Emlulo

Thanks everyone for your incredibly helpful comments and thoughts - definitely some points I had not thought about here! 

jj_43

So you would continue with the purchase because you feel bad for the seller and you may waste 1k in fees, but potentially save 80k?

mi-key

You can pull out if you want, but dont moan if you go for the other house and the seller pulls out at the last minute