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

MFWannabe

It’s hard to say what I’d do without knowing / seeing both properties
However there are a number of things to consider: 
1) if you were to pull out of buying current property you may not even secure the other cheaper one; then you’ve no property and you say you do love current property 🤷‍♀️
2) You say you wouldn’t stay as long in other property so how long would you be in it before looking to move again? What would be the moving costs etc involved? Then how much would next property cost so that other cheaper lifestyle may not happen anyway 

Weighing up costs of moving etc I would probably go with carrying on with current property and then overpaying on mortgage to get it down quicker knowing that I’m not likely to be moving again / for a very long time. There’s a lot to be said for feeling settled 

housebuyer143

Emlulo said:

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!  

In your shoes I would go for the largest house I could reasonably afford. Moving is expensive and stressful and if you can have many more years in bigger house and that is that you envisage then I would stick with that. 

My first house we stretched ourselves to get a much larger 2 bed than what we had seen previously. If we had bought a box 2 bed we would have had to leave after a few years, as it was we lived in our other larger house for 12 years before it was too small. Big savings made in the long term.

jimbog

I would go for the more expensive house. Your family were happy to gift you some money so you will be 'only' saving the £400 for what is an inferior house. How stable do you feel your job that you may run into problems with payments?   If you have a growing family with their friends staying over etc. you'll be glad of the extra space

Titus_Wadd

Our past couple of house purchases were our second choice, when we didn't manage to secure our top option house.  Twenty years on each house turned out to be the better choice.  The other top choice houses have since been repeatedly sold and resold (ofcourse that might not be a reflection of the houses' faults) and others were impacted by a road-widening scheme or surrounded by new builds.  The upheaval of moving with kids of any age is worth avoiding if you can.

Where we are on the SE coast house prices continue to rise, inspite of the government's mismanagement of the economy.  Property is still a sound investment, what will you do with the money not spent on the higher monthly mortgage repayments?  The longer you stay in a house, the more it's worth and the lower your mortgage repayments will feel (I'm oversimplifying my point but ykwim).

Finally, you're past the main stress-inducing phase of house-buying in England as soon as you exchange; I wouldn't want to hit reset and go back to the unstable stages of (potentially) a new buyer, offers, mortgage applications or other folk changing their mind etc.  A more spacious house will give you plenty of time and space to make memories with your children, until they reach the eye-rolling age of rarely coming out of their rooms.

Keep going with your purchase and picture yourself in your new home.  Before you know it you'll be moving in!

Ultimately only you can decide, and my view isn't what matters. 

Enjoy your new place but come back and let us know what you decided to do.

[Deleted User]

GDB2222 said:

LegallyLandlord said:

One more thought is you could continue with the house sale and move into rented accommodation. Prices are likely to drop and unless the house you’re planning to buy is truly unique, others will come alone. 

You may well be correct about house prices, but there’s an enormous risk in getting off the housing ladder for the average individual. 

I was told this when i purchased during the pandemic. Prices are up 20% since. There is nothing comprable available in my area in terms of size and value. Glad I proceeded. Of course, A decrease is possible but trying to predict the market, trying to beat the market. Its fantasy.

mi-key

[Deleted User] said:

GDB2222 said:

LegallyLandlord said:

One more thought is you could continue with the house sale and move into rented accommodation. Prices are likely to drop and unless the house you’re planning to buy is truly unique, others will come alone. 

You may well be correct about house prices, but there’s an enormous risk in getting off the housing ladder for the average individual. 

I was told this when i purchased during the pandemic. Prices are up 20% since. There is nothing comprable available in my area in terms of size and value. Glad I proceeded. Of course, A decrease is possible but trying to predict the market, trying to beat the market. Its fantasy.

Nationwide announced a few days ago they see there 'maybe' being a drop of 10% over the next 12 months, but possibly only in some areas, and maybe not at all... I think prices will generally just stay static for a while 

NameUnavailable

You don't say if you viewed/offered on the previous house? Obviously if you hadn't viewed it that is the first thing to do and see if you like it inside (in fact see it regardless because you can then better compare it to what you are in the process of buying).

Ultimately buy the house you prefer or feel more comfortable with. No point having a larger house you don't need and having to possibly do without things to pay the mortgage.

het77

Writing as someone who went through with a sale despite everything telling me it was wrong, now 4 months in to a house I still don’t like, please don’t worry about what other people might think - only you will have to live in the house and you need to absolutely be secure with the decision. The solicitor / agent / sellers / friends and fam are not going to be living the life, you are. So I’d be careful of advice and trust your gut! 

Ramouth

This really is one that only you and your family can decide.  If it were me, I would stick with the larger property so as not to have to move again for longer.  But I really disliked the process of selling and buying so am perhaps not representative.

In general (and possibly a little faster at the moment) inflation reduces the proportion of your income that your mortgage payments take up over time.  What may feel like a squeeze now may feel less so in 5 years time if your pay has increased but your mortgage has stayed the same.

Sarah1Mitty2

[Deleted User] said:

GDB2222 said:

LegallyLandlord said:

One more thought is you could continue with the house sale and move into rented accommodation. Prices are likely to drop and unless the house you’re planning to buy is truly unique, others will come alone. 

You may well be correct about house prices, but there’s an enormous risk in getting off the housing ladder for the average individual. 

I was told this when i purchased during the pandemic. Prices are up 20% since. There is nothing comprable available in my area in terms of size and value. Glad I proceeded. Of course, A decrease is possible but trying to predict the market, trying to beat the market. Its fantasy.

Reality is that interest rates were at near zero during the pandemic, and now they are heading back to normal, many people are probably now regretting their timing as they could have waited and started with much less debt.