In the cold light of day any rational person will understand that nobody is going to pay more than the going rate for a commodity that has plenty of supply. From your posts I take it that there are other similiar properties on the market and if the prices are down on those ones you owe it to yourself to withdraw and start again.
The truth is that there is not any similar 4 bed semis for sale in the same estate at the moment. I hope I did not give that impression. There are other, older ones in a poor state of repair. There is also this bungalow and possibly another detached house about to come on the market. We are not talking about a huge, identikit estate here, rather, a small, established estate.
I do really like the semi-d, for lots of good reasons that I don't need to spell out here - if I didn't, I would not have got this far with it, and anyway it would not be wrecking my head so much to be considering putting that at risk.
That's why I had it in my head that these estates and properties would hold their value more than the mediocre identikits in huge mediocre estates. Maybe that wasn't 100% naive after all.
All this debate has helped me hugely so far to get things in perspective.
Thinking about it, I reckon here are my choices:
1. Go ahead and buy the damn semi ;-)
2. Go see the bungalow.
If I can see it next week, before the contracts have to be signed,
if it is in as good condition as the semi,
if the layout and use of rooms/space is suitable for us,
and if I really believe that it can be bought for 315 or so without getting into a long saga of any kind (which would be hard to guarantee),
only then consider pulling out of the semi.
That's a lot of if's. Before deciding, do pros and cons of each house, and pros and cons of pulling out vs buying the semi. Also try and identify and quantify risks and benefits of those actions.
Realistically, either the bungalow is so good that I feel I have to buy it at that price, or I just go ahead and buy the semi.
If I pull out, I really think now that the vendors would at best give me 15k off, more likely 7k or indeed 0k and tell me where to go.
I have fairly high rent to pay, which will add up if it all goes pear shaped or drags out. I have a job to hold down (and this is no joke, I really need to concentrate the next few months to ensure I get my contract renewed). Plus, add into the mix some busy and important personal stuff happening over the summer. That and the fact that I would ultimately prefer a quiet life and not to be going round peeing off people and getting a bad name for myself.
I think I know what I will prob end up doing, i.e. buying the semi. Sorry, now that I have it straight in my head, I guess it sounds like a no brainer.
I know I am a bit of a slow learner! But I would rather buy it having really satisfied myself that its the right one than to go into it half heartedly.
Am waiting now to hear back if I can get a viewing of the bungalow on Monday, otherwise I think I will just forget about it and move on.
Thanks for bearing with me folks.