PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.

How long should it take to sell an avergage house without chain

Options
2

Comments

  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 3,970 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    ProDave wrote: »
    No mortgage, so the rental income is now funding the completion of the new build. After a few years rental income, I could then afford to drop the price as the rental income is in effect "releasing" money from the old house.

    Double whammy! Tenant pays for not one, but two houses for their landlord. You can see why renting's so popular - can't argue with these maths can you Crashy...?!?
  • phillw
    phillw Posts: 5,594 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    ReadingTim wrote: »
    Are you charging your tenants more than your mortgage repayments?

    Why? As long as you are charging them more than the interest and any costs in renting/repairs then you're better off. It's nice if the tenants pay your capital repayment, but as you get that back when you sell the property then it's no big deal.
  • Ithaca
    Ithaca Posts: 269 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary
    Options
    As others have said, there's no such thing as "normal" when it comes to house sales, but three months from offer to completion is a reasonable starting point assuming a small chain and everyone buying with a residential mortgage. It's very unlikely to go much quicker than that, and there are plenty of things that can add a week or two here and there, so six months (or longer) is not uncommon.

    We put our house on the market on Good Friday (3 April), had an offer the same day, had our offer accepted two weeks later (we didn't start properly looking until we were under offer), then completed in early July... so three calendar months on the button with a very simple chain (FTBs buying our house, they were living with parents so no issues with ending a tenancy, and we were buying an empty house following probate)

    But that was two years ago in a popular area with lots of young professionals moving here to prop up the bottom of the market, and a good supply of "doer-upper" larger homes available for existing owners like us to upsize into.

    Your local market will play a huge part in how quickly you'll be able to get it sorted.
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    Options
    ReadingTim wrote: »
    Double whammy! Tenant pays for not one, but two houses for their landlord. You can see why renting's so popular - can't argue with these maths can you Crashy...?!?


    Double whammy? If the area is so unpopular that it takes years to sell then tenants may not stay or be hard to come by, and rent is probably low? Funding a new-build from monthly rent after costs/taxes is going to be a slow process surely, sounds like a nightmare to me.
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    Options
    phillw wrote: »
    Why? As long as you are charging them more than the interest and any costs in renting/repairs then you're better off. It's nice if the tenants pay your capital repayment, but as you get that back when you sell the property then it's no big deal.


    Wonder how many people now struggling to sell used to think that?
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 3,970 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    Crashy_Time wrote: »
    Wonder how many people now struggling to sell used to think that?

    Indeed - best not take the chance and squeeze the tenants as much as you can now.
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 3,970 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    Crashy_Time wrote: »
    Funding a new-build from monthly rent after costs/taxes is going to be a slow process surely, sounds like a nightmare to me.

    But funding your landlord's new-build from your monthly rent sounds like more of a nightmare to me.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    If the rent is a fair market rent for the property and location, then does it matter what the rent is "spent on"?
    If the rent is considerably more than a fair market rent for the property and location, then why on earth would anybody sign up for it in the first place?

    For the sake of clarity - I'm using the term "fair market rent" to signify an amount that is in line with other, similar properties available on the open market in the area - not some kind of utopian "Well, I think anything more than three shiny buttons is extortion" blue-sky hand-waviness.
  • phillw
    phillw Posts: 5,594 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    edited 6 September 2017 at 2:02PM
    Options
    Crashy_Time wrote: »
    Wonder how many people now struggling to sell used to think that?

    A lot of them only rented out because they struggled to sell, nothing has changed. It's only going to get harder over the next ten years. You can either drop your price to encourage a sale and get out now, or hold steady.

    But sleepless nights because the rent doesn't cover the entire mortgage is pointless.
  • ProDave
    ProDave Posts: 3,721 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Post
    Options
    I seem to have stirred up a bit of a discussion.

    I am letting my "spare" house for a rent at the lower end of what the agents told me it was worth. The tenant who is in says they want to rent it for 2 years and then take stock, though it is let on a 6 month short assured tenancy which will just roll over each month after the 6 months. If at the end of 2 years they want to quit then we will try again to sell it hopefully in a refreshed market.

    I don't see it as a tenant paying for my 2 houses. As someone said, it is up to me what I spend it on. It's not my fault the rental value of the property is higher than the mortgage cost would be if they bought it instead of renting it.

    At least if we have had 2 years rental income from it, then it might make it easier to swallow if we do have to drop the price to eventually sell it.

    Oh and the tenant knows we are building a new house so it won't be a surprise to them to find that building materials is what most of their rent they pay us is spent on.

    We are not squeezing the tenants. I know from previous letting that a change of tenant and void periods costs money. It is better to let it at a lower rate and have a happy tenant who stays for a longer period.
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards