Sell to buy advice

heston2014 wrote: »

I am not really sure how it all works, our current property has equity and presumably, it will be a sell first to buy next property process.

Lots of people sell a property and buy a property at the same time - and they are part of a chain.

You would typically sell the old property and buy the new one on the same day - so you just move out of the old place and into the new one on the same day.

heston2014 wrote: »

Are there any fees involved with this?

Most people sell using an estate agent, who will want a fee.
There will be solicitors fees.
Your mortgage lender might also charge you redemption fees.

Then there's all the costs associated with buying a new place.

heston2014 wrote: »

Do I need to sell my property first before I can buy?

As above, typically you will sell and buy on the same day.

For most people, if they didn't sell their current place, they wouldn't have enough money to buy the new place.

heston2014 wrote: »

Can I wait for the sale to complete before going ahead with the new property?

You can if you want - but it tends to be more difficult, inconvenient and costly.

(Where will you live between selling your old place and moving into your new place? Where will you store your furniture? You'll have to do 2 lots of removals. etc)

heston2014 wrote: »

How does transfer of mortgage work?

You can't transfer a mortgage - you pay off the mortgage on the old property, and take a new mortgage on the new property (often for a larger amount).

Some lenders talk about 'porting' your mortgage - that just means they'll potentially give you a new mortgage on the same terms as your old mortgage.