Buying and selling pickle - need some objectivity

kev207

We've been through a stressful few months and are due to exchange on our house this week. Our latest problem is that the people whose house we were buying (and have had our offer accepted on) now have nowhere to move to and are not in a position to proceed yet so we're stuck at the end of the chain. We're going to break the chain so not to lose our buyer but we're going to have to find somewhere to live very quickly. According to their estate agent there is very little coming on the market in their price bracket so I am not confident of them finding anywhere soon. This is largely irrelevant as we need to complete in a couple of weeks in any case.

We really dont want to go into a 6 month let as we're looking at £600 per month down the drain waiting for a house that might never be available because they might never find somewhere they want to buy. They could also find somewhere as soon as we have signed up to a 6 month tenancy potentially leaving us with a mortgage and rent to pay and 2 lots of everything else...

We have wound ourselves up so tight I'm not sure we're in any position to make a sensible decision. I'm falling on your mercy for some sensible advice.

poppysarah

Unless you got a place to store stuff and friends floors to sleep on for 6 months (and could do it and be sane at the end) then renting it probably easiest.

DVardysShadow

Exchange just is not going to happen, unless your vendors go into rented. So your choices are:

1. Wait for vendors to buy - 3 months min? and risk losing your sale
2. Move into rented, complete on your sale, wait for vendors to get moving
3. Move into rented complete on your sale and look for another place
4. Persuade your vendors to go into rented

The first decision for you is whether to risk your sale ie do you go with 1 or choose another. If you don't go with 1, you can only choose 2 AND 3 - ie you can wait for the vendors to get moving and put an offer in on another place. Now, you can tell the agent that if you do go into rented then the offer will be reduced by a substantial part of your rent - and could be withdrawn, becuase you will be looking for another property. This may be enough to bring about 4

PasturesNew

Short term rental is a problem, it's only now that more people are realising it.

It's hard enough finding somewhere to rent as a potentially permanent home (with agents not returning calls, viewings not being possible, places being let before you get to do viewings, or available dates being on the wrong dates).

Could you think of one or more of the following:
- put stuff into storage, cut a deal with a cheap Travelodge type hotel to stay for 2-3 months at a heavily discounted rate
- contact holiday home owners and see if they'll rent to you on a winter let basis, with a flexible end date
- try private landlords - although an AST has 6-month powers, you can actually go into one for a shorter period, it's just if you went into a 3 month one then I think they have more trouble getting you out between then and the first 6 months.