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Chain or no chain/to buy or to rent?

Hi all,

I'm a newbie here. I used to spend my time lurking around the wedding forum but with the honeymoon over things have got even more expensive. My husband and I need to sell up and relocate because of work and are in a dilemma - any thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated.

So, to summarise we currently have a one-bed flat to sell. We're moving to a town about 100 miles away that we don't know at all and need to have somewhere to live by September. Ultimately we'd like to buy a family home to grow in to and our initial thoughts were that it would be better to try and sell our flat ASAP and then rent somewhere whilst we decide exactly where we want to live. That would then mean we weren't caught in a chain when we decided we were ready to buy.

This all seems to make sense in theory but now reality is setting in. Because we've got a fixed rate mortgage deal we will be liable for £1400 early redemption charges if we don't buy within 6 months of selling our current place.

In practical terms renting and then buying would obviously mean packing up and moving twice which is never much fun. Not only that but if we wanted to sell-up and then buy within the 6-month window for avoiding bank charges it could be very difficult to find anywhere to rent short-term.

We're not adverse to renting longer term until we get to know the place, but that would definitely mean losing out to bank charges.

So, we've got lots of difficult decisions to make.

What would you do? Any advice would be gratefully received!

Comments

  • Cannon_Fodder
    Cannon_Fodder Posts: 3,980 Forumite
    Will the employer pick up the tab on any of the relocation costs ? Maybe that could cushion the blow.

    It will cost a lot more than £1400, if you rush into buying somewhere you don't like...
  • I agree, really don't want to rush in to anything but then the job's there and we have to live somewhere!

    Not sure about relocation fees - I work for the NHS and whilst I might be able to get something from them I don't really feel comfortable about claiming taxpayers money. After all it's my decision to move.
  • I did a relocation 9 years ago and bought in an area I didn't know. Its always a gamble and I hated the location. A costly mistake as I sold and moved 14 months later. The area wasn't bad but its like houses you get a feel for the place. I would rent and find where you fancy living. It won't take you long to work out where. Good luck
  • Could you not rent out the one bed flat and rent in new place. When the early repayment is up you can then sell and buy.

    I echo renting rather than buying-biggest regret when I moved to a new area. You need at least 6 months to know the place.
    LBM 10/08 £12510.74/
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