Timing

Legacy_user

Any help appreciated.

We've accepted an offer on our house and from what we have heard from the buyer the survey and searches are done and they recieved the contract on Friday. From what i can gather (we're first time sellers) this means that we're quite far down the process?

Question is - we're moving into rented - is now the time to be looking. Buyers want to be in in time for xmas - how long does it take to sort out a rental?

Really anxious not to end up out of pocket so even though the buyers are keen when is the right time to sign something for the rental?

G_M

You don't really want to commit to a rental contract till you've Exchanged Contracts on your sale. Problems can arise, and your sale suddenly get delayed, or even fall apart.

But that of course means you need to find a rental fast once Exchange takes place. My advice

1) start looking for a place, but don't commit or spend money on credit vetting, holding deposits etc till you Exchange.

2) make it clear to your buyers that you want an extended gap between Exchange and Completion - eg 6 weeks. That helps give you time to find somewhere

3) have a stop-gap arranged eg family/friend to stay with short term just in case

Werdnal

You can sort out application, credit checks and sign up for a rental in less than a week, if the agent/LL is on the ball for applying quickly and there are no delays with references etc. However, the difficult bit may be finding somewhere quickly enough. Are there a surplus of rental properties in your area to suit your requirements, do they get snapped up quickly etc - have you even researched the market at all yet?

Everyone will want to be "in by Christmas" if they are planning a move at this time of the year, so there may be a sudden rush to snap up rentals and you might miss the boat. However, signing up too soon may mean you are tied to pay rent when you are not ready to move in - would this be a problem? A short overlap will ease your move, but if your sale is held up, you may not even be able to go by Christmas, never mind before!

Are you aware of the rental process, applications etc - there is a good "A tenant's guide to renting" at the top of the forum if you are new to it all.

System

Thanks for the advice both, much appreciated.

Have read the excellent tenants guide.

We're in Birmingham and some rentals (especially houses) are going within days of being advertised. We're looking for something cheap cos we've got some deposit saving to do, so I think the looking but not signing is great advice.

Is there any millage in getting references sorted now. Is their anything specific to provide?

jbainbridge

Our vendor requested 2 weeks between exchange and completion to sort out her move to rented.

ViolaLass

PinkandPurpleGlitter wrote: »

Thanks for the advice both, much appreciated.

Have read the excellent tenants guide.

We're in Birmingham and some rentals (especially houses) are going within days of being advertised. We're looking for something cheap cos we've got some deposit saving to do, so I think the looking but not signing is great advice.

Is there any millage in getting references sorted now. Is their anything specific to provide?

Whereabouts in Birmingham? (I know of somewhere that might be about to be free, I could give you a heads up)

InMyDreams

What is the position of your buyers? Are they FTB? Are they currently renting or even staying with parents/friends, hence the hurry to be in by Christmas?

When we moved into our current house we had a gap and were staying with parents for 3 weeks. We were moving into an empty house, no chain, but it had tenants in it. (I know, I know, but we were blissfully unaware of the risks associated with this back then.) Anyway, the tenants ended up leaving a few days earlier than expected so it suited both us and the vendor to complete a few days earlier than was written in the contract. So you even if you exchange with a long completion date (to give you time to find a rental) there's nothing stopping you bringing that forward after exchange if you and they both want to.

hcb42

we are in same boat, about to exchange tomorrow i hope, with a completion for about 20th. We hope to get the rental for the 16th, so a few days to move out and clean the house etc. We have been searching for weeks, viewed loads, the rental market is tough (and I am not far from bhm either)

We figured we would keep looking and keep a shortlist, we have now got a favoured property, and as we are so close, we havent committed any money yet, but we have indicated our preference to the letting ageny. Last week the market seemed slow, nothing coming on at all in our price bracket which meets our standards. But we are happy with what we have found and have a second and third property as a fall back