Part exchange - is it ever a good idea?

song_of_calliope

We are really struggling to sell our house in a rural part of Scotland - house has been on the market three months with zero viewings. But we've moved to England for work. Would part exchange even be possible for us?

There is a new build development going up in the village we want to live in that looks like it could be okay. They are marketing themselves as "part exchange available".

Would they be willing to part exchange for a cottage in rural Scotland? Would we lose our shirts? What would you do? Thank you very much for any advice you can give us.

giddypenguin

None of us can answer what this builder will or won't accept on a part exchange - so the only thing you can do is ask.

Similarly no one can offer you real advice until we hear the terms of their part exchange scheme... you have to ask.

So go and talk to them.

tim123456789

you can ask, they can only say no.

anecdotal evidences suggest that normally you get a reasonable offer for your property but zero discount on the new build AP.

though obviously a lot depends upon the difference in value between the two properties

song_of_calliope

Thanks, both. The difference in value is huge - new property about £290k, old property valued at £120k and on the market for £114k. Does that help or hurt us? We should be able to qualify for a mortgage for the difference touch wood.

We will talk to them but want to have as much info as we can so they don't see us as easy marks. So basically a cross border exchange isn't automatically a "no", even for a rural property?

tim123456789

It makes it more likely that they will go for it

They can offload the PX property at a 20K loss instead of giving you 20K discount. They prefer this as this "20K discount" won't show up on the LR

tim

song_of_calliope

Well, we just finished viewing a model home and really didn't like it - very small rooms and massively overpriced for what it is, plus the development looked a bit like a prison. The estate agent said he would talk to the developer if we were interested but doesn't think the developer deals with part ex in Scotland. So we're back to square one. Oh well. Now just wondering if its worth viewing new builds in neighbouring villages or not.

Strapped

Drop the price - if you can't sell a rural cottage in summer, you'll really struggle in winter in Scotland (unless it's a "winter retreat" type location). Once you're chain-free with cash in the bank, you'll be in a good position to negotiate the next purchase.

tim123456789

song_of_calliope wrote: »

Well, we just finished viewing a model home and really didn't like it - very small rooms and massively overpriced for what it is, plus the development looked a bit like a prison. The estate agent said he would talk to the developer if we were interested but doesn't think the developer deals with part ex in Scotland. So we're back to square one. Oh well. Now just wondering if its worth viewing new builds in neighbouring villages or not.

Given the relatively low value of your house in Scotland I would drop the price to sell it quickly and then look to buy a per-owned house. This will save you far more than the loss on you house

tim