Lived in home for 3 months want to sell.

Anatidaephobia

What will you say to buyers if they ask you why you want to sell so quickly? If your reasons are convincing then people may not be put off by it, but then again there will be others who won't even bother viewing if they are aware how quickly it's back on the market.

We viewed a house that was on the market less than a year after it had last been sold. They told us they had planned to settle down here but had unexpectedly been offered a job transfer through work so were currently dealing with a long commute and wanted to move closer to the new job. They were quick to assure us there was nothing wrong with the house, great area etc, but I guess it's only natural to wonder if they were being truthful. Imagine there are major issues with the neighbours and you didn't find out until it was too late, despite their desire to move so quickly being a bit of a warning sign? (as it happens, this didn't put us off and we very nearly bought the house; ended up going for another one just round the corner)

That house has still not sold; it remained on the market for about a year after they listed it, I heard that they weren't getting many viewings, price reduced at least three or four times. It's now off the market and as far as I know they are still living there.

googler

liam999uk wrote: »

I have got an appointment to speak to my mortgage company with regard to porting the mortgage. They say usually you have to own for 6 months minimum before you can port. My worry is that would putting it on the market so soon after buying put buyers off? Do you think it's not going to make much difference wether I did it now or in say in another 6 months time..

It's not your mortgage that the 6-mth rule applies to. The lenders won't lend to your buyer because you've been in for less than 6 mths.

It's not a case of people being put off, it's a case of them simply not being able to get the lending to buy it from you.

car0line123

Argghhh wrote: »

it will take more than 3 months to find a buyer at this time of year anyways.

it depends where, I am looking South of the M25 and people are desperate for properties, I can't find anything, properties get snatched up before I get a chance to view. Sellers are so not bothered, I tried to arrange viewing on half dozen properties, and sellers would only consider a 2 hours window on a certain day, as viewings are too inconvenient for them!

But if a house comes back on the market after 3 months, I would be very suspicious: buying is so expensive with solicitors/ stamp duty/ removal companies/ EA fees, it would feel odd that someone would want to waste a lot of money.

phoebe1989seb

liam999uk wrote: »

The major problem for me is that there is a road at the side of the house. Now (this sound's silly) it's not overly intrusive but having lived here and thinking I could put up with it I realise that I'm not happy with it being close to the road. The house does have so many good points but I think at the end of it all having been here for a few months it's not where I want to live. Maybe Naivety on my part thinking it wouldn't bother me.


I think I have fallen out of love with it really and I don't feel as if I want to spend any more or do any improvements to it as I don't want to be here!

I feel your pain OP We sold our last house-but-one within two weeks and were under lots of pressure from our buyers to find somewhere quickly as further along the chain were pushing for a specific completion date (naive of us, I know and it wasn't as if we were new to selling or tackling huge projects ) so we purchased what looked the ideal house in a bit of a rush.

Turned out to be a big mistake - house had bags of potential and stacks of character (stone, thatched, Georgian) - as it was on a fairly busy rural A-road. From the first night I wondered what had possessed us to buy it, especially as I had never *felt the love* which I usually expect to. Trouble was we couldn't just stick it back on the market as, being an unmortgageable renovation project, it had already failed to sell at auction.

Long story short, we stuck with it, threw heaps of cash at it till it looked lovely again and sold it as soon as it was finished, as despite being many a person's dream home that road just wouldn't go away!

Been in our new house since December and it's a completely different kettle of fish

If you really don't think you can make it work, then tbh there's probably little point in pretending. Potential buyers may well wonder why you're selling so quickly though - even after three years we got asked the question, particularly as we'd obviously gone to so much expense and effort......and if getting a mortgage they will definitely struggle if you're selling within six months.

I do know there's a house in our old vilłage that was sold last September and (apparently, according to the local gossip), a guy bought it for his daughter, who immediately decided she hated living there, so he slapped a coat of magnolia everywhere and put it back on the market in December for £100k more than he paid - and this is rural South Wiltshire, where houses are not shifting unless amazing/a bargain - no surprises it's not sold

duchy

So what happens if you find a buyer but your perfect house *still* isn't available to buy .......or worse -you buy your "perfect house" and then discover it isn't perfect after all ? (which inevitably it won't be)

Have you added up what a move is going to cost you ?
Not just the new roof you've paid for- but all the costs associated with moving-furniture that won't fit, surveys, solicitors fees , estate agent fees .... and if the "perfect house" needs a new roof or whatever too-

If I was your partner I'd be extremely fed up with you wanting a new house the way some people want a new outfit.

liam999uk wrote: »

Now what would happen if say we split up or were made redundant and dropped the price low to sell quick? I bet people wouldn't be as worried about neighbours and the costs of surveys then.

A lot of people won't entertain buying from sellers in those situations- who wants to spend money out of surveys etc for a couple to reconcile or be offered another job- but yes a price drop would help - except you want more for the house than you paid for it to try and recoup the cost of the roof so it's not the situation here.

Financially the wisest move would be to put in a decent kitchen -decorate with love and if by next October it hasn't grown on you look at selling the following spring but have a contingency plan for if your perfect home isn't available (again)

stockton_2

I think buyers would wonder what is wrong with the property (or the neighbours) if selling so soon. But you have indicated that there is nothing wrong with the property or neighbours. It just doesn't suit you. It is hard to put this over to people (as you have seen from some of the posts here) so you need to have an answer that would satisfy the doubters. I think you have already said "what if we split up"? Well, I think that would be a good enough answer for most people. My friend bought a house a couple of years ago from a couple who were splitting up. Once you hear that, you dont ask any more questions. So you are not splitting up, No! but there is nothing wrong with the house either. What does not suit you may suit other buyers perfectly well.

I made a mistake very like yours not so long ago. Moved to an area 60 miles away and realized within the first week that I had made a huge error. Totally different scenario: mine was a rented property but it still cost me an arm and a leg and was very stressful.

So I do understand where you are coming from. If you are not going to hack it there, then I think it is best to get out as soon as possible and move on with your life somewhere more to your liking. You have made a mistake and you will learn from it. I actually found I was able to appreciate my old home area much more and feel that the experience improved my quality of life. I was a few grand down on my savings but that meant very little as I simply knew that peace of mind is paramount and the money was not the most important consideration.

If you are in an area where there is a good demand for properties like yours then you may not have any of the problems that sellers get in areas where demand is slow and buyers can afford to be picky. Someone may actually bite your hand off to buy. Good Luck.

Liam999uk

duchy wrote: »

So what happens if you find a buyer but your perfect house *still* isn't available to buy .......or worse -you buy your "perfect house" and then discover it isn't perfect after all ? (which inevitably it won't be)

Have you added up what a move is going to cost you ?
Not just the new roof you've paid for- but all the costs associated with moving-furniture that won't fit, surveys, solicitors fees , estate agent fees .... and if the "perfect house" needs a new roof or whatever too-

If I was your partner I'd be extremely fed up with you wanting a new house the way some people want a new outfit.



A lot of people won't entertain buying from sellers in those situations- who wants to spend money out of surveys etc for a couple to reconcile or be offered another job- but yes a price drop would help - except you want more for the house than you paid for it to try and recoup the cost of the roof so it's not the situation here.

Financially the wisest move would be to put in a decent kitchen -decorate with love and if by next October it hasn't grown on you look at selling the following spring but have a contingency plan for if your perfect home isn't available (again)

Well, the partner doesn't want to live here either she thinks we've made a mistake too. We got fed up of looking really in the end of it and thought that this would not be a bad buy. The thing is the perfect house has come on the market. Money isn't a problem but happiness is. I feel trapped in a house I now realize I don't want to live in and don't want to spend money on when i know i dont want to stay here. Whats the point in spending minimum 5k on a kitchen ( Its a big kitchen) which is not going to be for me? And not forgetting even if i left it 2 years would i get that money back. Seems like unwise advice to me.

Liam999uk

stockton wrote: »

I think buyers would wonder what is wrong with the property (or the neighbours) if selling so soon. But you have indicated that there is nothing wrong with the property or neighbours. It just doesn't suit you. It is hard to put this over to people (as you have seen from some of the posts here) so you need to have an answer that would satisfy the doubters. I think you have already said "what if we split up"? Well, I think that would be a good enough answer for most people. My friend bought a house a couple of years ago from a couple who were splitting up. Once you hear that, you dont ask any more questions. So you are not splitting up, No! but there is nothing wrong with the house either. What does not suit you may suit other buyers perfectly well.

I made a mistake very like yours not so long ago. Moved to an area 60 miles away and realized within the first week that I had made a huge error. Totally different scenario: mine was a rented property but it still cost me an arm and a leg and was very stressful.

So I do understand where you are coming from. If you are not going to hack it there, then I think it is best to get out as soon as possible and move on with your life somewhere more to your liking. You have made a mistake and you will learn from it. I actually found I was able to appreciate my old home area much more and feel that the experience improved my quality of life. I was a few grand down on my savings but that meant very little as I simply knew that peace of mind is paramount and the money was not the most important consideration.

If you are in an area where there is a good demand for properties like yours then you may not have any of the problems that sellers get in areas where demand is slow and buyers can afford to be picky. Someone may actually bite your hand off to buy. Good Luck.

Thank you that's exactly the situation i'm in. The house is fine, neighbours are fine, have not had a problem with anti social behaviour. But it's not the house I want to live in.

moneyistooshorttomention

stator wrote: »

Not all structural issues would show up on a survey. They only look on the outside of everything, they don't go digging around taking things apart.

...and we've all read numerous threads on here of "Surveyor missed obvious major problem. Can we sue him?", which is promptly followed by other posters saying that the surveyor is, in the main, able to get away with it and the purchaser won't get anywhere if they try.

Been there...done that....there was noticeable things my surveyor should have spotted on both houses I bought to date, but apparently didn't!

Davesnave

liam999uk wrote: »

The thing is the perfect house has come on the market. Money isn't a problem but happiness is. I feel trapped in a house I now realize I don't want to live in......

Sounds to me that you are luckier than most of us.

When I thought I'd made a mistake in choosing this property, the matter of money loomed very large indeed. I decided to live here for a few years., make a few inexpensive improvements and use the time to gain experience for the next move.

That's how it is for most people.

As it turned out, my initial impressions were wrong. I enjoy living here now, so the lure of a 'perfect house' no longer haunts me. Thinking I'd missed out messed-up my first year or two in this one.

As the Rolling Stones have it, "You can't always get what you want," and buying on the rebound probably isn't the best way forward either.