2nd time buyers

toddler9

Hello I am looking for some advise please. We are looking to put our property on the market within the next week or so and buy a bigger property as a family home. We have already spoken to the bank and have a good idea of what we can borrow and they are ready for us to get the ball rolling. We are just waiting for some new plastering to dry in the kitchen before painting and then selling!

After checking Rightmove today I have seen a perfect house! I know some vendors will not entertain buyers who haven't yet sold- but I was thinking about calling the EA tomorrow and just asking about the property and maybe arranging a viewing? (they may even be looking for a down size swap!)
If the property seems good I was thinking of instructing the estate agents to act on our behalf to sell and then they will have both our interests to play for? And a bonus for them 2 sets of fees! Anyway I would just like to canvas people's opinions on this idea?

System

In a similar situation to yourself but for us it was more a case of we knew which agent we wanted to sell through and we got lucky that they were also selling the house that we wanted to buy when we began looking.

IMHO, make sure the EA is competent first. Othwerise you are in for a painful journey. The seller will most probably still want you to be proceedable so if the EA can't sell then you are stuck.

Hoploz

Good idea to go and look. If you still like it then go ahead. It can be useful to be with the same agent, but get three round to compare anyway. You can easily play them off against each other when negotiating fees and length of tie-in etc.

Once you have a good idea what your house is worth then get an agreement in principle on a mortgage (it only takes 24hours if you have all your paperwork to hand). Then you will know your mortgage levels.

You never know, your house might sell really quickly. Or, after viewing, you might find out this wasn't your dream house after all!

Pington

I did exactly as you describe when I bought my house, although I'd already had a couple of quotes from other agents.

I saw the house I wanted to buy, arranged a viewing, discussed my position with the agents, made an offer and arranged for them to market my house, got my house on the market and had an offer within a couple of days so it all worked out OK in the end.

toddler9

Thanks for everybody's replies. Well it turns out when I called the agent this morning the house was already sold! (went on the market on Saturday!)

So that made things easier. Actually the EA it was on the market with we have had a bad experience with in the past so it was probably a blessing in disguise!