selling house after a short time

saver78

How soon after buying a house can you put it back on the market?

Bought a house at the beginning of the year. There is nothing particularly wrong with it. But it's just not "right". I can't imagine living here medium term never mind long-term and to be honest I don't want to. I don't even want to unpack everything. One problem is the location - a nice house just that bit outside of where I originally was looking. I didn't think it would bother me but it really does. The area isn't "bad" in any way at all but it's just not for me.

So how soon after moving in can you go back up for sale? It was a cash buy so no lender. But are there things to be aware of when considering selling so soon? I thought of capital gains tax but that doesn't seem to apply when selling a home you have lived in as your main home - which has been the case.

I will probably give it 6 months anyway but is there anything else anyone can think of?

anselld

Cash buyers won't particularly be bothered.
Some mortgage companies require 6 month ownership at time of application.
Some mortgage companies require 6 months at completion.
Some do not require 6 months.

So 6 months to maximise you market but nothing to stop you straight away if you think the demand is there any you choose the buyer carefully.

kinger101

Lenders don't like giving mortgages on houses that have sold within the last six months. A potential buyer will be concerned by your motives. They'll think there's something wrong with it, or the neighbours are hell. Of course, there might not be, but when parting with six figures, people are cautious. I know it would put me off.

Hoploz

It's not really a problem, I've done it several times in the past. I understand sometimes there can be troubles from a mortgage co if it has been owned for less than 6 months, but if you bought at the beginning of the year then perhaps you'll be outside this time?

phatbear

we looked at a house at the weekend that had previously been purchased in Feb 2015, so 2 months.

one thing that put me off though is the seller now wanted another £30000 more than he paid for it.

stator

Some mortgage lenders won't lend if it was purchased in the last 12 months, so definitely something to be aware of

rexmedorum

If you were a cash buyer why not rent it out for a year or so?

Mickygg

I understand where you are coming from OP. I had the same with my old place. I bought, then within a few months realised I made a mistake and wanted my old house back!
I wanted to sell straight away but when I did research I found it would put people off buying as it indicates something wrong with the place, even though there isn't. I decided to live in the place for a couple of years and then sell as I did refurb and sold on.
If I was buying a house bought very recently, unless a full refurb, I would be suspicious myself even though I've been through it.
I would personally recommend living in the place for at least a year, then place may grow on you and people would be less suspicious of issues as in a year situations can change for anyone and need to move on.
Property developers buy and sell very quickly so it's of course possible to do.

phoebe1989seb

phatbear wrote: »

we looked at a house at the weekend that had previously been purchased in Feb 2015, so 2 months.

one thing that put me off though is the seller now wanted another £30000 more than he paid for it.

I guess it depends where it's located - there's a similar situation in our old village in the SW where someone purchased a house last September for £190,000 and put it back on the market in December for £280,000.

Apparently a guy bought it for his daughter who decided on moving in she didn't like the location. He gave every room a lick of magnolia before sticking it back on for £90k more than he paid three months previously.

To be fair, £190k was relatively cheap - I think because it had previously been a rental - but it's not sold at £280k and IMHO it's probably worth £250k max......

Otoh, if we were talking parts of the SE, a similar price jump might be reasonable

saver78

Thanks everyone for your replies. I guess I could redecorate the rooms. If I still don't like it after doing that it would just underline that I need to jump ship. Ideal would probably be to stick it out and then market next spring. I know it won't sell quickly as it had been on a while when I came along. No idea why. The market hadn't started to recover in this area though so that's prob the reason.

I'll have to grit my teeth and put up with the place. I suppose on the plus side its not a million miles from where I DO want to live so I can keep tabs on the market.

And also I don't need to bother unpacking everything. .. :-)

Thrugelmir

saver78 wrote: »

One problem is the location - a nice house just that bit outside of where I originally was looking.

Areas change over time. Buying ahead of the pack is the way to go.