Offer on my house but can't find another house to buy

steph2901

I received an offer on my house last week, which I accepted, but I can't see anything I want to buy. Has anyone else been in this situation and what did you do?

I have to sell my house as own it with my ex and have now married again, can't afford to buy him out, which is a shame.

I'm wondering whether renting would be the best option until I find a house I do want to buy.

eddddy

Is it because you're unimpressed with what you can afford with your share of sales proceeds?

If so, I would normally say that waiting won't really help. If you rent for 6 or 12 months and property prices rise, you will be able to buy even less with your money.

But if you're into property speculation, some people say that an EU 'leave' vote vote will reduce property prices (so you could get more for your money)...

... but an EU 'remain' vote will bolster confidence and re-energize the property market and increase prices (so you will get less for your money).

D00gie72

A couple of years ago I experienced both ends of this. Both having an offer with no place to by. Then had an offer on a place accepted - but had no buyer. It's a chicken and egg situation and I don't this there is a "correct" way round to do it. All I suggest is you keep your buyer fully informed and no one spends any money yet on searches etc etc. Good Luck with the house hunting.

AnotherJoe

steph2901 wrote: »

I received an offer on my house last week, which I accepted, but I can't see anything I want to buy. Has anyone else been in this situation and what did you do?

I have to sell my house as own it with my ex and have now married again, can't afford to buy him out, which is a shame.

I'm wondering whether renting would be the best option until I find a house I do want to buy.

Not in an environment where house prices are rising. If you are downsizing then you should hold on until you are in a chain as otherwise if you move into rented even what you can afford now will gradually slip out of reach. If you are upsizing then that applies even more so (but i presume you arent or you'd be buying the ex out)

steph2901

eddddy wrote: »

Is it because you're unimpressed with what you can afford with your share of sales proceeds?

No, this isn't it. There's just nothing available right now. A couple of months ago there were lots of houses up for sale, now there seem to be hardly any, and the ones that are available are the ones which have been up for ages and are awful.

steph2901

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Not in an environment where house prices are rising. If you are downsizing then you should hold on until you are in a chain as otherwise if you move into rented even what you can afford now will gradually slip out of reach. If you are upsizing then that applies even more so (but i presume you arent or you'd be buying the ex out)

Yes, I'm downsizing, which isn't a problem as I really don't mind moving somewhere smaller/cheaper, I just want somewhere that's nice.

[Deleted User]

This might sound a bit flip but I don't mean it that way.

Buy somewhere least 'awful' or with most potential but awful now and make it 'nice'?

McClane54

renting or buying somewhere cheaper will have to do for now

sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward

Hoploz

What has the buyer been told? If they are aware you need to find something and haven't done so yet, then they will have made their offer on that basis and should be happy to hold on for a bit to give you some time. My buyer ended up having to wait 6 months for us to find, but amazingly they did wait. It might make a difference if they have a chain below them too, or whether they have nothing to sell in which case they might be able to be more flexible. The thing is, the right house could be just around the corner, and you are in a great position when it does

steph2901

Hoploz wrote: »

What has the buyer been told? If they are aware you need to find something and haven't done so yet, then they will have made their offer on that basis and should be happy to hold on for a bit to give you some time. My buyer ended up having to wait 6 months for us to find, but amazingly they did wait. It might make a difference if they have a chain below them too, or whether they have nothing to sell in which case they might be able to be more flexible. The thing is, the right house could be just around the corner, and you are in a great position when it does

I'm guessing the estate agent has told them that we need to find something else. They are cash buyers so no chain. I've decided to see if anything else comes onto the market in the next couple of weeks, otherwise I may just have to rent rather than lose my sale.

I am willing to buy something which needs a bit of work, but the market at the moment isn't very good and there's not much choice.

ellie27

We were in similar situation in which we had a buyer and had to sell and there was nothing that we wanted to buy.

We rented for 6 months and in that time found the perfect home and we were in no chain etc and everything went to plan. We were so glad we waited rather than just settling with choosing one of the houses on the market that would have just done but now we found our forever home.