The old question sell then buy ?

bullinn1

Hi chaps, thinking of moving, we own our house outright and we don't want to rush into a new purchase and get the wrong house ... so ... do we sell and put furniture into storage and rent whilst we look and hope to cover those expenses by being a cash buyer with no 'chain' ?

I know this is a big question with lots of variables, just hoping someone might have some experience of the same dilemma, they might point out a few 'gotchas' that we haven't considered !

Many thanks

Roger

eddddy

rogertb wrote: »

... and hope to cover those expenses by being a cash buyer with no 'chain' ?

Be careful about overestimating the negotiating position of a cash buyer. The person you will buy from may well have a chain above them anyway.


And as a seller, which offer would you take:

- £190k from a cash buyer
- £200k from a buyer with a chain and mortgage

I think most people tend to accept the highest offer. But if both offers were £200k, the cash buyer might win. (But that's not saving the cash buyer any money.)


What sort of rental contract would you look for? Most rental contracts are fixed initially for 12 months. What would you do if you found a property after 2 months?

AnotherJoe

Its far more complex and expensive moving into rental than appears at first sight.
You will have to get a 6 month contract minimum (as said, often 12 months), you'll be trying to line up rental periods with house move dates, you are paying for storage, legal costs will be a bit higher, and as said you may not have the leverage you think. For example, I've seen some people say things here to the effect of "as the buyer is a cash buyer they can just drop out without compunction". and sure, you may not have a chain but there likely is one above you anyway.

You also are getting off the house price merry go round, if prices do go up (by no means a certain thing at the moment) there is pressure on you to move as you can see the money being less valuable each month.

I think you'd be better of taking your time looking and then when you find a house you want, making yours available at a price that is reasonable but also allows for the costs you havent incurred through renting.

If your house is one a FTB might go for, then also no harm putting it on now and making sure the buyers understand this. Many FTBs need time to save and are living with parents or already in rented on a rolling monthly contract so a few extra months wont be a deal breaker for them they can wait.

sammy70

we have just sold our house , completes today in fact!

We were going to rent, but instead are staying in our sons spare room, belongings stored at our daughters house . We looked into renting, but min term is 6 months, also most are unfurnished, and as we sold large items as part of our sale(we intended to replace when we bought forever house, so this saved storage costs), we would have had to buy items of furniture to fit the rental, so we are camping here , though if we haven't found a property in a couple of months we may re-think, don't want to out stay our welcome

We didn't want to be in the position where we find our dream house, but lose out because we cant sell ours in time

bullinn1

What an excellent resource this is ... you have really helped me step back and consider more carefully our options, thank you. We're pretty convinced that, if we price it correctly, ours will sell quickly (sought after area) so i guess we'll buy and keep fingers crossed !

Davesnave

We rented an unfurnished house large enough to store all our stuff. This was because we wanted something very specific. We'd done plenty of research and knew it might take a year, or even longer, to find an acceptable property.

It was 8 months until we bought, in a situation where a cash purchase was absolutely essential.

bullinn1

Yes a good thought Dave .... though possibly £5K for 6 months (plus 2x removals charges) ... worth considering !

Chanes

We sold and bought at the same time and we will never do that again, it wasn't worth the stress and pressure. Experience has told me to sell - rent - buy. I know it may have a cost but for the stress relief alone, I would think it good value!

phoebe1989seb

Our last three moves have been long distance - as will our next - plus we have/had dogs/cats and loads of large antique furniture requiring export wrapping. As a result our removals have cost between £2.5k and £4.25k so for us it wouldn't make financial sense to rent and have to move twice. We also didn't want to eat into our capital (cash buyers) by paying rent.......

G_M

Next time I move I plan to do the opposite: buy then sell.

mostonanne

1) sell
2) rent
3) buy

In that order. Best advice I have taken and given.