How does moving home work in stages (selling and buying)

chev_chelios

Hi all,

I've decided to move home, I own my current flat (5years now) and I've found a few places I'm interested in. At present I'm preparing my flat (give it a lick of paint, plaster that hole the kids made etc). I should be finished by the end of the month. I'll also be calling the estate agents to arrange a survey for early December, but how do things look from there onward?

- my flat goes on the market and I go and view the properties that interest me - do I wait till I get an offer on my place or do I make an offer with the condition "when my flat sells?

- provided that we've got the sale agreed, how much time do I have to move? Someone told me that you pretty much only have an afternoon to move your things which sounds troublesome and expensive (removal company) or can you arrange to get the keys a day earlier or something to that extent?

Any help is appriciated.

Ta! :beer:

googler

Are you selling in E&W, or Scotland?

saajan_12

If you need the money from your flat sale for the new purchase, you need to sell -> then buy.
If you need to live in one of the properties on any given day, you need to buy-> then sell.

So, you need to buy & sell on the same day ie in a chain.

1. Get your flat on the market and accept an offer to sell
2. View houses to purchase and offer to buy
3. When chain is complete (everyone has somewhere to sell/buy) then all parties perform checks (searches, surveys, mortgage applications)
4. When all happy to proceed, exchange contracts to sell & buy at the same time, specifying a move date. IF you pull out after this you'll be liable for significant costs.
5. On the agreed date, complete on the sale & purchase: your buyer transfers money to your solicitor, who pays your vendor (together with your extra funds), your vendor gives you keys to your purchase, you give buyer keys to the flat and everybody moves.

So yes, you move on one day (usually 1 afternoon by the time you actually get keys to the new place. You can pack and load vans ahead of time and then move in on completion.

If you want a more gradual move, you'd have to break the chain by moving out into storage / temporary accommodation, complete on the sale and then complete on the purchase on the same day or later and then move in. But you can't have access to both properties at the same time.

SuboJvR

chev_chelios wrote: »

Hi all,

I've decided to move home, I own my current flat (5years now) and I've found a few places I'm interested in. At present I'm preparing my flat (give it a lick of paint, plaster that hole the kids made etc). I should be finished by the end of the month. I'll also be calling the estate agents to arrange a survey for early December, but how do things look from there onward?

- my flat goes on the market and I go and view the properties that interest me - do I wait till I get an offer on my place or do I make an offer with the condition "when my flat sells?

- provided that we've got the sale agreed, how much time do I have to move? Someone told me that you pretty much only have an afternoon to move your things which sounds troublesome and expensive (removal company) or can you arrange to get the keys a day earlier or something to that extent?

Any help is appriciated.

Ta! :beer:

Well if you are in a chain, everyone who is buying and selling pretty much needs to move out & in on the same day, so it is stressful! If you get the keys a day early and someone is still living there, they won't be very pleased when you show up wanting to move your stuff in

The best you can do really is load up all your stuff into a van or something overnight the day(s) before and be ready on the day of completion to then move on.

I wouldn't move without a removal company now, but we have all our own furniture. It was easier when we moved out of a furnished flat as it was just our "stuff" that we had.

hazyjo

**as googler says, some of this won't be relevant. Presumed E&W as others had replied.
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Your lender will arrange a survey or you do it yourself. Not sure I'd be asking the EA for recommendations, although have been given them before (they won't be arranging it).

I would get an offer on yours first or you won't be taken seriously, but keep an eye on the market (if you're not going to fall in love with something before you've sold).

You will all usually complete on the same day if in a chain (my buyers have completed a couple of weeks before the rest meaning they've had to find alternative accommodation).

Why is it troublesome to use a removals company? Yes it is expensive, but cheap in the scale of things when you think about the other outlays you'll have - and tbh they are the one thing I think are worth EVERY PENNY. Will never ever attempt to pack again! They take the stress away. You start packing when you exchange if you're doing it yourself as the completion date is fixed at that point. Usually there's several days - up to a month between exchange and completion. No, you can't get the keys earlier.

chev_chelios

I knew I'd forget something, Scotland.

Thanks all, much clearer now. I tend to do as much as possible myself, hence the initial "dislike" towards removal companies, expense is another one

googler

chev_chelios wrote: »

I knew I'd forget something, Scotland.

Some of the advice above is only applicable to E&W ...

googler

chev_chelios wrote: »

my flat goes on the market and I go and view the properties that interest me - do I wait till I get an offer on my place or do I make an offer with the condition "when my flat sells?

You can do either in Scotland. If the property you're offering on has a lot of interest, then there'll likely be someone else who has an accepted offer on their property where you don't.

If there's little interest in your target property, and yours is the only offer, you may find the sellers more amenable to an offer with a variable entry date.

At the very least, you should have your current property actively on the market before offering on your new, especially if you anticipate competition from other buyers

chev_chelios wrote: »

provided that we've got the sale agreed, how much time do I have to move? Someone told me that you pretty much only have an afternoon to move your things which sounds troublesome and expensive (removal company) or can you arrange to get the keys a day earlier or something to that extent?

You can't get the keys until you own your new property, and you don't get ownership until funds change hands through solicitors on the entry date. However, once the missives are concluded on your purchase, you know that your entry date is fixed, and you can start planning for the day. If you want to move in later, there's storage options, either with your remover or self-store

SuboJvR

chev_chelios wrote: »

Thanks all, much clearer now. I tend to do as much as possible myself, hence the initial "dislike" towards removal companies, expense is another one

I can't cope with packing anymore and maintain full concentration on my work. Unfortunately my other half has some long hours and a long commute so he isn't able to help, hence it falls in my lap. So nope, no thank you! The last time we moved was the first time I had someone else pack and it was amazing to not really need to do anything until the day in question. So much less disruptive.