How to handle the process

Nogain

Hello
Would greatly appreciate your advice on what will be the best way to get my family out of our current home to the new one. The situation is as follows:
We currently live in the apartment which I own outright (no mortgage). Unfortunately, my family had outgrown it and it's not toddler friendly. It's currently stuffed with baby items (we have twins) and would benefit from minor refurbishments which we can't do while kids are in the house as one of twins has lung problems. I don't think we will be able to show the apartment to potential buyers with kids in the house and it will not fetch the best price either, because it's so cluttered with kids stuff, gates etc and would rather have a fresh lick of paint here and there. Also, to buy a new house we need the proceeds from the sale of our current one as, otherwise, we will not have enough money from the new mortgage alone. So, I was thinking that, maybe, we can rent first and move out from our current flat into the rented place to do refurbishments. And, then, sell it and move to a newly bought house. What are financial implications of such process in terms of stamp duty, taxes etc? Is there other way which will be better? Thank you.

eddddy

Nogain wrote: »

So, I was thinking that, maybe, we can rent first and move out from our current flat into the rented place to do refurbishments.

Many landlords won't consider a let for less than 12 months.

Speak to some letting agents in your area and ask them about the chances of getting a short term let - and what you're likely to get for what money.

And consider the cost and hassle of two home moves in a short period of time - that put's lots of people off this route.

jackomdj

Depending on where you live you may be able to short term rent a holiday let (a relative of ours did this for a few months when they were between properties)

Nogain

Thank you for the advice. We live in London. I thought of renting for about 6 month to use the usual 6 months break clause. In ideal world something like rent-to-buy would have been perfect for us, but this seemed to be offered only on newly built flats and for social housing, while we want to move to a freehold house.

Lokolo

Whats going to be better both financially and easier on your situation

- Sell at a lower price given the awkwardness of photos and state of the property

- Move twice (once into rented and then into new home) and have to refurbish and have the running costs of 2 properties

Personally, I would rather get some storage, put a load in to make the flat more friendly to the eye, and sell it at a lower price with need of refurb than have the hassle of moving twice with kids (you say twins and maybe a hint of an additional child?)

ViolaLass

There are no implications for stamp duty or tax.

Renting for six months sounds sensible in your situation.

ThePants999

It might be worth TRYING to sell first. Some - most? - buyers can see beyond toys and stairgates, and visualise the property as they'd have it. You can always change plan if you don't get any offers at first.

ReadingTim

If the place is cluttered then get rid of the !!!! - freecycle, the charity shop or the tip. Hire a storage unit is you want to keep it - it's cheaper than renting a house.

If it's minor refurbishment it needs, then that's hardly going to aggravate a lung problem - dust and damp cause problems in large amounts, not small quantities of new paint smell. And if it does cause an actual problem rather than an imaginary one, then it's not a minor refurb.

Frankly, the kids sound like they're at an age where they're hardly aware of what's going on, and if they are, then they're just going to have to do as their told for a few months and suck it up, just like they have to eat their greens, clean their teeth and go to bed when they're told.

Yes, it's a bit of hassle, but far less hassle than the alternatives, and one helluva lot cheaper! Don't pander to the kids and don't make an expensive mountain out of a cheap molehill.

hazyjo

ThePants999 wrote: »

It might be worth TRYING to sell first.

ReadingTim wrote: »

If the place is cluttered then get rid of the !!!! - freecycle, the charity shop or the tip. Hire a storage unit is you want to keep it - it's cheaper than renting a house.

I was going to say the same as the above.


Storage unit for all the 'stuff'. Really, how much do they actually need?! Even if it means you get it all out of storage once you have an offer (and use it again every time they want to view again).


Sell as is. If you take a hit, it's surely got to be cheaper than renting and refurbing. You'll prob still have two lots of council tax and other bills to pay (you don't want to be leaving the heating off in winter!) - plus some insurance companies won't like it empty, even if you are actually going to be there working. You'll prob have to rent for a min or 6 months. I can't believe it needs 6 months' work, and, if it does, you're more than likely better selling as is!


Get it valued. Ask 3 EAs their opinion.

Nogain

Thank you everyone for talking common sense into me. I didn't think about the storage option. Frankly it's not only kids stuff, but years of my shopaholism and hoarding too that would require shifting and getting rid off. And I am going to talk to agents if viewing can be arranged only on the days my kids are in the nursery so that we can remove fireplace and staircase gates etc and minimize toys clutter on the floor. Regarding the refurbishments, we have some botched plastering after the waterproofing that resulted in unsightly cracks along some walls, the cracks are superficial and didn't change for the last 8 years or so, but some might think those are structural and get put off from buying. But lets see what agents think...