How long did you keep your house on the market for?

HanPop

Hi all, I just wondered how long did you keep your house on the market for before you decided it wasn’t worth the hassle?
So our situation is this - put on market in Feb and sold in 6 days with 2 offers. All was fine and even signed contracts ready for exchange then buyer decided to pull out 15 weeks after offer made. Obviously was devastated. We were buying a new house and they said they would wait to see if we could get a new buyer. 2 weeks later we had an offer from first time buyers but they wouldn’t give their documents to estate agents. Fast forward 10 days and it turns out they can’t obtain enough mortgage. Our new build developer does not know yet...anyway I am so fed up with the whole thing that I just cannot be bothered to do it anymore. The problem is we’ve had 3 children since we bought this house and it is just too small. The house we want is a perfect size and we have to buy new build as we need the HTB equity loan. We have a viewing tomorrow but to be honest if we don’t get an offer I feel like pulling it off the market and just booking us a holiday instead! This process is just so very stressful I think I need to remove myself from it. I’m constantly chasing estate agents and then have the developer chasing us and trying to make the house look impeccable for viewings whilst I have 3 children 4 and under is affecting my mood considerably. Think I will play the lottery tomorrow to see if I can win and then I won’t need a buyer 😂.

happy35

Could you part exchange your house against the new build? I did this as I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle, it sold within 2 weeks but buyers took a while to complete as they were in a chain. I had been in the house about 6 weeks before my house completed .

In your position I would keep marketing it until the house you want is no longer available.

pinkteapot

I know it's grim, and you start to feel unsettled in your own home because you know you're planning to leave... But do you really want to stay in the house you're in? If not, you're going to have to get through this process.

HanPop

You’re not allowed to part exchange when using HTB so unfortunately we have to sell ourselves. I know the FTB’s who put an offer in aren’t to blame but surely they should have known roundabouts what they could afford before putting an offer in and then even upping it quickly?!
Anyway no I can’t stay in this house but we’re in a funny position that if we don’t get this particular house then I feel we’re stuck here. The one we’re going for is already built and is £4000 less than the next one of its type due to be finished by Christmas. We cannot afford the extra £4000 and also my husband gets paid more in the winter than summer so this mortgage we have is based on the winter pay and if we have to redo mortgage we may not get the amount we need. The development is at the end and it’s a cheaper area (but I currently live this end of town so I know it’s fine) so I’m worried about what we can afford if this goes....for example the same developer has another development the other end of town and my house type is £60,000 more which I think is crazy. Anyway I will try to keep going until the developer pulls the plug I suppose.

Albala

There are bridging loans, but...well, risky if you haven't actually exchanged on your sale with a date for completion, as an open-ended loan at high interest can be a crippling thing. And IIRC from when my parents did it donkey's years ago, the interest rates are very high, even if you could get one.



Is the new house ready yet? They do seem to run late quite often, which could give you a bit of breathing space. I tend to agree with happy35, you have nothing to lose by keeping going until the developer says 'it's ready, now or never' - unless, of course, if you withdraw now you'd avoid any penalty clauses or whatever for not buying?

Fosterdog

If you won't pass affordability if you have to reapply for your mortgage then can you actually afford the new house? Have you honest about your annual income to you mortgage provider or are you trying to get away with appearing to have the winter income all year?

Slithery

Sell up then go into rented, this will put you in a good position for when you are ready to proceed on a new build.

HanPop

Yes we have been honest and gave the broker the last 3 months payslips and p60, it is just a bit complex with my husbands wage. In the winter he earns more as standard every month and in the summer he earns around the same but at this time of year it is classed as ‘overtime’ rather than in his winter pay it is classed differently. So yes we can afford it financially but I worry that we would not get the same amount loaned to us if it was taken from summer payments (I could be wrong). To be honest the actual mortgage would only be £400 a month which i consider to be very low, so it is not like we’re overstretching ourselves on this.
The house is already built and has been stood there fully completed since February when we put the deposit down.

[Deleted User]

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HanPop

Still not sold! But developer still has our house reserved as we did what they asked and put it on with another estate agent. We’ve had a few viewings, all seem to like the actual house but then say random things like ‘it’s too close to town’ (it’s a 10 min walk, and I thought that was a good thing?)
We were getting very stressed about it all but now I’ve decided that whatever will be will be.

comedyseeker123

Post the link of your house for suggestions of how to improve?