Buying house but delaying completion for 5 months

mrmumbai

Hello - FTB buyer here

I just wanted to get an idea of people's thoughts on my situation

I'm currently looking to get onto the property ladder, i live with my parents atm

I have my deposit + fees for a conveyancer however I am in the process of clearing all of my debts which total around the £4K mark

I am currently in negotiation on a house I really like, I've had 2 offers rejected however I'm taking it real slow with increased bids (waiting 2-3 weeks between offers) currently theres no other offers but there are plenty of viewings apparently.

My question is that now it is September, I would be looking to move in no earlier than February next year as this would give me the time to pay off the debt so I can have a bit of breathing room.

I know its not uncommon for the whole process to 6 months or so but would I be pushing it asking someone to wait until Feb if I had an offer accepted right now?

I dont plan on making my final bid until the end of the month anyways - but if theres no other offers on the property i have a feeling it would be accepted.

Obviously I know i should probably wait until I would like to move, given most people say it takes between 8-12 weeks but I have seen this house that I do really like

FYI the house has been up for sale since February so is it really asking too much since they haven't sold it yet?

Thanks!

Doozergirl

You can only ask. If there's going to be a chain and they haven't found a house then five months wouldn't be that bad.

We've just put our house on the market and we would probably be fine as long as we could exchange as soon as possible and set completion for Feb. We have no chain either, I'd just like a reliable buyer. Your being up front would probably put you into that category for me - I likes a bit of honesty in that respect, but leaving it so long between bids is a bit random and would make me question whether someone was actually that serious.

People tend to buy houses with their heart.

Thrugelmir

What plans do the vendors have? The chain that forms above you will determine the timeline.

mrmumbai

The reason I'm placing the offers with space between is because im trying the tactical game (i have no idea what im doing though haha).

The property is up for sale for 155K and is a 2 bedroom semi.

3 bedrooms in the same street are going for that price and since negotiation they have dropped their price to 150k and then 147K (after my second offer), im currently at 144K and hoping to get it for 145K but i'd probably pay 147K if im honest.

I haven't spoken about timescales yet though but I would let them know if they did actually accept the offer.

Edit: they haven't found a house yet

Thrugelmir

mrmumbai wrote: »

Edit: they haven't found a house yet

Nor are they likely to do so until they've sold their's..........

You can write Xmas/New Year off . As solicitors close and people will be reluctant to move at that time.

Slithery

Have you visited with a broker yet to actually see what sort of mortgage you are likely to get? It's pointless to start looking at properties until then.

mrmumbai

Yes I have sorted all of that out I have a DIP already

Tom99

The problem might be that your mortgage offer will probably not last until Feb and you can only exchange contracts providing you have a completion date in the contract within your mortgage offer expiry date.
You could delay exchange of contracts but you may then fine your seller gets a better offer and you end up wasting fees.

babyblade41

I think you are playing a precarious game of leaving so much time in-between offers, The summer hols are always slow and picks up rapidly mid September.

Those people who start looking now and come across this house may "want to be in before Xmas " your strategy may have been a waste of time.

In my view it will depend on who else is also in the chain so as much as 5 months isn't overly long you could have someone in that chain dependent on a quick move, if you are the only one against it it maybe out of your hands .

Better to not play games when buying and selling it invariably comes back to bite you in the butt

getmore4less

mrmumbai wrote: »

The reason I'm placing the offers with space between is because im trying the tactical game (i have no idea what im doing though haha).

The property is up for sale for 155K and is a 2 bedroom semi.

3 bedrooms in the same street are going for that price and since negotiation they have dropped their price to 150k and then 147K (after my second offer), im currently at 144K and hoping to get it for 145K but i'd probably pay 147K if im honest.

I haven't spoken about timescales yet though but I would let them know if they did actually accept the offer.

Edit: they haven't found a house yet

What's so special about this 2 bed that it is worth(to you) the same as a 3bed?

what are the other 2beds selling for?

You are risking the valuation coming in lower, if your deposit is decent you may be able to absorb that but if not...

hazyjo

Did your lender/broker know about the £4k debt? If you apply with the debt, they will take it into account (despite you promising to pay it off). So I suppose it depends how near your max limit you plan to borrow. You may want to wait until you've actually paid it off if you need to borrow your max.