Need to move and sell short time after buying

Carlotta22

We bought a house a couple of months ago that was a mistake. Nothing wrong with house or area - normal mid terrace In cheaper part of a popular suburb in London, but unfortunately after moving I got incredibly sick. We couldn’t have predicted it but There is a chance I may not recover fully and we really need to move nearer to family to get help in the long term.

We’re aware we can’t sell the place until we’ve been there 6 months but would like to move into rented when we put it on the market so that we aren’t here an indefinite amount of time. Wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation due to work or family or just hating the place and wanting to move fast?!? Is it a good idea to rent before sale goes through and how have people dealt with offloading a house after 6 months? Or would it be better to rent out our current house for a couple of years and rent somewhere else. We have a good reason but concerned about losing even more money and trying to do the smartest thing although health and family do come first right now. Really greatful for any advice or insights. Thanks!

AdrianC

You can sell the place within six months - there's nothing at all stopping you. Potential buyers may find mortgage lenders reluctant to lend against it, however.

If you bought it "a couple of months ago", then by the time you've marketed it, found a buyer, they've gone through the legals and are approaching completion, you may well find you're close to that six months.

If you can't stay there because of health, do you really want to be starting a residential lettings business? Would that be the right property, even if you wanted to? And can you get CtL or move to a BtL mortgage so soon after purchase? Do you have sufficient equity...?

Moneyminded

Hi Carlotta,

Sorry to hear that you have been unwell.

You might find this previous thread helpful as the situation was similar https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5610530/house-sale-less-than-6-months-after-buying

PasturesNew

Speaking as a buyer I'd worry about why you were selling it this quickly. If there were something in the details about why you were moving on then I'd phone the agent for a viewing, else I'd just think "must be a neighbour from hell next door", or "bought a dud, probably falling down".

Re price.... if it were previously bought at a good price I'd expect to pay the same.... although for a quick sale I'd go in with a lower offer anyway.

You can sell it, you're just limited to cash buyers and a few mortgage users. There's no law against selling, just some lenders have restrictions to prevent people snapping up 'bargains', splashing a bit of paint round to disguise cracks and flogging it on a month later for £50k more.

foxy-stoat

Dont rent it as you wont be able to get consent to let and by the sounds of it you dont want to be a landlord. Put it on the market at the same price that it was originally advertised for when you bought it.

You will find that you will unlikely be completing 6 months from when you completed so the time frame should be an issue, unless the original vendors had lots of interest but it will still take a couple of months minimum from offer to completion.

eddddy

Something else to check when you're doing your calculations...

If you sell, will there be an early repayment charge for your mortgage? The charge can be up to 5% (or sometimes even more) of the mortgage.

Some mortgage lenders waive the charge if you port the mortgage to another property - but that means you'd have to buy another property very soon after selling - rather than renting.