Sell and then rent?

kmjas

We want to move but it's difficult to know whether to wait and see what happens with the market or just go for it now. Prices in our area are quite high so if we sold we would make a decent profit - however there is currently nothing available for us to buy. Do we sell and move into rented until we can find something we love? If ours sells quickly, how long do you think a buyer would reasonably wait for us to find somewhere? Would be great to hear other people's experiences in this kind of scenario! 

lookstraightahead

I have always broken the chain by selling then renting. This puts you at the bottom of the chain. I've rented with kids, pets etc. I've rented when moving to the other side of the country so I can get a feel for the place.
I will rarely wait for someone to find something, as I expect within reasons for others to rent as well. 
It has its pros and cons and there are reasons for not being able to rent, but that's just my perspective. It's worked for me - everyone needs someone to start the chain off otherwise nothing with ever sell.

AnotherJoe

How do you get on with the fact it's difficult to rent for less than 6 months and in many places 12? That was the snag I found, few landlords were happy with an expected 6 month or so rental  

lookstraightahead

AnotherJoe said:

How do you get on with the fact it's difficult to rent for less than 6 months and in many places 12? That was the snag I found, few landlords were happy with an expected 6 month or so rental  

I took the hit of 6 months (don't need to say it's only 6 and to be honest often it's longer). Had crossover periods and I felt always made the rental up on the benefit of being bottom of the chain. 
For me it actually reduced the stress. It's not for everyone but it's good for me to have everything in manageable chunks 😆

youth_leader

I have spent a lot of my savings on renting, but it's all worked out really well, I'm sure the seller chose me out of her bidders because I'm a cash buyer.   I was asked to pay over asking price to secure the property.  I had to look for a rental because I was selling at auction, so it is slightly different.  I  had to take this rented cottage before I needed it as the landlord kindly agreed to me bringing my pets.  I signed a six month tenancy on 7 February 2020, auction was 23 March 2020, I had signed up for a month's completion.  Buyer asked for eight weeks to complete which I agreed to, I completed at the end of May.  I had to sign up for another six months in the rental in August as I couldn't find anywhere to buy.  In late October I found a bungalow I can afford, but I would have had to give notice on 6 January January to leave 7 February, which I couldn't do due to delays as my vendor's solicitor had tested positive.  I just ignored the renewal and automatically went onto a periodic monthly tenancy.    Conveyancing has been slow, but I have just given five weeks notice, I complete on 11 March.  I wasn't able to get removals on the 11th, I move on the 12th, and will spend time deep cleaning the empty property.  I do have to shampoo the carpets as I've had pets here, and am concerned about receiving my full deposit back after some of the posts I've read on here.

Mildreds_Earrings

@kmjas As someone who was was in a chain of 8 that kept collapsing, I would always advise to sell first and move into rented accommodation, wherever possible. I sold my house in July and signed a 6 month rental contract. I have since signed another 6 month contract and then a Vendor accepted my offer. The house has Probate issues, so it will take a while to go through the sales transaction but I intend to be out of the rental property at the end of the current 6 month contract. 

Renting also put me in a stronger buying position, as according to the EA, my offer was accepted over those who had to sell their property first.

There are pros and cons to everything but the experience of being in a chain that kept collapsing and feeling constantly stressed was enough for me. Never again. I would always advise selling up and renting until you find the house you wish to purchase. All the best. 

kmjas

Thanks everyone for your responses. We've realised another complication this afternoon in that we have to apply for my youngest child's school place at the end of this year, and the local authority will only accept a rental property address if we have a min 12 month contract (no idea what they actually do if your contract is less than that!). So that's a huge consideration now, I'm less inclined to go towards rental purely for that reason.