What do we do if we sell and have nowhere to go?

smorri4

Hi everyone. House on market for 2 weeks we have had one couple view twice now who have sold their place and are keen to be moved in the next 6 months. We haven't really started looking properly as in viewings but there really does not seem to be much on the market that we like. We are looking for our 'forever home' for the next 20/30 years so have some specific things we need from that. Has anyone ever been in this position and then moved out into rented? or a air bnb? any obvious issues or downsides with that or am I best trying to stay on property ladder  by just buying 'something'???????

RelievedSheff

If there is genuinely nothing that suits you then moved into rented until something comes up.

Obviously there are costs involved in this and you will have to move twice.

The other thing is are you looking for a property that just doesn't exist?

WoozieSioux_tse

If you aren't advertising as 'no chain', do let any buyers know when they put in an offer- it could be a nasty shock if you end up in a really long chain when you do start looking. Some buyers will hang around for the right house, others won't.
It might be fairer to move into rented, but it has to be right for you. Bear in mind that the rental market also might be a bit mental at the moment- lots of people are competing for less rental stock in many areas. And even short term AirBnbs are few and far between in some areas, so make sure you are comfortable and only go into this situation if you've thoroughly researched availability- it's much trickier now that restrictions are to be lifted! 

pinkteapot

You can either make your buyers wait, or 'break the chain' and go into rented. 

Which you do depends on: 

1. How lucky you think you are to (a) have a buyer and (b) at the price they've offered. If you had loads of interest and would easily get another offer at that price, you're better placed to make the buyer wait and just get a new buyer if they give up and pull out. If you had little interest, or feel the offer is on the high side, it might be worth the cost and hassle of renting.
2. How practical it is for you to move into rented. It's a different decision for an adults-only house to one with kids at schools with their journeys to consider, lots of pets (it's hard to rent with pets), etc. 

There's nothing wrong with making buyers wait provided you are honest with them from the start and throughout. There's no obligation to do that of course, but it's just the decent thing to do. Some sellers aren't - there's often threads on here with people complaining that their supposedly quick, chain-free house, has turned into a slow long chain because their vendor decided to buy after all.

Some years back we accepted an offer and told our buyers when they viewed that we wanted to buy in a very popular area where little came to the market, so it might take us a while to find somewhere. They decided to offer anyway, and waited a few months until a good house came up for us. We wouldn't have broken the chain because it was back when there were big stamp duty jumps at certain price points, which had held our price down to one of those price points. They'd offered at that level and we'd easily have got another buyer to do the same. If they'd jumped over that level and offered more, we'd have taken it and incurred the hassle/cost of renting. I think they hung on for our house because they were getting it at a decent price.

WoozieSioux_tse

Do you actually have to move into something that is exactly what you want now, or could you maybe buy something that has the potential to be what you think you want with a bit of work, over time? What are the absolute must haves for now? Do you have to stay in your current area? Do you have family commitments (parents needing help/care, children settled in brilliant schools- probably less of a consideration now, depending on how they coped during lockdowns)?

Suseka97

We broke the chain and moved out into an Airbnb rental, but only did so because we had confidence that our purchase would go through as planned (in terms of timeframe).  We did that because we moved a substantial distance (300+ miles) and initially intended to move into a longer term rental and look for properties once we'd moved.  As it happened, we found a property we liked not long after we'd accepted an offer on our property, so a long term rental was no longer a viable option (and they were proving difficult to find).

If I had been moving locally I don't think I would have been prepared to break the chain and would have made that clear at the start to any potential buyer and I agree with what has been said, in that's its very much an individual decision based on your circumstances.

Your house hasn't been on the market that long and you may well find something pops up over the coming weeks, but you need to be honest with your buyer and if they are committed to the purchase, they'll likely wait.  If not, if you have confidence that your house is priced at the right level and likely to get other offers, then you can take a bit more time.

Whatever else you do, you must research your options and understand the rental market in your area and if you are upfront with your EA and potential buyers, then you're on the right track.

lookstraightahead

We moved into rented for our own sanity as well as to break the chain. Love our rental - some folk find it daunting/don't want to move twice/think it's more stressful but I see it as the opposite.  It's more difficult if you have pets. 

Suseka97

lookstraightahead said:

We moved into rented for our own sanity as well as to break the chain. Love our rental - some folk find it daunting/don't want to move twice/think it's more stressful but I see it as the opposite.  It's more difficult if you have pets. 

Have to agree, renting with pets was definitely an issue for us and we ended up having to put them into their own 'short term boarding' at a local cattery.  That said, being able to close the book on our sale and not have to tie that up with the purchase (given the distance) has proved to be a benefit for our mental health.

[Deleted User]

Have you considered taking a drive out and locating some properties you would be interested in, then sticking a letter through the door to show your interest and ask if they would consider selling. Its a bit of a long shot but I believe this kind of tactic has worked for others. 

Its a tricky situation and to be honest its what has put us off selling till now. Everything coming up for sale in our area is either new build, second hand new build, or first time buyer type homes which is what we want to move on from. I've seen hardly anything in the last 3 months that i'd be interested in buying. But we've come to the realisation that if our perfect home were to come on the market, we would be in no position to even have a viewing, so its a risk we're just going to have to take. 

theartfullodger

Not in any way a recommendation, but option to sleep on a bench in the park:  Rather too, too many already do so in the "world-beating" country...

A disgrace on us all.. IMHO

n0438

This was my fear as we were after the forever home is our school catchment area, so very limited.  We sold just after several houses we saw as potentials sold so I was stressing.

Our agent told our buyers to be patient as we needed to find somewhere as prior to that we couldn't view due to covid.

We emailed/phoned all agents to confirm what we wanted and within a day one said there was one house they'd just taken on.  No pictures, no floorplan but we visited and offered before it went to open market.

So don't panic until you have to.  Things come up all the time so give it s few weeks and you never know.