How long do you wait for your seller to find somewhere?

Bonniepurple

For those who say to go into rented - try finding a rental property around here.  I’ve just put the same area parameters into Rightmove as our buying one, and it returns 4 properties, 2 of which are retirement places and one which has steps in and out.  Down to one.  If I push it up to 5 miles, I get 15 results- 2 retirement, 2 land, 5 1 bed, 5 2 bed.  We need 3 beds.  If I go to for sale, within 1 mile there are 256 results, of which 183 meet our 3 bed criteria (okay, 182 without our house!).  Even *if* the right rental property was available, I don’t want to move twice.  It’s a hassle, it’s expensive and, for a family of 4 (one of whom is disabled) plus 3 pets, it’s not feasible.

benson1980

lookstraightahead said:

benson1980 said:

lookstraightahead said:

benson1980 said:

gab3x said:

benson1980 said:

gab3x said:

I hate people like your seller. If you put your property on the market you need to be ready to move fast once you get the offer or you will risk chain collapse for everyone else. Her actions are spoilt and selfish.

Finding a property should be easy if you do your research before receiving an offer. if you don't do it you may find you haven't priced your own property well or that you cannot actually afford the move and you're wasting everyone else's time and money as a result.

Yowsers.....perhaps they just want to find the right house for what is the biggest investment of their lives.

you can’t put a serious offer in until you have your house sstc. We’ve moved quite a bit over the last few years, always in chains. I would say two to three months is more reasonable before you start thinking of pulling the plug, and how long we took (and we were all over Rightmove/ringing agents). Luckily our buyers have always been reasonable people and understood the deal would get done. You cannot expect someone to find something as soon as they have an offer unless they get lucky, and will generally be waiting for something new coming on, because in hot markets what isn’t sold on Rightmove are the overpriced/flawed houses that no one else wants to buy. 

As long as they are making the right noises in terms of proactivity, I certainly wouldn’t be concerned at this point.

I wouldn't put an offer on a property without commitment from seller that they will exchange in 4-6 weeks time. If they haven't found anywhere by then they can always rent until they do even if they are portering. I would of course be prepared to do the same.

We moved house in January. The whole process took 10 weeks from offer, we had first time buyer for our flat and our seller was in a chain so 4 links in total.

That's how you operate in the hot market or you risk chains breaking. If seller takes two months to put an offer on a place then their seller does the same the whole process can take half a year to a year. In hot market this means that prices have significantly shifted and someone might get a cash offer from no chain buyer putting the whole chain in disarray. 

Erm...no. We're in a commuter village on the A3, which has always been very popular/rising market. People wait. If a buyer came to us with an offer subject to those conditions, we'd decline and just wait for a reasonable buyer to come along. I'd also consider them to be a potential nightmare to deal with going forward so it would put me off on a number of levels. With covid delays you couldn't even get conveyancing done in 4 to 6 weeks so this is totally unrealistic for most. We also have two kids, a load of stuff, and zero interest in going into rented. Three sets of buyers for us, and not once had a problem as long as we kept everyone updated. We have however focussed our search on chain free properties so we don't build in another delay. 

4 moves like this, a couple of wobbles with people below us having to secure new buyers, but all gone through without much drama. So I can categorically say this isn't how it has to happen in a rising market.

So you can see the value of looking at chain free properties, but expect others to wait for you. I'm not being argumentative, but you are actually specifying that you won't wait with your house purchase! 

Also worth noting on your search that despite you looking for chain free, they can change their minds and just before exchange decide they're not in a rush either/wouldn't entertain renting etc.

We've just bought and had absolutely no delays that were down to Covid. Maybe lucky, but the housing professionals that we experienced (solicitor/structural surveyor/EA/mortgage provider/search results) were all timely.

Yes, because we haven't advertised as chain free so our buyers are going in with their eyes open, knowing we need to find. We have looked for chain free properties to speed the process up as of course it's preferable hence why it's listed as a key feature in the rightmove ads. If the right house, not chain free, cropped up then I'm not saying we'd rule it out as such.

The point being, I don't think spending a bit of time in excess of the OPs timeframe in this case, trying to find the right house, is selfish or an outrageous thing to do, for all others in the chain. I've presented our own experiences in that our buyers haven't had an issue waiting for 2-3 months. Other buyers may have been different. One could argue it's selfish to try and specify exchange in 4-6 weeks following offer without taking into consideration the sellers circumstances. At the end of the day, everyone looks after their own agenda.

Our conveyancing that concluded December took around 10 weeks, and between this and 14 weeks was the norm at the time. Generally it's been 6-8 weeks pre-covid. 

I think you hit the nail on the head there. Everyone does look after their own agenda. What's reasonable to one person might not be to another. You probably wouldn't entertain my impatience, I probably would have given up by now 😊

If we'd have got to 10 week point say, and still no joy, and we had a really keen buyer who had put in a good offer and gave us a deadline to find/asked if we would consider going into rented- to be honest, we may have entertained it. Once you get into the realms of trying to remarket your property, it's lost it's fresh to market appeal. Generally we knew in our search area that usually a couple of decent well priced houses are marketed every 3 months so we were always confident we would find somewhere, and we made sure our buyers knew that when one cropped up we would't mess about with low ball offers.

I just think categorically saying that the sellers in this scenario are being selfish, is a bit off the mark. And agree with you- we understand other buyers wouldn't have been as patient as our ones but then we have sold to families so we were all in the same boat really in terms of being reluctant to go into rented.

lookstraightahead

Bonniepurple said:

For those who say to go into rented - try finding a rental property around here.  I’ve just put the same area parameters into Rightmove as our buying one, and it returns 4 properties, 2 of which are retirement places and one which has steps in and out.  Down to one.  If I push it up to 5 miles, I get 15 results- 2 retirement, 2 land, 5 1 bed, 5 2 bed.  We need 3 beds.  If I go to for sale, within 1 mile there are 256 results, of which 183 meet our 3 bed criteria (okay, 182 without our house!).  Even *if* the right rental property was available, I don’t want to move twice.  It’s a hassle, it’s expensive and, for a family of 4 (one of whom is disabled) plus 3 pets, it’s not feasible.

That's your choice, I accept that.

It's just that I wouldn't wait long, but accept that some won't move til they're ready - I just need to be choosy with my vendor.

Ive moved into rented a few times - one was because of a divorce and we sold the family home so it was me, children, cats. Not ideal. But had to sell up. 

Other times it has been to break the chain, in those circumstances it's worked really well and each time was a good bargaining tool. 

This time the pressure is really off as we have a month crossover between rented and the one we've bought so can take our time. We moved two hours away last time so finding a rental meant really being able to work out where we wanted to buy on our new area.

youth_leader

I sold at auction last March, so knew I'd have to be out in a month.  I started looking in the freezing foggy January and had a really miserable time trying to find a rental with my pets. Some of the rental agents need customer service training.   I was really shocked to be turned down for my first viewing by the 'Diocese' on a church property, they chose the couple that turned up early during my viewing.  As it turned out they did me a favour, I was lucky enough to rent the cottage ten doors away from my station,but had to take it in the February, a month early.  I wouldn't have been able to move out on my own if I'd had to travel so far with my stuff. And I still thank god I'd kept the kids' sledges which I used for the big boxes on the stairs, my removal firm said they weren't 'essential Covid workers' so I had to do it alone.  

My friend's buyer has now told her she is moving into an Airbnb, apparently she has it for a month.  I've sent my friend a card saying I hope your buyer grants your seller the same amount of time it took her to find your house - with a box of coffee bags and big bar of chocolate.  

gab3x

Thrugelmir said:

gab3x said:

I hate people like your seller. If you put your property on the market you need to be ready to move fast once you get the offer or you will risk chain collapse for everyone else. Her actions are spoilt and selfish

.

Nothing like an impatient buyer who considers others selfish and spoilt because they won't jump when they are told to by a total stranger.  I'd happily let such individuals walk away as the same attitude normally prevails throughout the whole transaction. Which is stressful enough at the best of times. 

I know what I want, I research the location and all property sales of houses in my price bracket and style in the area before I get an offer on my place. 

Once I get an offer it’s just a matter of booking a viewing and if I like it I go back in next 48hrs and make an offer. 

The offer that I make is never cheeky but on the higher side of what the market commands and this is done under condition that we exchange relatively fast. 

If the seller doesn’t like it they can say no but I never had my offer refused because I price it fairly and make it worth their while to get moving. 

You say you wouldn’t do business with me and I say I wouldn’t do business with the likes of you either. Happy days - free market!

Thrugelmir

gab3x said:

Thrugelmir said:

gab3x said:

I hate people like your seller. If you put your property on the market you need to be ready to move fast once you get the offer or you will risk chain collapse for everyone else. Her actions are spoilt and selfish

.

Nothing like an impatient buyer who considers others selfish and spoilt because they won't jump when they are told to by a total stranger.  I'd happily let such individuals walk away as the same attitude normally prevails throughout the whole transaction. Which is stressful enough at the best of times. 

Once I get an offer it’s just a matter of booking a viewing and if I like it I go back in next 48hrs and make an offer. 

You can only view what's on the market. Not just a question of booking a viewing. Let assume that you are the only potential buyer.  If there's a requirement for a particular location. 

gab3x

Thrugelmir said:

gab3x said:

Thrugelmir said:

gab3x said:

I hate people like your seller. If you put your property on the market you need to be ready to move fast once you get the offer or you will risk chain collapse for everyone else. Her actions are spoilt and selfish

.

Nothing like an impatient buyer who considers others selfish and spoilt because they won't jump when they are told to by a total stranger.  I'd happily let such individuals walk away as the same attitude normally prevails throughout the whole transaction. Which is stressful enough at the best of times. 

Once I get an offer it’s just a matter of booking a viewing and if I like it I go back in next 48hrs and make an offer. 

You can only view what's on the market. Not just a question of booking a viewing. Let assume that you are the only potential buyer.  If there's a requirement for a particular location. 

If you go for a micro location such as one street, small area or a village where properties seldom become available then you should inform your potential buyer when they make an offer as your buying process will be slow. If you are transparent about it then your buyer will make an informed choice and won't get frustrated. They might be OK to wait.

Key is to research everything ideally before you place your property on the market. Your knowledge will then give you an insight as to what you will be like as a seller/buyer. Offers should considered on this basis rather than just financials.

But if you accept an offer simply on financial basis, and then dally without being clear upfront.. this ain't fair, it's selfish.

JJR45

Bonniepurple said:

For those who say to go into rented - try finding a rental property around here.  I’ve just put the same area parameters into Rightmove as our buying one, and it returns 4 properties, 2 of which are retirement places and one which has steps in and out.  Down to one.  If I push it up to 5 miles, I get 15 results- 2 retirement, 2 land, 5 1 bed, 5 2 bed.  We need 3 beds.  If I go to for sale, within 1 mile there are 256 results, of which 183 meet our 3 bed criteria (okay, 182 without our house!).  Even *if* the right rental property was available, I don’t want to move twice.  It’s a hassle, it’s expensive and, for a family of 4 (one of whom is disabled) plus 3 pets, it’s not feasible.

We did it (admittedly without pets.) We spoke to agents every other day. You have to be first in, if it goes on Rightmove it is likely too late.
It is quite liberating to be honest, you get rid of loads of junk and somebody else has to do all your maintenance.

benson1980

I get the impression we are talking two different markets. It sounds like you might have traditionally been looking for a certain type of property for which the supply is pretty steady. When you are looking in certain locations (because you don’t want to move your kids out of their school and other such factors), and for a specific type of family home- different kettle of fish. Our first time buy was a case of simply booking in some viewings in a day, of two up two downs we liked the look of and offer was in same day.

the actions you describe re: research and knowing your market. Nothing special and anyone seriously looking for a house literally lives on Rightmove, refreshing several times a day. Nothing different there, and any discerning buyer asks for their sellers situation. So again, no one is pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes.

JJR45

benson1980 said:

I get the impression we are talking two different markets. It sounds like you might have traditionally been looking for a certain type of property for which the supply is pretty steady. When you are looking in certain locations (because you don’t want to move your kids out of their school and other such factors), and for a specific type of family home- different kettle of fish. Our first time buy was a case of simply booking in some viewings in a day, of two up two downs we liked the look of and offer was in same day.

No, we are limited to 3 small towns / villages that are near to my son's school or on bus route. It will be our 4th house.

Have been looking since July last year, something only come up last month and won't be available to live in until March next year.
We have been renting since completion (December).
We moved into a holiday let when my son was one,  for 3 weeks when we purchased at the bottom of the 2007 crash.
Mobility is your friend, we are now in a far better being, sold and in rented to buy our ideal house.

There is no hurry to find a house like when you have just sold and you have the choice of being extra picky.
Also you are also a cash buyer with no chain, that is worth a lot to most sellers.
I am glad we do it, your are not limited to what is available within a few weeks of your house being sold.