Offer acceptance on two properties

Slinky

RS2OOO said:

After we listed, practically all of my home owner friends responded with general negativity explaining why they are planning extensions as opposed to stress of selling / moving.

Now onto my 3rd buyer and the chain teetering on the edge of collapse my wife and I have started to discuss what was originally a worst case scenario - staying put. We are still praying that won't happen, but if it does, that's £13,000 the Government won't be getting in Stamp Duty.

The Government may not be getting your £13K in stamp duty, but your friends will be paying 20% VAT on their extensions, plus their builders will be paying income tax and possibly corporation tax too. There are many ways the Government has their hand in your pocket.

peterhjohnson

I think it's a good idea for house sellers and buyers to devote some time to researching the market(s) thoroughly.
On my recent move, I put in some work so I knew:

1. The likely worst case selling price to get the old house to sell in a few weeks,
2. How much money I could raise
3. That I would have enough money to buy what/where I wanted despite being fairly fussy
4. That I might have to wait a bit for a suitable house to come up

Because of #4, I was ready to go into rental although I was very lucky in that 2 great properties came up when I went SSTC on the old place. 

I think that my item #4 is something people need to give more attention to. You can for example look at the Land Registry price paid tool. There are areas where 2/3 bedroom terrace houses get sold every month. There's also a street of 400 detached houses and one is sold about every 3 years. Such information can help people be realistic.

lookstraightahead

peterhjohnson said:

I think it's a good idea for house sellers and buyers to devote some time to researching the market(s) thoroughly.
On my recent move, I put in some work so I knew:

1. The likely worst case selling price to get the old house to sell in a few weeks,
2. How much money I could raise
3. That I would have enough money to buy what/where I wanted despite being fairly fussy
4. That I might have to wait a bit for a suitable house to come up

Because of #4, I was ready to go into rental although I was very lucky in that 2 great properties came up when I went SSTC on the old place. 

I think that my item #4 is something people need to give more attention to. You can for example look at the Land Registry price paid tool. There are areas where 2/3 bedroom terrace houses get sold every month. There's also a street of 400 detached houses and one is sold about every 3 years. Such information can help people be realistic.

People won't rent - I don't know why really, as we've always found it easier to break the chain.

RS2OOO

Slinky said:

The Government may not be getting your £13K in stamp duty, but your friends will should be paying 20% VAT on their extensions, plus their builders will be are supposed to pay income tax and possibly corporation tax too.

There are many ways the Government has their hand in your pocket.

Corrected that for you.

Tongue in cheek admittedly.

I didn't pay VAT on my last extension (on the £17,500 labour), I asked about it, but the builders said they weren't VAT registered as they only do one or 2 a year (semi retired). In the months after completion I saw 3 or 4 extensions go up in my street, same builders!

Snookie12cat

lookstraightahead said:

peterhjohnson said:

I think it's a good idea for house sellers and buyers to devote some time to researching the market(s) thoroughly.
On my recent move, I put in some work so I knew:

1. The likely worst case selling price to get the old house to sell in a few weeks,
2. How much money I could raise
3. That I would have enough money to buy what/where I wanted despite being fairly fussy
4. That I might have to wait a bit for a suitable house to come up

Because of #4, I was ready to go into rental although I was very lucky in that 2 great properties came up when I went SSTC on the old place. 

I think that my item #4 is something people need to give more attention to. You can for example look at the Land Registry price paid tool. There are areas where 2/3 bedroom terrace houses get sold every month. There's also a street of 400 detached houses and one is sold about every 3 years. Such information can help people be realistic.

People won't rent - I don't know why really, as we've always found it easier to break the chain.

Lots of reasons - rents are astronomical at the moment, moving twice is annoying and pricey. In my county, there are 3 properties for rent 3 beds and above.. 3 in the whole county which is 107sq miles. They are a minimum of £900 each a month. I live in my house mortgage free, so I would never consider rented because each month I do, I am out of pocket by a lot.
People with small children etc, also do not want to uproot their lives for a few months as moving house is incredibly stressful. 

RS2OOO

Going into rented will always sounds easier in practice.

Issues with Pets (My Koi Carp - minimum 2000 gallons needed for short term accommodation), lack of storage, potential credit rating impact, all on top of the extra rental costs which are inevitably more than mortgage costs.

peterhjohnson

googler said:

A accepts offer.  In doing so, A accepts both the contract terms AND the entry date. 

So, does A accept the possibility that they won't find their next house in time and have to rent or be homeless?
And does B accept the possibility that they may not sell their current house in time and need a bridging loan?
Or is there something similar to the E&W chain formation process so that everyone commits on the same day?

GDB2222

A couple of people have suggested downloading the lease from the Land Registry, but that's misleading.

Leases are not available online, for some reason. You have to complete form OC2, then send that off to the LR, together with the fee (£7?). They will then send you the lease. 

Slinky

RS2OOO said:

Slinky said:

The Government may not be getting your £13K in stamp duty, but your friends will should be paying 20% VAT on their extensions, plus their builders will be are supposed to pay income tax and possibly corporation tax too.

There are many ways the Government has their hand in your pocket.

Corrected that for you.

Tongue in cheek admittedly.

I didn't pay VAT on my last extension (on the £17,500 labour), I asked about it, but the builders said they weren't VAT registered as they only do one or 2 a year (semi retired). In the months after completion I saw 3 or 4 extensions go up in my street, same builders!

Whether you paid VAT or not on the labour costs (naughty), I doubt you managed to avoid it on the materials.

lookstraightahead

Snookie12cat said:

lookstraightahead said:

peterhjohnson said:

I think it's a good idea for house sellers and buyers to devote some time to researching the market(s) thoroughly.
On my recent move, I put in some work so I knew:

1. The likely worst case selling price to get the old house to sell in a few weeks,
2. How much money I could raise
3. That I would have enough money to buy what/where I wanted despite being fairly fussy
4. That I might have to wait a bit for a suitable house to come up

Because of #4, I was ready to go into rental although I was very lucky in that 2 great properties came up when I went SSTC on the old place. 

I think that my item #4 is something people need to give more attention to. You can for example look at the Land Registry price paid tool. There are areas where 2/3 bedroom terrace houses get sold every month. There's also a street of 400 detached houses and one is sold about every 3 years. Such information can help people be realistic.

People won't rent - I don't know why really, as we've always found it easier to break the chain.

Lots of reasons - rents are astronomical at the moment, moving twice is annoying and pricey. In my county, there are 3 properties for rent 3 beds and above.. 3 in the whole county which is 107sq miles. They are a minimum of £900 each a month. I live in my house mortgage free, so I would never consider rented because each month I do, I am out of pocket by a lot.
People with small children etc, also do not want to uproot their lives for a few months as moving house is incredibly stressful. 

I don't disagree that there are reasons, I think you have to weigh up which is more stressful for your particular situation.

Personally I found renting a breathe of fresh air, but then we were dealing with moving across the country, and unfortunately a family bereavement at the same time (so a separate house sale/probate as well) and lockdown, so the renting part seemed like a doddle. We moved from a 4 bed house to a rented 2 bed flat. But at the other end, when we bought in the new area, we had an overlap and a short chain (weren't relying on buyers either).

I suppose you pick your battles and what stresses you out the most. 

I also wrap Christmas presents a few at a time rather than in one go 🤣