How long is a reasonable amount of time to make a buyer wait?

akorn77

Chris_English said:

akorn77 said:

I am going to be accepting an offer on my house soon to a FTB. I've started viewing houses this week, but there is nothing on the market that I like. I'm hoping stock will increase in February/March. 

I've never sold a property before. Wanted to ask how long people on this forum have waited or have made their buyers wait? Thanks. 

I don’t think it’s reasonable to accept an offer if you may be waiting until March to even spit something.

In my opinion you’ve done this the wrong way round, and ought to have at least found a place before marketing yours.

If you do it your way round the decent thing is to be willing to move into temporary accommodation to avoid delaying your buyers’ move, if necessary.

Agents told me that my offer wouldn't be valid unless I had an offer on my own house. The houses I've kept an eye on have all sold within 2 weeks. So, I didn't have a choice in doing it this way. The FTB's who made me an offer only just got their AIP couple weeks ago, so their mortgage will still remain valid for a long time. I feel its best case scenario, if someone needs to wait. 

julicorn

Chris_English said:

akorn77 said:

I am going to be accepting an offer on my house soon to a FTB. I've started viewing houses this week, but there is nothing on the market that I like. I'm hoping stock will increase in February/March. 

I've never sold a property before. Wanted to ask how long people on this forum have waited or have made their buyers wait? Thanks. 

I don’t think it’s reasonable to accept an offer if you may be waiting until March to even spit something.

In my opinion you’ve done this the wrong way round, and ought to have at least found a place before marketing yours.

If you do it your way round the decent thing is to be willing to move into temporary accommodation to avoid delaying your buyers’ move, if necessary.

That would all be well and good, apart from that it just doesn't seem to work in the current climate. Around here, EAs don't let us view properties until we've found a buyer for ours, and houses get snapped up on their first open day. So even if you saw something you liked, you wouldn't be able to get yours on the market quick enough to even get a foot in the door. 

TripleH

@googler what happens regarding new builds in Scotland? Surely that would still have the same issue as you wait for them to be built?

tracytown

Flats take a lot longer due to more people involved like property management and their lawyers. Took me 4 months last year, 5 months for another flat. Houses will be faster.

jenni_fer

Unfortunately this is the crazy way the market works at the moment. The offer we've accepted came 3 months after they had accepted an offer on their property from a FTB. Our search is ongoing (we've got a live offer in but if that fails there is absolutely nothing else worth us viewing on the market at the moment) and they will unfortunately just have to wait. Or find an alternative property which will almost certainly be in the same situation.

googler

TripleH said:

@googler what happens regarding new builds in Scotland? Surely that would still have the same issue as you wait for them to be built?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5758793/buying-a-new-build-in-scotland-when-you-have-a-house-to-sell

lookstraightahead

None. I would expect to go into rented as a vendor (which I did do), and I would expect my vendors to move into rented if I were buying their house (as has just happened). Someone had to break the chain. Your first time buyers are obviously being put out if you make them wait (living with parents or in rented themselves). No one is more important than the other and everyone finds it hard.

I don't expect everyone to do it by the way, but I only buy if the vendors are willing to move.

What have you told the FTB, when does their mortgage expire, and what is their living situation?

lookstraightahead

Snookie12cat said:

Chris_English said:

akorn77 said:

I am going to be accepting an offer on my house soon to a FTB. I've started viewing houses this week, but there is nothing on the market that I like. I'm hoping stock will increase in February/March. 

I've never sold a property before. Wanted to ask how long people on this forum have waited or have made their buyers wait? Thanks. 

I don’t think it’s reasonable to accept an offer if you may be waiting until March to even spit something.

In my opinion you’ve done this the wrong way round, and ought to have at least found a place before marketing yours.

If you do it your way round the decent thing is to be willing to move into temporary accommodation to avoid delaying your buyers’ move, if necessary.

I think you find this is the only way you can do it at the moment. Most agents will not let you view anything unless you have a buyer and you definitely can not offer on something. They go so quick that by the time you saw it and sold yours it would be gone anyway.

It's a backwards system but it's the system that is being used at the moment.

Absolute opposite experience to mine. 

In my opinion, in my area, houses here are not going that quickly now, definitely slowing down, and there are so many people breaking chains and renting for the greater good and getting things moving so that they don't lose their buyers.

lugtigheid

I've also just posted something about waiting as a FTB on this forum. We're in our 10th month and hugely frustrated, mental health down the drain, vendors up-chain just seemingly messing about and blissfully unaware that people are waiting for them...  but at the moment we have no leverage for the many reasons that have been posted here - there's no viable alternatives and we hear anecdotally that houses that come on the market have 40 viewings in one day.

Don't make people wait. It's a terrible situation for them to be in.

Belleofthebooks

Chris_English said:

akorn77 said:

I am going to be accepting an offer on my house soon to a FTB. I've started viewing houses this week, but there is nothing on the market that I like. I'm hoping stock will increase in February/March. 

I've never sold a property before. Wanted to ask how long people on this forum have waited or have made their buyers wait? Thanks. 

I don’t think it’s reasonable to accept an offer if you may be waiting until March to even spit something.

In my opinion you’ve done this the wrong way round, and ought to have at least found a place before marketing yours.

If you do it your way round the decent thing is to be willing to move into temporary accommodation to avoid delaying your buyers’ move, if necessary.

Most estate agents will not let you view a property if you are not in a proceed-able position these days. So sellers are not able to view any properties until they have an offer on their own property first.