When to put house on the market

Golden_Glow90

I’m new to buying and selling. Our current house was our first home and a new build so it was pretty straight forward. Wait for it to be built and continue out tenancy agreement. But we are looking to relocate with 2 very small children this time around. My husband and I have new jobs for September so ideally would like to move during the summer holidays or as close as possible. We like the idea of another new build, although would buy old if it had been recently refurbished but the area we are moving too is fairly new so loads of new builds, not so many other houses for sale. 

Anyway so buying in general, or buying new, when should we put our house up for sale to time the move for around the summer? I don’t want to put our house on the market too early but similarly, I don’t want to be left with no house when we start our new jobs. Renting in the meantime is a no-go with 2 little ones.

Slithery

Put it on the market ASAP. Even with a small chain and no problems it can still take 3+ months.
If you decide to buy another new build then that could also be a problem as the developer will want to insist on you exchanging within 28 days of your reservation but without a confirmed completion date which won't be acceptable for most of your potential buyers.
The easiest option would be for you to buy a new-build where the developer is willing to part-exchange your current property.

Flugelhorn

the problem is that even if you get a sale for your property then get an offer accepted on the next property you may have to wait - wait for your buyers to be ready, if you buy a new house you'll be waiting for that to be built and if not a new house waiting for the vendors to find somewhere else to go  - best to think more seriously about renting particularly if you are moving a distance 

kazwookie

How long is a piece of string?

Will your existing house sell easily?

What sort of chain will you have?

How long are searches taking in your area?

Have you found a new house you like.

Do you need a mortgage?

Personally I would get it on the market asap, the offer you accept, the folk 'could' pull out, and you are back to square one.

I wish you well, get clearing, and ready to pack asap.

Golden_Glow90

I think if we bought new, we’d have to buy one already built or partially built as buying beforehand means 6-8 months wait and I doubt a buyer for our property would be willing to wait that long, but I was just a bit worried if we bought one already finished, they’d want us to move in straight away. We can’t part ex as ours is too expensive, we’re moving from an expensive area to a cheaper area so looking to spend a similar price to what ours is worth and I’ve seen that most developers only part ex up to 70% of the new house. We’ve already had our house valued by 3 estate agents as we wanted to check if we could afford the move first so I’ll look into getting it put on the market soon then. 

Flugelhorn

the problem with new builds at the moment is that many are being reserved as soon as they are released - might be some tkime before they are completed. to speed up the  move it can help looking for properties with "no onward chain" as that can simplify the process

lookstraightahead

It might sell quickly or it might not so no one can say.