Has anyone ever rented a property before selling their own

Snow_Angel

Just wondering if anyone has ever rented a property before putting their own property on the market to sell. I know some people move into rented after getting offers before buying their next property in order to 'break a chain'.

Bearing in mind chain-free properties are likely to be more popular, has anyone ever done, or considered, doing this to make their property more attractive to buyers. I need to sell my house and basically just trying to decide how to make my property the most attractive to buyers in the current market. 

Trying to think of potential negatives or if this is just a plain crazy idea!  Obviously this is assuming you had the funds to do it. You may end up not being able to sell but if you'd only signed say a 6 month rental contract, you could just move back into your own house. And hoping the landlord/lady don't evict you at the end of the 6 month tenancy if you have sold your own house before buying another one (but I guess that risk is the same for people moving into rented to break a chain).

Has anyone done this or how have people who moved into rented to break a chain got on?

hazyjo

Leaving your house empty is very unlikely to make it more appealing. Feel like I'm missing what you're trying to achieve.

Your insurance won't like your house being left empty. It'll cost you two lots of bills. You may not pass affordability checks if paying out for a mortgage (not sure if you are).

Either rent when you sell, or create a chain.

Mutton_Geoff

You're selling a home not a house. Move out and it's just a cold box. Keep living in it.

Snow_Angel

hazyjo said:

Leaving your house empty is very unlikely to make it more appealing. Feel like I'm missing what you're trying to achieve.

Your insurance won't like your house being left empty. It'll cost you two lots of bills. You may not pass affordability checks if paying out for a mortgage (not sure if you are).

Either rent when you sell, or create a chain.

Thanks for your comments. Good point about the insurance, although you can take out special empty property insurance. 

In terms of bills, not sure if this is the same across the UK but our council exempt council tax for empty houses for up to 6 months. Water and gas/electricity would be an issue but budgeted for that. 

I guess what I'm trying to achieve is making the sale/conveyancing potentially much quicker, to remove the potential for it falling through with a chain. My house is the sort popular with first time buyers so they'd be chain free too. The current economic climate and market are making me very nervous as I really need to sell the house due to personal circumstances, rather than just wanting to sell it and having the luxury of time. 

youth_leader

I was selling at auction and moved out into a rental the month before, I was living between the two.  Even though I was going to the house every day to pack and leaving lights on at night, I still had thieves ransacking my garden and had ornaments/metal stolen.  I'd recommend staying, I hope you sell quickly.

diystarter7

Hi OP

We move to a property we bought to rent and left our furniture and stuff . Our house was never cluttered but we removed a few things to make it lokk like a nice, lived-in show house. Because it was summer, we did not need to keep the heating on but we used vist it several times a week on the way work or back and aired it to freshen it and fresh air. It sold very quickly for almost the asking price. As we moved our stuff it, the 31 floor lounger looked bare and not as appealing imo - but the advantage is it looks even bigger - we used to leave the bespoke 4 foor wide doulve door to the conservatory open and the light shone in - it sold quickly and could have sold for more than th asking price if we had sold to a person that was in a chain.


Personally we would not rent as what if it doent sell/etc/etc - we;d offer it chain free if in your shoes and once ready for exchange allow your self a few weeks to get into a rental, job done, chain free status.

Then there is luck 

Good luck

Snow_Angel

youth_leader said:

I was selling at auction and moved out into a rental the month before, I was living between the two.  Even though I was going to the house every day to pack and leaving lights on at night, I still had thieves ransacking my garden and had ornaments/metal stolen.  I'd recommend staying, I hope you sell quickly.

That's dreadful. I hope it all worked out for you in the end. 

p00hsticks

Snow_Angel said:

hazyjo said:

Leaving your house empty is very unlikely to make it more appealing. Feel like I'm missing what you're trying to achieve.

Your insurance won't like your house being left empty. It'll cost you two lots of bills. You may not pass affordability checks if paying out for a mortgage (not sure if you are).

Either rent when you sell, or create a chain.

In terms of bills, not sure if this is the same across the UK but our council exempt council tax for empty houses for up to 6 months. Water and gas/electricity would be an issue but budgeted for that.

Not round our way - empty properties are only exempt under certain conditions, such as if the previous occupier has died or moved into care. It's also worth checking on whether the property has to be unfurnished for it to count.

What are you proposing to do about the furniture ? Rent somewhere unfurnished and move all your furniture into it ? Put your furniture into storage ? Or leave it in the house ? The first two options will add to your overall costs and IMO will make the house less appealing. 

MikeJXE

Yes but didn't actually move out. I saw somewhere I wanted to be and rented it before someone else did. It's not a good idea to try to sell an empty property IMO 

youth_leader

Thanks, I did sell at auction during the first Covid outbreak in March 2020.  My house was a listed II and needed maintenance.  I didn't get anywhere near the price the agents said I could achieve, but was scared with Covid so decided my freedom from the worry was priceless.  Good luck.  

lookstraightahead

Yes I moved areas for work and rented prior to selling. Sold quickly to someone who had sold and moved into rented. No others in the chain.