Can't decide next steps - 3 asking price offers collapsed - sell or stay?

Slinky

Have you even looked at what might be available to rent in your desired area? Word out there is that in most areas rental properties have got plenty of people chasing them. Landlords are probably looking for people wanting long term rental, not the 6 months being touted.

annetheman

Slinky said:

Have you even looked at what might be available to rent in your desired area? Word out there is that in most areas rental properties have got plenty of people chasing them. Landlords are probably looking for people wanting long term rental, not the 6 months being touted.

Yes and those are more big cons I didn't add*, reasons I'm really not liking the rent route - I have ruled it out entirely, but just responding to people's suggestions to do it. I totally see why it's suggested as a chain breaker. I'm kind of opening up to the idea of maybe breaking the chain by moving in with dad, if he finds a new place before I do (so I'm not a factor in his decision to stay). That's plan distant Z... and he doesn't like anything we've seen so far! 

*I stand corrected on my previous figure of £1,200 - cheapest is £1,650 for a 1 bedroom! Wow.

So I've been thinking and trying to get over my sadness at losing the house... I'm in mourning so it feels bleak but really it's not that bad - leaning to plan (b) don't sell, stay and staircase plan, then try again in a year or so... I'm going to try to enjoy the journey day by day and not just count down the months.

Nobody has concurred with either of the plans but the rent keeps coming back and that's the closest!

badger09

What a carp situation for you. IMO moving in with dad on a temp basis is the obvious solution. 

You break the chain so you’re in a much stronger buying position
No large rent costs so you can pay off expensive debts & save, resulting in lower mortgage costs. I don’t foresee a massive rise in house prices in the near future, but that’s a gamble. 

I do understand your reservations though. My adult son, after being totally independent for over 20 years, and a high earner working abroad, came to live with us in May 2022, with all his possessions. I won’t go into details as it’s his story to tell but his circumstances had changed dramatically. It wasn’t a situation any of us relished, a couple in their 70s with a comfortable routine in a small rural village, and a 40 something used to living the high life, but no longer able to do so. But we all made compromises & it worked. He bought his own home in the nearest town & moved in January 2023. 

It was absolutely the best solution for him & I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I suspect your dad feels the same. 

Apologies for the essay & I hope things work out for you. 

ReadySteadyPop

MobileSaver said:

annetheman said:

sheramber said:

 Could you rent in your new area until you find a suitable house. 

You would have the advantage of not being in chain when buying.

- Will be building no equity = throwing rent money in the wind

I get what you are saying with the other points but on this point you are only talking about renting for say six months or so? 

Realistically any property equity build-up over that period is likely to be minimal at best and could even be negative. In the short term you will probably be better off putting any sale proceeds into a 5% savings account...

Good advice, shared ownership is not going to build any equity anyway.

annetheman

ReadySteadyPop said:

MobileSaver said:

annetheman said:

sheramber said:

 Could you rent in your new area until you find a suitable house. 

You would have the advantage of not being in chain when buying.

- Will be building no equity = throwing rent money in the wind

I get what you are saying with the other points but on this point you are only talking about renting for say six months or so? 

Realistically any property equity build-up over that period is likely to be minimal at best and could even be negative. In the short term you will probably be better off putting any sale proceeds into a 5% savings account...

Good advice, shared ownership is not going to build any equity anyway.

It is possible, but definitely not always true. I'm not talking about making megaprofit, just equity e.g. (illustrative) paying £500 mortgage = build £100 equity - versus AST where yes you had a home which is great but you leave it only with whatever small deposit you put in at the start and some probably very nice memories!

I've only been here 3 years and I'm walking away with £9,000 more than I put in at the start (3 asking price offers received in 1 month though I've quit that EA with a heavy heart). I do overpay my mortgage which helps a lot and thanks to this forum/MSE recommending it, always have always will - great advice from here.

The other saving grace with shared ownership is that the new build premium loss is minimised by only owning a smaller share. I've been hit with 28% of the overall loss in value from new, if that makes sense? So overall value has dropped £15,000 but loss for me is about £4,200, the HA takes the brunt of the hit. That's really handy - my advice therefore is start small with SO new build!

For me SO has been much better financially than my prior 3 years in AST - I'm glad I did it rather than stay in that. I just can't find an onward house that is my main problem

All that being said definitely SO is not for the faint-hearted and IMO it is the riskiest form of tenure. It is not ownership (as I said before: stable form of long-term renting with added responsibilities). But my main issue actually is with leasehold. I'm also a years-long #EndOurCladdingScandal campaigner and there are horror stories with that whole thing, but that's leasehold in general, not specifically SO... Hence my desperation to sell *crying*. 

It's not great but in my own lived experience has been better than AST financially. Now I don't need schemes and I'm trying to get out and things just keep going Pete Tong *more inconsolable crying!*

badger09 said:

What a carp situation for you. IMO moving in with dad on a temp basis is the obvious solution. 

You break the chain so you’re in a much stronger buying position
No large rent costs so you can pay off expensive debts & save, resulting in lower mortgage costs. I don’t foresee a massive rise in house prices in the near future, but that’s a gamble. 

I do understand your reservations though. My adult son, after being totally independent for over 20 years, and a high earner working abroad, came to live with us in May 2022, with all his possessions. I won’t go into details as it’s his story to tell but his circumstances had changed dramatically. It wasn’t a situation any of us relished, a couple in their 70s with a comfortable routine in a small rural village, and a 40 something used to living the high life, but no longer able to do so. But we all made compromises & it worked. He bought his own home in the nearest town & moved in January 2023. 

It was absolutely the best solution for him & I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I suspect your dad feels the same. 

Apologies for the essay & I hope things work out for you. 

Ah this is very sweet!! Thank you for sharing and glad it worked out for you and your son! I don't mean to sound ungrateful by rejecting his offer, but if I can avoid being a burden, I will - I mean he's done a heck of a lot for me already. This isn't a "need" which it sounds like maybe your son might have. This is a "want" from me, and really not worth putting him out for when the other option is just patience! I hope that makes sense!

ReadySteadyPop

Walking away with 9k more than you put in? Sorry I thought your post was about not being able to sell?

annetheman

ReadySteadyPop said:

Walking away with 9k more than you put in? Sorry I thought your post was about not being able to sell?

Not exactly - sorry, it might be quite confusing. I'm not having a problem with getting offers. I've not had a good experience with my EA and so I terminated contract with them, but I got 3 asking price offers on the flat, and it was up for 1 month. I am about to sign with new agent and I am sure I will get at least 1 asking price offer - this is the main reason I don't want to staircase to 100%, much easier to sell SO. 

My conundrum with the options is mostly based around not being able to secure my onward house and what I should do in that case if my lender doesn't lend on the house I've had an offer accepted on - the flat will definitely sell, but having a hard time deciding if I should complete the sale (a) or not put it back up and stay (b), and try again next year. I hope that makes sense?

I had to add more detail and probably made it sound more confusing than it is!

ReadySteadyPop

Sounds like you need to find out what your lender will lend on first?