Sell flat, Move in with parents & then buy house

sheramber

Why would you not lie in the flat until your sale goes through?

You are liable to get lower offers if you have already vacated the flat,  as buyers will think you need a quick sale.

cse4921

SarahB16 said:

cse4921 said:

Hi all, I apologise in advanced for the long winded story!

Hoping that anyone who has done something similar in the past could offer advice both financial and personal.

Myself, my partner and our 3 year old daughter are currently living in a 2 bedroom flat and we are desperate to move into our forever home. 

Our stumbling block into moving into a house is we are currently paying an extortionate amount of money on nursery fees which is preventing us from getting a mortgage big enough to afford a house (too much going out vs what's coming in!). We will be entitled to 30 hours funded childcare as of Jan 2025 (For context we live in Scotland, I know the rules are slightly different in England)

What we are planning on doing is moving into my partners parents house for a while, then putting the flat on the market and then once the flat has sold, we will look to purchase a house as soon as possible. We get on really well with them, they are very supportive and easy going and they understand our situation so I don't see any issues with moving in with them for a prolonged period of time. I also understand it means 2x solicitors fees however I am willing to swallow that if it means a less stressful experience overall. 

My thought process behind this is it will make the overall process smoother and less stressful as we will not be forced/rushed into buying a house which deep down we don't want as it will clash with move in dates etc... This would also make us cash buyers when it comes to purchasing so more leverage to negotiate on price as we are chain free.

I understand that we will have to change address when we move as this can affect a new mortgage application.

We are also on a fixed term mortgage and will have to pay an ERC of 2% of our outstanding mortgage balance to exit early. (Pain in the backside but haven't got a choice but to pay this.)

I guess my question is did anyone have any problems I have not thought about doing it this way which they did not think off until it was too late and wheels were in motion?

Do we have to wait until maybe March/April 2025 to move into a house as the banks will need to see proof of no childcare payments coming out of our account? If this is the case would it be worth paying the remaining childcare payments off early? as I am in a situation where I could do this. 

Also what did did people do with the equity they received from selling? Are there any tax implications in Scotland with holding a large sum of money from selling your resident property? If you are selling to then move instantly then you never see this money, however as we are not doing this then the money will be given to us from the solicitors (after fees etc. all taken off). I have seen on previous discussions that people put there money into NS&I Premium bonds I don't know if that would be the easiest/safest option.

Any advice help would be greatly appreciated. This is our first time moving and its all a bit Daunting/intimidating!  

Apologies if I've missed this as only glanced at the other replies.  Are you intending on leaving your flat vacant whilst you move into your partner's parents' house? Have you checked your insurance covers you being away for more than 60 days?  Maybe it's different as you are in a flat and your building insurance is included in your service charges.   

As we are in a flat our building insurance is covered by the service charges. Thank you for highlighting this though. 😊

cse4921

sheramber said:

Why would you not lie in the flat until your sale goes through?

You are liable to get lower offers if you have already vacated the flat,  as buyers will think you need a quick sale.

Hi there. We decided to do it this way to avoid having to move through winter. My partners parents live on a farm in the middle of nowhere so access can be a problem when the Scottish winter gets a grip.  

Phoenix72

It's not 100% clear from your OP but is the proposal for your partners parents to look after the child to save childcare costs?

cse4921

Phoenix72 said:

It's not 100% clear from your OP but is the proposal for your partners parents to look after the child to save childcare costs?

Hi there. No she will stills be going to nursery so we will still be paying childcare costs. 

JennyDavis

That does sound like a solid plan! Ensuring everything is set up for the kids is crucial when moving into a new house. It's great that your child is already a student and has a support system in place for their studies. If they need a bit of extra help, services like https://ukwritings.com/coursework-help can be a real lifesaver. It’s always nice to know there are resources available to make academic challenges a little easier to manage. What are you most excited about with the new house?

dr_bogenbroom

You are where me and my family were 2 years ago. We sold in Scotland, moved into my parents in law house over in Northern Ireland however we’ve only just found the right house now which will hopefully complete in Sep over here in NI. 

I also get on well with my in laws - our son was also 3 when we moved in with them. It allowed my wife to stop work to look after our son (with help from granny and granda), save money from my salary (we paid no rent but did pay bills) and earn great returns on our house fund. 

Your plan sounds solid but I will warn you it did put pressure on the relationship with my wife not having our own space for so long. The property market where I am now is very slow compared to where I was in Scotland and we did want to just buy any old place. 

annetheman

So you asked for similar experiences - very much so, but my personal circumstances are very different, so not sure our concerns will be the same!

I am single, no kids, selling a 2 bedroom flat and moving in with my dad while I purchase my house. For me, the house purchase is already in full swing, but a Title issue means it's taking way longer than the sale, so I'm selling up and moving.

I had to do a pros/cons of this and came up with the following, which may not be the same for you:
- No rent or bills (offered!) per dad's request, saving money for doing the house up etc.
- Buyer is no longer a source of anxiety, only anxiety is purchase stuff (mortgage offer expiring, Title!!!)
- Dad's garage and 5 bedroom house he lives alone in is ample free storage space, til I can rip the carpets out in new house.
- Dad lives on Elizabeth line, convenient for work as only 1 direct train.
- Dad is moving to SA next year and elderly, great to have quality time with him.
- Can help dad clean up his house and declutter.

The only real downsides I can think of that would be the same for you is the moving costs x2. Plus:
- Dad's house is a bit of a cluttered mess, compared to my usual standard of living!
- Don't like dad's area.
- Feeling destabilised and displaced not living in my own home, with my own things, in my own space.
- Involved parties might not feel there's a rush anymore (EA, solicitor, although they know mortgage offer expiring).
- Living in a pink childhood bedroom at 35!
- No guarantee I'll actually complete on the house, could be there for months.

I think you can relate to the last one, actually! 

So you can see the pros actually far outweight the cons.

In summary I think, despite having such different circumstances (I think moving with a kid changes a lot), generally breaking the chain is a good thing to do if you have the amazing benefit of family who are happy to take you in - and you can stomach the thought of it being many months longer than you think.

_Penny_Dreadful

cse4921 said:

Phoenix72 said:

It's not 100% clear from your OP but is the proposal for your partners parents to look after the child to save childcare costs?

Hi there. No she will stills be going to nursery so we will still be paying childcare costs. 

I must be missing something as I don’t understand the point of this plan at all. You’ll still be paying for the flat which you will no longer be living in and you’ll still be paying for nursery fees. What are you saving by moving in with the outlaws? 

You will need unoccupied insurance for the flat if it’s to be left empty for 6 months. This type of insurance usually requires someone to inspect the property once every 7 days and you need to keep the flat at a minimum temperature of 15 deg C or drain every water pipe in your home to avoid bust pipes. 

HampshireH

cse4921 said:

SarahB16 said:

cse4921 said:

Hi all, I apologise in advanced for the long winded story!

Hoping that anyone who has done something similar in the past could offer advice both financial and personal.

Myself, my partner and our 3 year old daughter are currently living in a 2 bedroom flat and we are desperate to move into our forever home. 

Our stumbling block into moving into a house is we are currently paying an extortionate amount of money on nursery fees which is preventing us from getting a mortgage big enough to afford a house (too much going out vs what's coming in!). We will be entitled to 30 hours funded childcare as of Jan 2025 (For context we live in Scotland, I know the rules are slightly different in England)

What we are planning on doing is moving into my partners parents house for a while, then putting the flat on the market and then once the flat has sold, we will look to purchase a house as soon as possible. We get on really well with them, they are very supportive and easy going and they understand our situation so I don't see any issues with moving in with them for a prolonged period of time. I also understand it means 2x solicitors fees however I am willing to swallow that if it means a less stressful experience overall. 

My thought process behind this is it will make the overall process smoother and less stressful as we will not be forced/rushed into buying a house which deep down we don't want as it will clash with move in dates etc... This would also make us cash buyers when it comes to purchasing so more leverage to negotiate on price as we are chain free.

I understand that we will have to change address when we move as this can affect a new mortgage application.

We are also on a fixed term mortgage and will have to pay an ERC of 2% of our outstanding mortgage balance to exit early. (Pain in the backside but haven't got a choice but to pay this.)

I guess my question is did anyone have any problems I have not thought about doing it this way which they did not think off until it was too late and wheels were in motion?

Do we have to wait until maybe March/April 2025 to move into a house as the banks will need to see proof of no childcare payments coming out of our account? If this is the case would it be worth paying the remaining childcare payments off early? as I am in a situation where I could do this. 

Also what did did people do with the equity they received from selling? Are there any tax implications in Scotland with holding a large sum of money from selling your resident property? If you are selling to then move instantly then you never see this money, however as we are not doing this then the money will be given to us from the solicitors (after fees etc. all taken off). I have seen on previous discussions that people put there money into NS&I Premium bonds I don't know if that would be the easiest/safest option.

Any advice help would be greatly appreciated. This is our first time moving and its all a bit Daunting/intimidating!  

Apologies if I've missed this as only glanced at the other replies.  Are you intending on leaving your flat vacant whilst you move into your partner's parents' house? Have you checked your insurance covers you being away for more than 60 days?  Maybe it's different as you are in a flat and your building insurance is included in your service charges.   

As we are in a flat our building insurance is covered by the service charges. Thank you for highlighting this though. 😊

The buildings insurance will still have conditions which need to be met.