Selling my house & going to rent. When should I look to secure a property?

horsey666

Context: Wife & I separated recently.  I can't afford to "buy her out" of her side of the mortgage, so we're having to sell our house and I will move into a rental for a while.  

I'm just wondering at what point should I look at/commit to taking a rental house?  We've agreed an offer on our house, and most paperwork is done, and the buyer's survey was done yesterday.   The estate agent suggests that as we have a cash buyer, and no chain, the sale should proceed fairly quickly.

There are a few rental properties available locally, within my budget - but I wonder if it's too early to agree to take one of them?  I don't have a completion date for my current house sale - do most people wait until then?

There is one house up for rent near me, that's available in a couple of weeks - but until I know 100% that my sale is going to complete, I feel like I shouldn't be progressing anyting on my rental options.....

New to all of this, obviously - would appreciate any advice.

Albermarle

In many areas there is fierce competition for rental properties, so it would be a case of trying to grab anything that came up.
So when you say ;
There is one house up for rent near me, that's available in a couple of weeks 
It could well be there will be many people interested. Have you spoken to any letting agents for their view of your local market?
The supply/demand balance seems to vary quite a lot between areas, and types of property.

FlorayG

Get yourself registered with a local rental agent and ask them about availability in the area. Let them know your situation. I would be looking to sign for a rental when exchange of contracts is done, then you absolutely know the sale will proceed. Lots of people in your situation go into AirBnB for a short while before renting long term

horsey666

I haven't yet spoken to letting agencies, as I was unsure of the date(s) I would be in a position to offer, etc...  Now that my sale is progressing well I intend to do so.  I have been keeping an eye on the local area for rentals over the last few months, and there are always a few properties within my budget and area.  I'm just not sure of when I should put in an offer on anything, as I don't know for sure when/if my sale will go through.
Just tried to call the letting agency of the propertly I mentioned but the office is closed today.  I'll try again on Thurs!

silvercar

The safe answer is not until you have exchanged, just in case the buyer of the property you are selling pulls out. 

This is why people want a gap between exchange and completion. On the other hand people don’t have much sympathy when a sale is delayed as the seller can’t find a suitable rental.

Mr.Generous

Last one I let 8 viewings, 6 wanted the house. Landlord gets to choose the tenant in the current market. It's not just a case of a property you can afford being available, you have to persuede the landlord you are the best prospect.

GDB2222

If possible, arrange a long gap between exchanges and completion. Maybe 8 weeks. If your buyer agrees, you could make this flexible, so that you can give say two weeks notice to your buyer and that then fixes the completion date. 

Tenancies can fall through at the last minute, for example because the incumbent tenant fails to move out, so you need to have some sort of contingency plan. 

Dustyevsky

My experience is somewhat dated now, but in a similar situation, with demand particularly high, we found visiting the agencies rather than ringing or emailing opened doors for us. We were confident we could present well, and with no track record of renting, our willingness to put more £ up front certainly didn't go amiss.

Mr.Generous

Dustyevsky said:

My experience is somewhat dated now, but in a similar situation, with demand particularly high, we found visiting the agencies rather than ringing or emailing opened doors for us. We were confident we could present well, and with no track record of renting, our willingness to put more £ up front certainly didn't go amiss.

The proposal for the renters rights bill, currently going through parliament, is to limit up front rent payments among a lot of other changes. Tenant's who couldn't pass affordability checks used to offer this to get round it.

pinkshoes

Does the agent you're using to sell also have any rental properties?  If you had the agent on board then they might be able to secure something as soon as you've exchanged?

Otherwise wait until exchange but do lots of research first. Visit agents in person and keep them posted on a potential exchange date.

And if all else fails have a back up plan of storage for all your stuff and a hotel/airbnb until you can find something.

confusedfreelancer

Most people I know who have had to find a rental within the last year or two have taken 3-6 months to find one. You usually have to offer on several before you get chosen, assuming you're the ideal candidate.