When should I buy?

Uriziel

I am currently am renting until May but have saved up £230K which I want to use to buy a 2 bedroom flat.
When should I start the whole process so that I will be able to move there in May? I tried to look this up but get all kinds of answers.

400ixl

There is no exact answer, the time for a purchase is different depending on how smoothly it goes, how big the chain is etc. You probably need to be looking now.

Newbie_John

At least 2 months before - if you find a place without the chain. 

Otherwise if you find a "chained" place, you tell current owner you're willing to buy, they start looking, they find a place, then that owner starts looking... Then someone gives up, chain breaks 😅 it can sometimes be years.

We started looking in January, found a place in June - as our rental agreement was till October we took the house/mortgage process fairly slow and owned the house in October.

Myci85

They say 4-6 months for a straight forward sale to go through. Longer for leasehold, which most flats will be. That doesn't take into account the time it takes to find the one you want. I would definitely start looking immediately if I were you. 

Hoenir

Start looking now. Finding the right property might take time. 

dinosaur66

as others have said look right now

-if you find one you like and want to make an offer just tell the estate agent or owner the truth that you cannot move in to

late may /

 they will not mind .

FreeBear

If you are on a fixed term, have a chat with your landlord and tell him you will be rolling over to an AST without any specific end date. Should you not be ready to move in May, you can hold fire on giving him notice.

Bigphil1474

Took us 5 months for a small chain. If you find a no chain property, could well be a few months., Nothing to lose from looking now. Expectation is 2-3 months conveyancing process on a short or no chain purchase.

RelievedSheff

Start looking now. Property sales are taking much longer than they ever used too.

You could be cutting it fine for a May move!

Mr.Generous

RelievedSheff said:

Start looking now. Property sales are taking much longer than they ever used too.

You could be cutting it fine for a May move!

I agree, never had anything* faster than 4 months, the more recent the purchase the longer it took. These are very simple purchases of run down empty properties bought with cash, no valuation, no mortgage. The most straightforward property purchases possible. When solicitors get involved the process drags on for months.

* The exception being a repossesion that required completion within 2 weeks or face a penalty charge. That took about 6 weeks because the bank weren't ready - and no, they refused to pay me anything.