Buying without selling home

JazF

Hi I am ready to put my home on the market in January but made the mistake of viewing a property which I love. 

The seller has had other viewings with people in the same position as me, house not sold yet.

I am mortgage free. It could be possible for me to scrape together the cash (from savings and family) to buy without having to sell my home first but I am worried what complications could come from that. 

Does anyone have any experience of buying a home that way? Any insight would be appreciated.

20122013

I think there are some post similar to your questions.

From what I understand, you will have to pay 2 x council tax and bills, and also tax etc.. and which one will be your primary resident? Most replies had suggested to sell first than buy. But if money is not an issue then have two properties going at the same time.

user1977

Also need to pay the additional rate of SDLT (or LBTT/LTT), at least until you can reclaim it by selling the old property.

kipsterno1

It could become an issue if your current property doesn't sell or drags on. As well a two lots of council tax you will be paying utilities and insurance for both. You will have to pay enhanced stamp duty but this can be reclaim if you sell within the prescribed window.

strawb_shortcake

When we were looking at putting our house on the market, I tried to look at new listing's then monitored what ones sold and time taken to sell, however as the market was so slow it was best laid plans and all that...

But I'd look at rightmove and see if anything is actually selling or not, we had lots of viewers, little negative feedback but all things out of our power to change. But no offers, so it was better for us to wait 2 years than keep going, lowering the price I don't think would have made a difference as only 1 or 2 were in a position to offer

saajan_12

JazF said:

Hi I am ready to put my home on the market in January but made the mistake of viewing a property which I love. 

The seller has had other viewings with people in the same position as me, house not sold yet.

I am mortgage free. It could be possible for me to scrape together the cash (from savings and family) to buy without having to sell my home first but I am worried what complications could come from that. 

Does anyone have any experience of buying a home that way? Any insight would be appreciated.

Nothing inherently complicated. 
* Potential to raise a tracker mortgage if that's preferable to borrowing from family, just check you can pay it off without penalty in a few months. 
* Pay higher rate SDLT ie extra 5% and then claim it back once you sell the old property. There's time limits ie you have to sell and move in within 3 years, so there's a risk you could miss that/ 
* Pay bills on both properties - utilities should be low where you don't live, just standing charges, but council tax could be high eg double because many councils penalise empty properties. 

JazF

Thanks all. Perhaps I am just getting ahead of myself. 

I will try and think logically and hope it is still on the market when (or if) my home sells. Homes of that type in the area are moving a little slower at the moment as there are a lot of new builds surrounding them. 

silver_badger

council tax could be high eg double because many councils penalise empty properties.

Many councils have a grace period of e.g. 6 months or a year for houses that are listed for sale. Different councils also have different criteria for determining what constitutes an empty property (and how long it needs to be empty before it starts attracting extra council tax). I suggest you look up the rules for the relevant council(s), so you know exactly what you're dealing with.

theartfullodger

Landlords frequently buy another property whilst still owning and living in their home.  Easy.  And MANY vendors really like cash buyers (might get a discount)

mlz1413

You could put in a higher bid and ask if the sellers will wait.

I sold a house in 2024 doing exactly that.  A family viewed and loved the house, weren't on the market but offered full asking with the provisions we took off the market and gave them 8 weeks.

We said yes and it all worked out.

Maybe easier to pay more than have 2 houses.  But set your limits, because if someone else's also does the same you don't want to get into a bidding war.

JazF

The seller actually has to have a firm offer/buyer because he wants to buy a new build. 

I’m debating that if we make a cash bid by the time everything has gone through perhaps my home will also have an offer on it. 

If we do get a quick sale I would be prepared to move in with my parents until the seller is ready. Lots of things to consider.