To sell or not to sell...

flossymcfly

We are considering moving next year and have an idea of which area we would like to move to. This will be the first time I have sold a house and I'm wondering how it all works.

I wouldn't want to put ours on the market then we are scrambling to find a house we like, conversely, I wouldn't want to put an offer in on a house we love and then it ends up taking ages for ours to sell (unlikely based on the area we are in, but you never know).

What's the best way to go about things? This is likely to be our forever home, so I want to feel amazing about the one we choose, I don't want to rush anything because we feel pressured from a buyer.

Any advice? We are in Scotland if that makes a difference :)

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6680418/to-sell-or-not-to-sell

I think you are being a bit idealistic. House buying and selling can be a fraught and stressful experience, especially when you are doing both at the same time. So I think mentally you will have to prepare yourself, even though I understand the process is a bit easier in Scotland.

poseidon1

Scotland certainly makes a difference and you will need fellow Scots to advise.

I am in England and interested in the amazing tenement apartments available in Glasgow.

However I quickly realised I would need to be a cash purchaser since it would be completely impossible for me to co-ordinate a sale of my London flat under England's incredibly slow conveyancing system, with a matching Scottish purchase where a deal can be concluded in weeks rather than months.

I have had to go back to the drawing board to try an accumulate sufficient cash, but with Scotland's incredibly punitive 2nd property stamp duty regime ( worse than England), realistically I have to sell in England first.

gwynlas

Whilst the system is different the key elements remain the same declutter depersonalise and fix any issues that might be marked down on a home buyers report prior to inviting in professionals

oldernonethewiser

There is no ideal scenario.

I have friends who put in an offer on their dream house and put theirs on the market. The seller of the house was in no rush but despite this my friends could never find a buyer for their own property and ultimately the purchase of the dream house fell through.

Relative found a house to move into, made an offer, put theirs up for sale and it was sold within 10 days and they were able to buy the new place no problem.

I sold a relatives house a few years ago in a very popular area. Told I would have no problems selling it, area and property in high demand blah blah blah.

Very few people viewed and then three offers.

You just never know.

All the above in Scotland.

Nothing is final until the missives are concluded and the whole process can be remarkably stressful.

Silvertabby

We have no intentions of moving - but we did consider 'what if' and decided that we would sell, rent in the new area, then take our time finding the perfect house.

Our last move - to what is almost certainly our forever home - was from RAF married quarters, and so we didn't have the usual drama of buy/sell/move on the same day. The very thought of that........

Cairnpapple

Whichever way you go, it's worth doing your research on past and ongoing sales if comparable houses to yours if you haven't already. I live on a popular small estate but there seems to be a lot of nuance about what sells quickly. Someone went on the market with a price that was supported by the home report but completely unrealistic compared to previous sales, the home report seemed to have anchored to a previous sale that looked the same from the front but actually had a corner plot and a nice big extension. It lingered forever.

I hated doing sale-rent-buy because it felt like we were in the middle of a move for months but I'd do it again if there was enough rental availability to make it feasible. I don't think I'd have had the brainspace to line up sale and purchase, I found selling so stressful.

sheramber

I am in Scotland.

I would start looking at what properties are for sale on the area you prefer.

That will give you an idea of what could be available and may help you to narrow down your preferences.

When we wanted to move to our ideal home we researched what was for sale on line.

6 months before we anticipated moving we viewed some of the options available.

One instantly fitted what we wanted and we discussed what entry the seller was looking for.

Fortunately, they already had another residence they were using during the week and intended to move in permanently.

They were open to our long entry date.

We did not put our house on the market until our offer was accepted as if we did not get that house there was no current alternative.

Our house went on the market and we accepted an offer two weeks later, following a closing date.

We had three offers, all happy with our long entry date.

Our buyer was looking for a long entry date as they were in rented accommodation and needed to stay until the end of their tenancy.

They had asked before they viewed if we were agreeable to their entry date.

It all worked out.

A seller will be in the same position as you. They will also need to coordinate selling and buying.

All houses must have a Home Report done by a surveyor , which will give you an idea of the condition of the property and the value.

You need to research the selling prices in your selected area as where I live, in central Scotland, it is the norm to have to bid above the home report price. That could be as much as 15% over. Your solicitor or the selling agent may be able to give you some advice.

Entry is usually stated as ‘ by mutual agreement’ when your offer is submitted.

In case you are not aware your offer needs to be submitted by your solicitor.

If you are lucky the seller will accept your offer.
If a property is popular the sale may go to a closing date.

All offers are submitted by the set date/ time.

You do not know what other offers are. and the seller decides which to accept.

It is normally the highest offer unless other circumstances, such as suitable entry dates , apply.

Be prepared for your offer not accepted.

It takes 4-6 weeks for searches etc to be completed and missives are ready for signatures.

Until then either party can change their mind.

An entry date will be agreed and once missives are exchanged the sale is final.

The same applies to your sale.

oldernonethewiser

Some popular areas have seen offers around the 30% over "offers over"

Herzlos

Offers over really means you need at least 10% over to stand a chance if there's any competition.

If you're confident your house will sell, it's pretty normal to make an offer subject to sale. We only put our house up for sale after an offer was accepted on the one we were buying. Both houses were sold within 2 weeks of the listing going live.

There's nothing wrong with listing yours for sale before finding the one you want to move to if you're up front about it as buyers might not want to wait for you to find something.

In Scotland you can go from offer to moving within about 6 weeks, compared to 6 months in England. So you need to be prepared to move fast when it comes to the logistics. Start having a clear out now.

flossymcfly

Thanks everyone.

It's such a stressful thing to do!! We have done a lot of work to our house over the last couple of years, so we have definitely increased the 'kerb appeal'. Looking at doing some more bits inside over the next 6 months or so and that will involve a clear out…whether the kids want to or not haha.

I think the best thing is just to be honest with the prospective sellers/buyers. If it doesn't work for us all then it's not meant to be. The area we are in at the moment is very popular, houses only tend to be on the market for a week or so before they are snapped up. I know that doesn't necessarily mean the same for our house, but I am confident that it would be. We are also mortgage-free, so that makes things a bit easier when working out our budget. We would hope to be able to put the rest of the money towards the new house too so we wouldn't be getting into the mortgage game again.

Lots to think about, but some great advice there :)