Avoiding the chain

You don't earn enough for a £400,000 mortgage so you need to raise funds on, or sell your current property to make the new purchase
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MsAbc wrote: »

Trying to co-ordinate the sale and purchase in a traditional chain sounds messy, potentially slow and with a real risk of falling through.
So, how easy would it be to hold on to my current house while I search for and purchase the new house, then sell it afterwards (it's in a popular area, so should sell reasonably easily)? The idea would be to use my current house as a security to obtain a mortgage for the new house, then sell my old house and pay off the majority of my mortgage?

Unless you are buying a newbuild, that risk ofa chain falling through still exists, there would still be a chain.

And you cant use your current home as security for a mortgage, unless its a bridging loan, which also brings its own stresses and (very high) costs.

If your existing house would "sell easily" then just focus on selling not for the most money but to the best buyer, perhaps one with no chain below them, or not at the limits of their finances ( for example) and resign yourself to being in a chain since you most likely will be in one anyway.

MsAbc wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'd heard about bridging loans and already dismissed them as too expensive, so I guess I'll have to suck it up, sell and move into a rental, while buying the new place. Grrrr.

1. Why wouldn't you coordinate sale and purchase as millions of others manage to, what makes your sale and purchase so special?
2. You'll find it very difficult to get a short term rental property, and if you get a six month one then you'll most likely either only need a few months of that, or you'll still have an issue adjusting the rental period to meet purchase date
3. Unless you buy new (or probate), you'll still be in a chain anyway, just a shorter one.
4. You'll lose the protection of owning a house which gives you a buffer against house price rises. If prices rise and you cant find anything quickly, even a small % on a £400k house will be a significant amount. (obviously with falls you are sitting pretty)
5. Dont imagine that not havinag place to sell always makes you more attractive. It does to some, to others it means you are more likely to pull out on a whim, or may be giving them grief to move all the time as they are in a chain and cant be rushed.