Sale Agreed to moving out Timeframe ???

Macker1

Just looking for some advice / thoughts.

In process of selling house. Its looking possible that we will be accepting an offer later today which means the house status will go to Sale Agreed.

First question is typically how long does the process take from that point on.???

I know that each case can differ but looking for a average timeframe.

Second question is in regards to who is the better to deal with............

A first time buyer or an investor...... My own thoughts would be that the investor who buys property for a living would be more experienced / familar with the process. This should mean that the process would go smoother

The reasons for the questions is that we have a very acceptable bid from the investor, but the selling agent has just informed us that a First Time buyer is willing to bid higher and wants to view that house urgently. What is niggling at me is that the bid is now above 319k which is past the Stamp Duty threshold for the FTB. I suppose that if the buyer is willing to pay the higher amount and incur the Stamp Duty it should'nt bother me as long and we get an acceptable amount. I'm just concerned that selling to the FTB will potentially mean a longer process due to less experience as opposed to the investor.


I'm anxious to see the house sold quickly as I've started the process of buying a new property down the country which is close to completion. I need the proceeds of my house sale to fund the new purchase

Cute_Button

Hiya-

At the end of the day it will be your solicitor dealing with another solicitor, so your feelings of aprehension about the FTB should not really enter into the equation.

From your perspective- if you are buying a new property, the timeframe between Sale Agreed and Moving out is a fluid undefined date (of your determining). After you agree to sell the house, its at that stage that the nitty gritty details get ironed out (the buyer may seek a certificate of planning compliance or any of a large number of other things that may have been brought to their attention when they get the property surveyed). You can put a date of your choosing into the agreement for the handover. If you need the money immediately- then you should factor into the equation the financial pedigree of both purchasers- i.e. an investor would likely have the money there and then on the spot (but would probably insist on you moving out virtually immediately or have a penalty clause built into the contract whereby you would be defacto renting your property from him/her until such time as you did move out). The FTB on the other hand- would probably have to go to their bank and have a bank approved surveyor survey the house before the mortgage was confirmed. The FTB might be more amenable to a delayed Move-Out date if that suited you though.

So- a lower amount of hassle free money upfront, but a possible clawback if you did not vacate the premises promptly versus- more money but more uncertainty with perhaps a longer move out date.......

Do you need the money immediately versus are you willing to wait?

OMcGovern

The "conveyancing process" of selling a house typically takes 6 - 8 weeks.

I'd actually prefer a first time buyer to an investor, all things being equal, and making the big assumption that the first time buyer has a "mortgage approved" up to their bid.

A first time buyer with mortgage approval, basically has the cash in the bank.
An investor may be in the process of selling one house to buy another, so they could be held up by other financial transactions.

My advice.... ask if the first time buyer has mortgage approval for their bidding amount.... if they do.... let them see the house.

regards,
Owen

tirl

I agree with Owen, make sure thatthey have the approval or you could find once contracts are signed that you will get the runaround with delaying tactics and i would get your solicitor to ask the buyers solicitor to see the approval before signing

Macker1

Cute_Button wrote:

Hiya-

At the end of the day it will be your solicitor dealing with another solicitor, so your feelings of aprehension about the FTB should not really enter into the equation.

From your perspective- if you are buying a new property, the timeframe between Sale Agreed and Moving out is a fluid undefined date (of your determining). After you agree to sell the house, its at that stage that the nitty gritty details get ironed out (the buyer may seek a certificate of planning compliance or any of a large number of other things that may have been brought to their attention when they get the property surveyed). You can put a date of your choosing into the agreement for the handover. If you need the money immediately- then you should factor into the equation the financial pedigree of both purchasers- i.e. an investor would likely have the money there and then on the spot (but would probably insist on you moving out virtually immediately or have a penalty clause built into the contract whereby you would be defacto renting your property from him/her until such time as you did move out). The FTB on the other hand- would probably have to go to their bank and have a bank approved surveyor survey the house before the mortgage was confirmed. The FTB might be more amenable to a delayed Move-Out date if that suited you though.

So- a lower amount of hassle free money upfront, but a possible clawback if you did not vacate the premises promptly versus- more money but more uncertainty with perhaps a longer move out date.......

Do you need the money immediately versus are you willing to wait?

I need the equity in my house released asap so as to fully fund the purchase
of the new house.

The details are as follows

Current house selling price cicra 319k
Outstanding Mortgage is 37k
This would give me a surplus of 282k
The cost of the new house is 220k
Allowing 8k for legal & auctioneers costs I will have 54k profit some of which will be put into the new house.

Its a win-win situation for me and the family. Just anxious that everything goes well.

OMcGovern

Just to clarify..... I'm not saying "Ditch the investor".....

I was saying, keep moving with the "sale agreed" by the investor, but there's absolutely no harm in letting the first time buyer see the house in the meantime.
If they offer significantly more, and you get legal confirmation in writing, that they have their mortgage approval up to that bud, then at that stage you can consider switching buyers, or go back to the investor asking them to raise their bid.

It's not a terribly honourable thing to do... but you're still well within your legal rights.

During the 6-8 week process of conveyancing, both you and the buyer can
pull out at any stage up until the date the property is signed over, which is usually the last thing in week 6/8.

regards,
Owen

Macker1

OMcGovern wrote:

Just to clarify..... I'm not saying "Ditch the investor".....

I was saying, keep moving with the "sale agreed" by the investor, but there's absolutely no harm in letting the first time buyer see the house in the meantime.
If they offer significantly more, and you get legal confirmation in writing, that they have their mortgage approval up to that bud, then at that stage you can consider switching buyers, or go back to the investor asking them to raise their bid.

It's not a terribly honourable thing to do... but you're still well within your legal rights.

During the 6-8 week process of conveyancing, both you and the buyer can
pull out at any stage up until the date the property is signed over, which is usually the last thing in week 6/8.

regards,
Owen

Thanks for the input.

We did let the FTB view the house but they did not have mortgage approval for the amount needed. We have as of COB today gone Sale Agreed at 320k. The winning buyer is an investor. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and my plans will be realised.:)