Buying a New House - When to Sell Existing?

fx83wab

Hoping to get some responses from actual experience here... have heard two very different stories recently from estate agents. Looking to trade-up, but need to sell my current place to do so.

First EA I spoke to said that I should only put my existing house on the market once I'm sale agreed on the new place. Can see the sense on this one, but understand it may cause a drag on the buying side of things.

Second EA I spoke to said that he wouldn't accept bids from anyone who hadn't got the sale of their existing place sorted (not just sale agreed, needed signed contracts). Can't say I understand this one, surely everyone doesn't just sell their place, hoping they'll find a new home they like in time? This was made even stranger by the fact that the seller of the house I was looking at didn't need the sale in order to move - they had already bought their new house.

Thanks!

Wildly Boaring

1st EA talking crap.
What you're gonna go sale agree then sell yours? I'm sure the seller be delighted with this plan.

2nd EA righter
You'd need you house as good as sold before you are actually a serious bidder. Sure your house might take a year to sell

fx83wab

Yeah, I get that. But equally, could take a year to find a place - and where does that leave me if my place is sold?

Have also viewed a few places where the "buyer is sale agreed on their new house, ready to move" - so it obviously does happen the first way.....

Wildly Boaring

I sold previously and explicitly advised EA not to accept bids from those who wanted s chain.

Plenty first time buyers and cash buyers out there.

Perhaps EA 2 is under instruction or has experience of same many times over.

antiskeptic

Obviously yours sold makes you more attractive a buyer but its hardly convenient.

Putting your house on the market at the same time as viewing others sets both wheels in motion. An estate agent will consider someone whose clearly advanced along the line.

Your aim is to have bids starting on yours at the same time as your bidding on others. Agents understand folk have this issue.

But if an agent expects / wants a quick sale then your out of luck. Mostly though, onc your well active you'll be taken seriously.

This puts a hole in hanging on for a tip top price so you have to price yours on the button and not let bidders drop off due to your wanting a few dollars more and dragging it out in the process.

Helps if your house is a target for ftbers. The chain loses a link in your favour.

JustMe,K

From a vendors perspective, would you be happy to accept bids on your property from someone who hadn't started the ball rolling on selling their own? I know I wouldn't be.

The second agent sounds more sensible, if you have your house sale agreed you are almost ready to go and an attractive potential purchaser. I had a friend who made it clear to the estate agent he used that his property was being sold subject to him finding somewhere else to buy, so there was a long stop closing date put into the contracts which tied in with his purchasers mortgage approval expiring, and the dates were then pulled forward when he agreed the purchase of his new property.

happyfriday74

I sold and bought at the same time. Pain in the hole to be blunt.

If I would do it again id have put old house on the market in spring and then gone hunting when I had exchanged contracts or better yet sold.

If you are in a chain you will be down the pecking order in terms of offers.

zreba

If you place an offer on a property and only then put up your old house for sale, then expect that the seller may revoke your offer if he gets a better offer in the meantime or finds somebody who can make a quicker deal. Nobody likes to wait.

If a property in question is a good deal then why would the seller be willing to wait 6+ months for you with zero guarantee you will even buy it at the end of the process?

Desperate sellers may agree to that, but you really limit your options by not having immediate access to money.

DoozerT6

Just jumping in here with a similar query - I've been considering moving for a while now. My own place is not on the market yet, but I have seen a place online in my preferred area that seems ideal (subject to me actually viewing it of course) and I could likely buy outright with the profit I would make from the potential sale of my own place, judging by current asking prices for similar properties in my area.

Would I be right in thinking that as long as I can produce enough cash for the deposit on the place I'm interested in, then I wouldn't need to have sold/gone sale agreed on my own place (or even actively have it on the market) to secure the sale, all going well? Would the fact that I would be a 'cash buyer' have any impact on the legalities?

Or should I get my own place on the market first, wait to go sale agreed, and risk losing out on what seems like an ideal property, which will undoubtedly be sold by then?

Sorry if it's a n00b-y or silly question, but I'm really un-savvy with the whole selling/buying thing (It's been many years since I bought my current home and I was a FTB then). Any advice appreciated.

Sunrise_Sunset

We were told by every EA we encountered, from about 4 different agencies, that we would have to be sale agreed on our property before they would accept any bids from us. It's a seller's market. We wanted to ensure we had a place to buy first but that won't be the case. We have temporarily stopped looking now, and have just put our place up for sale.

Sunrise_Sunset

DoozerT6 wrote: »

Just jumping in here with a similar query - I've been considering moving for a while now. My own place is not on the market yet, but I have seen a place online in my preferred area that seems ideal (subject to me actually viewing it of course) and I could likely buy outright with the profit I would make from the potential sale of my own place, judging by current asking prices for similar properties in my area.

Would I be right in thinking that as long as I can produce enough cash for the deposit on the place I'm interested in, then I wouldn't need to have sold/gone sale agreed on my own place (or even actively have it on the market) to secure the sale, all going well? Would the fact that I would be a 'cash buyer' have any impact on the legalities?

Or should I get my own place on the market first, wait to go sale agreed, and risk losing out on what seems like an ideal property, which will undoubtedly be sold by then?

Sorry if it's a n00b-y or silly question, but I'm really un-savvy with the whole selling/buying thing (It's been many years since I bought my current home and I was a FTB then). Any advice appreciated.

If you are relying on the money from the sale of your property, then you are considered as being in a chain. I could be wrong on this, but I don't think they'd consider you a cash buyer until you actually have the cash, not the potential of getting that cash.

Spanish Eyes

I have often wondered about this procedure.

So if you are Sale Agreed on your own property, and the vendor of your dream home (lol), either backs out, cannot get finance for new propety, or the vendors of the property S/he is interested in back out, what the heck happens.

Well I suppose the chain collapses and back to square one. Presume all deposits are returned.

I bought my house many years ago now, but it was seamless, thankfully. But that may not be the case today!

Interesting topic...

DoozerT6

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

If you are relying on the money from the sale of your property, then you are considered as being in a chain. I could be wrong on this, but I don't think they'd consider you a cash buyer until you actually have the cash, not the potential of getting that cash.

Yeah, that would make sense. Thanks for that.

So I guess it's sell first then

Spanish Eyes

DoozerT6 wrote: »

Yeah, that would make sense. Thanks for that.

So I guess it's sell first then

If only people could sell first, rent for a bit and then buy with cash!

No chain for them, but could happen anyway up the line. Still, better to have cash in hand (or Mortgage Approval) and be ready to go.

I do realise that renting after selling is not a financial option for the vast majority either.

I think in general, that most parties to a buy/sell will co-operate as best they can. I am an eternal optimist.

Sunrise_Sunset

DoozerT6 wrote: »

Yeah, that would make sense. Thanks for that.

So I guess it's sell first then

I am in a very similar situation. We really wanted to go sale agreed on a new home for us first. But the EA's wouldn't take our bids. And in 2 of the cases they they did ask the vendor's (or at least they told us that they asked the vendor's), and they both turned down our bids, and said to get back to them when we are sale agreed!......that is IF their properties were still available then. We have missed out on a few properties we liked, including one that we loved and really wanted.

It's not a great situation. We worry that when we do go sale agreed on the one we're selling, that we won't be able to find a home! And end up settling for something just because we have to. This is North Wicklow which is very similar to the Dublin market right now. Not sure where exactly you are.

Tigerandahalf

I wonder would you be in a better position if you were buying a new build. It would just need a deposit. The house would take a year to build giving you time to sell your own.

Sunrise_Sunset

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I wonder would you be in a better position if you were buying a new build. It would just need a deposit. The house would take a year to build giving you time to sell your own.

We looked into this. We were told we'd need proof that we were sale agreed on our property before signing the contract on a new house. The EA told us there are clauses in the contracts that you have to be sale agreed.

Then our bank told us that if we want to carry over our tracker mortgage, we have only have 6 months from selling our property to getting the keys to the new property, or else our interest rate would change to either fixed/variable. This wouldn't work out, as most houses are launched a long time before getting the keys; maybe 12 months or so. Obviously this part isn't the case for everyone though.

Apologies if I'm talking out my hole here - But would it not be possible for you to get a new/fresh mortgage on the house you want to buy, by putting your old/existing house up as collateral to the bank with it aswell. So the bank can take both if you act the maggot, but you're still a 'mortgage-ready' buyer to estate agents?