talk me through a sale and a buy like I am five?

[Babettescat]

So. We've got a house and want to sell and move buying another one. Please help me think through this chicken and egg situation clearly? I've written some steps below as we see it but if you can correct and help us get a better picture nothing like it!

1. Start looking through schools and nail down the area to buy in and look at prices
2. Start disposing off junk from old house
3. Check credit report and check that both of us have credit scores that are good
4. Get some small repairs etc done
5. Get three different valuations from different estate agents - decide on one you like and get some flattering photos taken and write description of house
6. Meet with previous nice mortgage brokers and get a mortgage agreement in principle and also use them later to find the solicitor/conveyancer
7. Put house on the market - try to look for chain free buyers - accept offers only if they look feasible (applies to us the other way as well - no vendor will accept our offers I guess unless we can show ours is up for sale and we have a mortgage DIP)
8. Ramp up house search and start putting in offers especially favouring ones without an upward chain (again we are at a weak ground here for buyers because we have an upward chain)
9. Look for a moving company - have an open house and dispose off any last bits
10. Commit to a sale (how and this where it gets all chicken

and egg for us!)

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Step 5 will vary from area to area, but where I am your offer will have no chance unless you have already accepted a proceedable offer on your property.

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

I wouldn't get a solicitor recommendation from a mortgage broker.

I'd ask a friend or ask on a local Facebook group for a recommendation.

As Lonecat says you'll need to have found a buyer before you can start making proceedable offers.

[wowfudge]

Unless you are in a real hot spot, you may not be able to pick and choose between prospective buyers!

[Babettescat]

Thanks all. In your experience how far have you seen offers to buy your property deviate from the evaluations you originally received?

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

Well that varies wildly depending on location and timing. So my experience of selling a flat in SW3 in 2007 is not going to be the same as someone else's selling a terrace house in Bridgend in 2012 or a 4 bed family home Disbury in 2003.

[StepAwayFromTheThesaurus]

As well as there possibly not being lots of offers to choose between, finding something you want to buy may be less straightforward than you think. We found it much harder to find somewhere to buy than it was to sell our house, and we really weren't being particularly fussy.

[wowfudge]

We accepted an offer which was 5% below asking price (3 estate agents all suggested the same valuation band and we put it on the market in the middle of that band), but only because we were able to secure the house we wanted below asking price and therefore get the mortgage deal we wanted.

The offer we accepted was the only one we got although we had a good number of viewings.

[Babettescat]

Just viewed our perfect house! Oh gosh - it fits every single Thing on our list. Area house itself schools budget feel factor all the lot of it. Belongs to a 80 year old couple who are selling their home of 30 years and were there to show me around along with estate agent. They are moving into a nursing home and it's a lovely house.

True estate agents offered to come and do an evaluation of our house. So you think we could at this stage apply for a decision in principle from our current mortgage providers?

[Readabook1]

here's a nice tip we received from a friend after she had 2 buyers pull out.(hope it does not happen to you of course!) There is an insurance for the legal work when a first buyer drops out-it means that the solicitor/conveyancer will not charge you again for the same legal work previously done for the first sale It cost only £60 plus vat It does not operate if it is you who pulls out only your buyer