Sell and rent

[Werk]

We have very recently put our house on the market and have had a lot of viewings. We have received an offer but they want to move in by Christmas (for school applications). However, we are struggling to find somewhere we like. Although that is not exactly true, we have found two houses we like but have been either outbid or another buyer was chosen because they are chain free.
I am tempted to go with the buyer and move into rented accommodation- I think it will put us in a much better position to buy and I cannot see prices going up much more with looming redundancies and Brexit.
Rentals would be £2.5k + a month for a property the size we need and near enough to school, it would probably be a flat rather than a house too as house would be £3k +.
My husband is against this and says the rent will be a waste of money and he would hate being in a flat with the DC. Long term I agree but if we found somewhere in 6mths - 1 year it would be worth it.
Our house only went on the market last weekend so we could hold out a bit longer.
Has anyone done this? Any regrets?
We are in London if that makes any difference and so the rental market is pretty strong.

[sunshinesupermum]

I agree with you - if you get a good offer on your home and can afford to rent a flat for 6 months (it will be during the winter so outside space not essential) I wouldn't want to lose a buyer.

[Werk]

Yes, we can afford the rent and the (little) interest from the equity in our house will ease the pain a bit!
There is actually a large new build development nearby which seems to have lots of properties to rent - this could appease DH a bit as at least it will be somewhere new.

[fellrunner85]

Do it. You'll be in a far better position to buy. We recently sold our house and the reason I chose our buyer was because they had no chain and were ready to go. With the stamp duty holiday, there's so many people clamouring to buy at the moment that being in a chain could really disadvantage you.

[titchy]

We did it and it was the best move financially we could have made - a month after we sold/moved into rented, the market crashed due to sub-primes and we bought our current house for two thirds it's original sale price.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

Being chain-free will certainly work in your favour with vendors. So many offers fall through for various reasons - I read somewhere that it’s around 50%.

[bumblingalongslowly]

We did this and I made everything so much less stressful not having to deal with a big chain. Completed before our tenancy finished but as they managed to find new tenants they released us from the rental contract early.

[Werk]

Great! I am feeling positive about this.
It has been a long time since I rented, back then the norm was a 12 month tenancy with a 6 month break clause - is that still the case?
I don't think I would mind a short overlap so that we could slowly move in and get any bits of decorating done before we have to live there but I wouldn't want six months of paying for both.

[Werk]

Wow @titchy that was lucky!
We had similar luck - both DH and I owned flats when we met - we sold them both to move in together in a rented place back in 2007... we all know how that panned out. We then bought in 2010. It has been luck rather than judgment so far.

[Moneyq8]

I would absolutely do this if you’re very keen to move.

Are you moving from one London neighbourhood to another? Or staying local? If it’s another neighbourhood, the added benefit of renting is that you’ll get to know the new one much better before buying.

And I would definitely recommend renting a new build! Then everything works and it’s clean etc.

[user1471538283]

We are doing this to break the chain. Its not wasted money and you may recoup when you buy.

[thisstooshallpass]

Yes, I moved into rented in January to keep my sale (long, trying sale!) I couldn't face it all going to pot, again.

We were only in rented for 6 months. The vendor on our purchase wanted to keep us, because we were out of a chain, even though we paid significantly less then asking price/other offers.

[FreiasBathtub]

We planned to do this last year, also in London, in order to keep our buyers. But the rental market has changed a lot even in the 8 years since I had last rented. It was extremely difficult to find somewhere with a six month break clause, landlords on the whole want you locked in for a year. And places were going the same day that they were put on the market, you had to be very flexible and available to view.

May all be different now of course but I would chat to some local agents about the rental market in your area before making any firm decisions. And maybe look into some alternatives like Airbnb (though this gets pricey very quickly...)

[Werk]

@FreiasBathtub thank you, this is what I am worried about. As I say, there is a new build development which seems to have lots of rentals available at the moment at least. A year rental would put me off, although it is looking very likely that we would need to buy a doer-upper if we want to stay where we are and stay in budget and so a 6 month overlap could be useful.
We are hoping to stay in the same area but we are also looking elsewhere, just in case.

[FManc]

We broke the chain back in June after our purchase fell through but wanted to keep our buyers. So the rental we’re in is a bit of a nightmare BUT it’s helped us to secure our next property. The market was in a frenzy back in June/July (cooled down since) and the property went to best and final offers with most of the offers being in a similar range. It was our chain free position that clinched it for us.

[Ypsilanti]

Hi @Werk, I have done just this very recently. I sold my old house in east London last year, moved into a rental, and recently completed on the purchase of my new home. It definitely made me an attractive buyer (my offer was accepted pre-Covid) and probably helped hold the sale together during the hiatus this spring. In the end I was in my rental for 11 months, but I had a 12 month contract with a 6 month break clause so I could have got out earlier - don’t know what bit of London you are in but this seems pretty standard around here (like you I was worried about being tied in for a minimum of a year).

Obviously you have double the stress and expense of moving (and I don’t have children), but equally that period of overlap can be useful. My rental was much more expensive than my mortgage, but I don’t regret it or see it as dead money. It gives you time to look at places with a cool head and without the pressure of time, and you are so much more attractive to sellers. Good luck whatever you do!

[Ypsilanti]

@Werk PS - top tip, if the agent selling your home also does lettings, get them to help you secure a rental. It’s in their interests as it gets them the sales commission faster - landlord gets the rent either way.

[mrsbyers]

Have you got a current mortgage ? You might have a few to pay for early redemption

[FreiasBathtub]

@Werk from others on this thread it does sound like we were unlucky. We had quite specific requirements about area and space (because of school runs etc) so there wasn't a lot in our budget. If you can be a bit more flexible you might be ok. Definitely agree with talking to your selling agent if they also do rentals, but maybe talk to a couple of others who might have a more dispassionate view of the market in your area.

[Werk]

@mrsbyers we are not looking to port our mortgage and there are no early repayment fees.
@FreiasBathtub I guess it is just the luck of the draw.
We have a little while before we need to worry about it, the buyers have said they want to be in by Christmas because of school applications but I have heard from a friend that they just need to have exchanged contracts, not completed, before the January deadline. This could buy us a little more time.