To not know how the selling/buying process work?

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As the title suggest, I have no idea.

We own our house after inheriting it so never had to go through any of the standard steps of estate agents.

We are looking at downsizing as the house is too big for our needs and to be closer to the city.

We've seen a great do-er-upper which if we got ours sold would mean we would be purchasing it with the proceeds of our sale rather than taking out a mortgage.

The only thing is, we have no idea how this works, we are aiming to get ours on the market in the next two months and hopefully due to the desirable location will sell reasonably fast, however, can we still put an offer on the house we've seen without ours being on the market yet? How do these things work?

The property we want to buy is vacant but is in need in a lot of modernisation which we hope will put other bits off, but worried as there is so little on the market around us.

Please can someone explain in plain English how this all works?

Thanks

You need to get yours on the market sooner than two months if you are already looking at properties to buy.

If you put an offer on a property the estate agent will enquire as to how you will pay for it. In your case, it will be noted that you are somebody who has one to sell, which will put you behind chain free buyers. If yours is not yet up for sale, well you are likely to be at the bottom of the pile and unlikely your offer will be given much consideration in the current market.

You need to sell yours first if you want to buy the other outright. Estate agents won't take you seriously unless you've at least got your house on the market.

I don't know much about them but there are bridging loans you can apply for which might help you to buy the one you want before yours go through, that might be worth looking at if you're confident yours will sell pretty quickly.

Sorry OP but it is extremely unlikely that an offer will be considered without having an offer on your house, especially in the current climate. Locally estate agents are not even arranging viewings unless your current property is on the market. The need for modernisation is unlikely to put people off either - a good way on to the housing ladder and an opportunity to add value. If you are serious about moving then get your house ready for sake and on the market and try not to set your heart on a property until you are in a realistic position to offer.

Your Estate Agent will guide you! They will take you through it step by step. Don’t worry it’ll be ok. Speak to at least 3 agents and review their commission rates, and decide if you can work with them. You are paying them to be the go between your purchaser & your seller at the new place.
You will need a conveyancing solicitor but the agent will know some who are good and on the ball. You will also need a surveyor but the agent will help with that too,
Expect the process to take at least 10 to 12 weeks, maybe more ex Covid, & write the date you accept an offer in yr diary so you know when that period is due to end. If the process seems slow, you can then rattle some cages to get it on track again. Fill in & return all the paperwork from your solicitor quickly for all parties’ sake!
After about 10 weeks you will exchange contracts which signals your total monetary commitment to buy/sell. Shortly after you’ll “complete” and on that day you move out and into new place!

With a good proactive agent & likewise an energetic solicitor, it should go well.
I’ve just been through it,
Good luck!

I sold/bought within the last three years and we did:-

• ours on the market (May)
• ours sold (couple of days)
• We started looking
• thankfully our buyers were happy to wait for us to find somewhere
• found the right home two months after we accepted our sale
• progressed through sale/purchase
• exchanged and completed (October)

We found many EAs didn't even consider us for viewings before we put ours on the market - we just did some Rightmove research to see if what we wanted was affordable, then hoped there would be some on the market when we were ready.

You will likely find OP, that you yourself want a proceedable buyer for your home (eg someone with a sold property or a first time buyer with the deposit and mortgage agreement in place), so it's likely whoever you are buying from wants the same.

It's worth reaching out to the agents for the property but current situation seems to require you to be prodeedable (have an offer on your house) before you view/make offers.

There are plenty of useful Google guides around the full process of buying/selling, but the above it probably the main point outside of that. The market is fast paced in many areas atm still.

OP it may work in your favour if you list with the same agent the house you want to buy is up with (as long as they are decent). Tell them you are listing in order to buy that one.

Speak to local agents about your current house. If it’s in a very desirable area they may have buyers who will be in a position to make an offer almost immediately. They also have purchasers who they show property that doesn’t reach the market at all.

They can also advise on the best way to market your house if it doesn’t fall into the above category.

Thank you all for these replies, they are exactly what I was looking for.
The agents we are viewing the house with know our situation and will be valuing our house next week, she said that they have buyers for this area lined up so hopefully that is positive.