Sell my house or not?

[Happyhappymeee]

Hello
We’ve been trying to sell our house for 6 months. We got nearly exchanging a few weeks ago and it all fell through (buyers pulled out). Since then we have found out there will be some inheritance left to us. But this is probably not going to be sorted (probate/shares) for another 6 months. With this possible extra money we could buy a better house. But I won’t know how much exactly for a while.

we have just had another offer on our house. Buyers are chain free and want to move asap.

im thinking of selling to them and then our family renting for 6 months or so to see how the land lies once we get the inheritance. I also quite like the idea of a very short chain as we’ve been through the cost and heartbreak of one failed exchange already. It would also mean we can take our time to look for the right place.

My brother has just told me I would be nuts to do this and I should not accept an offer on ours until we know what the inheritance is and take off the market for 6 months.

I am of the opinion that an offer and a chain this simple is worth 6 months of renting.

AIBU? Is my brother the reasonable one?

Short chains are more reliable

Unless you have to make huge compromises I wouldn't wait for inheritance

I did nearly the exact same thing. I was initially only going to rent for 6 months but it turned into 18 until I found exactly what I wanted. But I rented in a brilliant area and aside from some issues (it was an apartment) I enjoyed my time there and it gave me time to regroup and recover.

But you can have a contract and ask for a break clause if you need it.

It’s a good idea in principle but how easy is it to find a 6 month rental?

I don’t think you have to care what your brother thinks unless he lives with you.

I think renting in between is ideal. Takes away the stress of having to line up all the dates and you can take your time finding what you want.

Even if it was more than 6 months I wouldn’t be too bothered. Long family history of me being the one that none of the others agree with. They all have more money than me, more expensive houses - I just doubt my own decisions sometimes

Renting is alot more difficult and expensive than it was pre 2020

even if the inheritance means you could buy a better house, I’d question if you need it. If the ones that were in your existing budget met your needs then I’d proceed with something in that price range and save the inheritance

Do you know how much your inheritance is going to be? If it’s substantial enough then it might be worth renting. If you don’t know I’m not sure I’d risk it.

A short chain is so much easier, when you then buy you'll be in a good position as cash buyers.
However bear in mind you have no idea how long it will take to get the inheritance - my MIL passed 18 months ago and bits of her estate are complicated so it's still not settled.

Depending on where you live, and how fierce the rental market is, you might struggle to find something for fair rent and 6 month break clause.
Also, consider how much you expect to receive, and would you rather put that towards reducing a mortgage debt/upgrading a place you can already afford, or getting a different place. If e.g. it's going to make the difference between having a garden or not, as it might where I live, I'd say wait. If not, maybe go with what you can currently afford and use the inheritance, when it comes, to make your situation better.

Don't count your chickens.

I'd probably just go ahead and get a house as planned, and use the inheritance (if/when it arrives) for fixing it up, adding an extension, paying down the mortgage, etc.

A more expensive house means higher costs anyway.

We rented for years and years and years but finally managed to buy in 2023. I personally wouldn’t go back to renting now unless there was no other option. It’s so expensive and so uncertain. I’d sell or I’d stay put for 6 months but I wouldn’t become a renter again out of choice.

They didn’t quite meet the needs - just better than what we had!

This is the problem. The ones we could afford were slightly bigger than our current one but with the inheritance we wouldn’t need to
move again as could get somewhere big
enough.