To move at the moment or not?

[upholsterer]

Just looking for some opinions please. We just put our flat on the market thinking that it would take many months to sell, but the first viewing today was really positive with the couple saying that they would put in an offer. I know it might not materialise, but if it does they need to move asap which would likely mean us moving out when I'm around 38/39weeks pregnant. I really want to sell this flat as we have awful neighbours who make my life miserable on a daily basis. We live in a small town (where we want to stay) and it's likely that it'll take months to buy a house within our budget and we'd have to rent (very, very expensive) in the meantime. Money will be tight when I'm on maternity leave so we'd be eating in to our deposit. People I've spoken to think it's ridiculous to consider moving at the moment but I think I just need to get rid of this property where I'm unhappy and move on even if that means living in an overpriced rental flat for 6 months with a newborn and a toddler. But if I'm happy with this option, why can't I sleep for panic! WWYD?

Ok a few questions:

a) is there anything on the market that you like at the moment?
b) could you move to something rented slightly outside of town if it would be cheaper?
c) could you stay with family if there is a month or so gap between moving out and finding a new place?
d) how many weeks pg are you? - I ask because although an average sale takes 12 weeks, ours took more like 20 weeks!
e) are you going to need to mention your awful neighbours on any paperwork (you are legally required to make note of any ongoing property related disputes)

Hopefully you are snoozing away blissfully now but will check back in later!
FWIW I have had awful neighbours and it caused me no end of stress and upset, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Thanks Daffodils

a) Two or three houses within our budget came up this month but have already gone - probably for way over the asking price. It seems the market here has rocketed in the space of a month. Previously things sat for 8 months to a year.
b) We could move out of town but we'd have to buy another car as public transport here is dreadful. This would probably cost way more than we'd save by moving further out.
c)Yes, we could stay with friends for a month or so, I think, and this would be a good safety net as rentals are also in short supply.
d)I'm nearly 30 weeks pregnant at the moment. We're not in England and things move quicker here - 8 weeks seems quite common.
e)Being under a different system we aren't asked that question in the paperwork.

Why would it take you ages to buy? If the houses are coming up and you have a buyer doesn't that put out in prime position?

I'd probably sell for the neighbour peace of mind and so you know you have that bit in the bag. But I'm not a particularly money focused person so that might not be the most financially astute thing to do.

But I don't get why you'd have to rent in the interim rather than getting in a chain so I might be misleading you. Ime you have to sell yours before you buy another so I don't really get the unusualness of your situation iyswim

We did something similar in the uk. We sold our flat and moved with a 4 week old and toddler into rented, the moved again into a house we bought 2 months later. We has found the house before we sold the flat, but had to break the chain to keep everything moving.

I would say this - moving into rented was easy easy easy. No need to buy soft furnishings, decorate, sort things out properly, if something breaks you call the landlord, and whilst its more expensive you know there will be no nasty shocks (fork out for new boiler, pipe burst etc).

Moving into a new home (that you own) proved substantially more stressful! Burst pipes, broken dishwasher, blocked drains all in the first few weeks!!! Still sorting out insurance claims 4 months on.

Also our toddler had a lot of change in a short time (new sibling, new house, new park) and was very unsettled for a month or so, which wasn't easy with all the other stuff I had to deal with.

I would do it all again though. We desperately needed more space, and we got a fab house in a lovely area. It's hard selling and buying at the same time and we found it does simplify things to sell first then buy later.

Good luck!

Oh and if you didn't know, removals companies round here also offer to come and take furniture down, pack all your stuff, reassemble etc it was a lifesaver with two small children and being 4 weeks post-partum.

Ok so why won't you be able to buy quickly if the market is buoyant now?
Basically I think if you want to sell, sell now. This time of the year is the peak selling time for houses (apparently Easter weekend is when the most sales happen). If you dawdle for too long all those lovely buyers will be deciding to 'leave it until after the summer'.
I know it is shocking to have a potential offer on the cards but really it is a good thing Hopefully you won't get stuck in rental for long - obviously go for the smallest/cheapest thing you can bear and then you will be in a fantastic position to snap up something else up. Don't forget the cost of rent will be ofset by what you aren't paying on a mortgage so unless rent is more than you would have paid on a mortgage you should be able to scrape by.
I'd go for it. HTH.

Thanks all. We've decided to take an offer if and when it appears. Had more positive viewings today, so fingers crossed. The worry is that demand for properties within our budget is far, far greater than supply and we're so inexperienced at this. Also, I bought this flat in a post-natal haze and it was really a bad choice for us - I'm worried about making a mistake again in the pressure to move quickly. We won't rule out buying quickly if we can though. Thanks again.