Selling and buying - how fast is possible?

[EastFife5Forfar4]

I am daydreaming about being in a new home by Xmas! Tell me it's possible!
Our house goes on the market on the first weekend of October (can't be sooner as it's getting a lick of paint first). I think it is priced well to sell fast, so say we get a buyer that first week, and they are a first time buyer i.e. no chain, do you think we would have funds in time to buy before Xmas? Or shall I completely give up hope of that happening?
We have found the house we want to buy.

We put our house on the market the second week of December, we accepted an offer the first week of January. We moved the first week of February. It was less than two months.

You can do it - but everyone has to be up for the quick move from the start. Anyone selling or buying now will probably want to be moved for Christmas so you may be lucky.

Ooh, promising! Thanks! :)

We know the person selling the house we want wants to be out ASAP, so here's hoping we can sell ours fast.

Of course it can happen, but I wouldn't be pinning my hopes on it. Getting it on at a fair price is the first job... It's ok to chance a high price if you're prepared for it to be wrong, and can put up with a slow start, but if you want high footfall in the first week, it needs to look like a bargain.

our survey took a week. on both properties we looked at. we did it in about 6 weeks..

Yes, our house went on the market on Feb 7th (this year) and we completed on March 26th. The one we bought, offer was accepted on January 16th and we completed on March 15th. I was constantly phoning and emailing the solicitor and the estate agents. I am sure it could have dragged out if I hadn't been so on the ball.

Ooh ooh ooh, well, I am feeling hopeful then, and fingers crossed the survey won't hold things up. Eek.

BrownSauce, it's so hard to judge what a bargain would be, it's not a mainly residential area, but the EA seemed positive it was a good price. Well, we shall see!

Thanks all for the positive stories. I know it may not happen, was just after some hope! :)

Depends if anything comes up in surveys/reports ours should have been so straight forward 2 house chain wanting end of summer move but its taken 4 months! I'm not sure how much more chasing I could have done...

In my experience, no chance.

Our searches took soooo long - months to come through because lots of people are starting to move after years of nothing much happening, so everyone is overworked.

Everyone knew we wanted to move in school holidays - we accepted an offer the end of May, and are still waiting to exchange contracts now. Short chain.

Oh no. Boo.
ickle, hope you are in now.
vj, hope yours happens soon.

My first move took over five months, incompetent solicitors, and laidback seller, I think (tenanted property, so owner was already out). But I am still hopeful.

When we moved here 8 years ago, we accepted an offer on our house on 13th October, put in an offer and had it accepted on 20th October, moved in on 16th December. Small chain of 3, our buyer was a first time buyer, then us, then at the top of the chain they bought a new house from a developer.

It's possible.

I would say unlikely, but you can try. You'd have to only accept an offer from someone in a very proceedable position (short ready to go chain or chain-free)

It seems the mortgage companies are holding things up the most at the moment, apparently they are busier than ever. Our mortgage took 4 weeks to come through but then again our sale took 9 months (but that's a whole other story!)

A good memory for dates there, hallamoo! :) Ok, so it IS possible, which is great and encouraging.
Nine months, Guff, I do NOT want to stay where we are for nine more months. Argh. Hopefully we will be lucky.