Breaking the chain and renting (SE)

[TremoloGreen]

Stuck in a property chain at the moment and looks like it's about to fall through. We would really like to push our sale through and get to the new area (relocating) before DC2 arrives, so thinking of moving into a rental as it is our vendors holding things up.

As we haven't rented in years, and haven't had the experience of renting with DCs, can someone give me an idea of how realistic this is? I know from friends in London that the rental market is crazy and there is no such thing as a 6 month break clause any more, also people get outbid or passed over for couples without children.

We're looking to rent in H i t c h i n, so a v. popular commuter town in the SE. It would have to be 3 beds with some sort of garden for

We're doing the same and had no trouble asking for a six month break clause. No idea about the area you're looking in I'm afraid. Having had one sale fall over we need to move and renting will solve our space issue. I'm hoping we'll also be considered great buyers when we find the house we want.

Thanks LittleBear. I'm just gutted about this, we stand to lose so much money, but I am finding the whole thing so stressful and just want to get at least part of it done. I at least want to be in our chosen town before baby arrives as we're moving to be close to family. It's been a tough couple of years down here on our own for one reason and another. What area are you in?

yes, of course there is such a thing as a 6 month break. Minimum AST term is six months so it is trickier to rent for less time than this.

but if demand exceeds supply where you want to be, then longer term tenants may be preferable.

a quick look on rightmove reveals one 3-bed house for rent in Hitchin in your price range, apparently no garden. So your budget may be an issue.

Hmm, yeah, I guess we would have to up our budget (making things horribly tight to save for maternity leave) or get a 2-bed, which would be a massive PITA as nowhere for family to stay. I'm just using the figure of 900 becuase that's what our current mortgage payment is, so I know we can easily afford it and save.

Do people make offers on what rent they're prepared to pay? So I can see a property on RM that's on with 3 agents and has been there a while for 1150 pcm. Would it be possible to offer 1000 pcm for that or is that ridiculous?

Sorry for stupid questions, I've never actually rented through an agency before, but guessing that would be the way to go now.

no, that's absolutely fine. I rented out a previous property for several years.With a changing market the rent went both down and up at tenant changes. First time it was a struggle to rent, last time there was competition. (same house!)

an empty property loses money, so a decent tenant at a lower rent is far preferable to that.

do check why it isn't renting - ok, you can leave after six months but you will be committed for that long if you sign. Check it as if you were buying it; you won't pay for fixes but don't rent a place where they don't get done.

We did this a few years ago. We were relocating and actually preferred to rent so as to get to know the new area better. Best thing we did.

Don’t really know Hitchin but generally speaking, most properties are let on a 6 month AST. Some landlords want longer (12 months) but 6 months is not unusual at all. Of course you can negotiate – those were the exact figures that we had (advertised for £1150, we offered £1000). It was an odd time of year (Christmas) so EA knew that property was more than likely going to be empty for another month if they said no. They did say no initially, but I said, OK, we’ll look for something else, they came back later that day and accepted. You have to perhaps have something to offer – property was advertised as 6 month let, we actually wanted 12 months (we had to have a 12 month tenancy agreement for school applications) so this was something we could offer in return for slightly reduced rent. You’ll usually need a month’s deposit, pay a month upfront, and to pay an application & referencing fee.

My only tip would be to check how a property is managed (either by a letting agency or by the landlord himself). We moved in on a Friday after Christmas, and discovered that night that there was no hot water or heating. The property was managed by a property management company which was closed all weekend and hadn’t (by mistake) given us an out of hours emergency contact. We had to wait until Monday for it to be resolved, but will 2 x toddlers and me being pregnant, it wasn’t ideal.

The other point to make is that going from rented to our current house worked for us. Our house went to a bit of a bidding war and the fact that we were in rented (and not part of a chain) really worked in our favour – so it might not be the disaster you think it will be.

me too! We moved 150 miles and it was not feasible to house hunt from the first location. The sale was painful enough as it was. Going into rental did mean two moves and paying for storage, but it put us in a great position which got us a wonderful house.

BTW if you go over the six months (we nearly did) and go on to month by month, do NOT give your landlord notice until you have exchange. This may mean having two properties for a couple of weeks but it is lost in the noise. You can then also check the new place over before moving in, and do your move on a quieter (=cheaper) day as you won't be tied to a Friday.

We're doing it now. Sold in December and renting in SE (Kent). We had no problems getting a tenancy with a six month break clause and they were quite happy with our small dog as well. We also asked our buyers for a contribution towards our additional storage and moving costs in return for breaking the (very long) chain. They did this so might be worth asking.

It has worked well for us but we have done it twice before, once with three DC under 5 and again when they were teenagers. It does make buying easier as buyers and estate agents are very keen on you. We are buying at the moment and had a well below asking price offer accepted because we could move quickly. We are then having some work done before we move in. Good luck

Two situations:

1. If buying local, I would stay in a rental - rent cost pending - until I'd exchanged. That would give me 1 month to get the new place sorted. The cost of 1 month rent may be offset by saving money on removal firm i.e. hiring a transit and doing the move in multiple trips.

2. If buying in a new, unknown place then I would never buy straight off. I'd always want to spend some serious time getting to know the area - traffic, loud pubs, where the chavsters hang out, local flop houses and the like,

Seriously, anyone who has been stuck in a chain will be very appreciative if someone rents and frees it up. You might get them to contribute to the rent.

Seriously, the pain of a chain collapsing is nothing compared to stubbing a few 100 to ensure a chain completes.

True, it's worth exploring whether our buyers will do this. The problem is that they are first time buyers and don't seem very aware of how house buying works. I feel for them because they made their offer on our house in November and have a hard deadline of May. This is the second purchase we've attempted, it seems no-one genuinely wants to move in our chosen location! I do think it would be easier for them to find a short term let than start all over again, but who knows.

What really worries me is that if we break the chain and repay our mortgage, we are liable for early repayment fees to the tune of £5.5k. We can ill afford this when I should be saving for maternity leave.

I know we can recover the repayment fees if we find something and move within 6 months, but it's all a bit of a gamble, and moving in 6 months would mean moving a 1 months old and a 2.5 year old who has just gone through the upheaval of a first new sibling. All do-able with lots of family help to keep us sane, but I really don't relish it.

We are going to look at a chain-free property tomorrow night in a desperate attempt to keep the chain together (if we can push a 28-day exchange) but otherwise, it looks like we're renting so we can at least get our sale through and move to the area we want to be in. Thanks to those who have pointed out the advantages of this.

it is certainly additional work, but as you settle down finally in the eventual house and unpack for good (or at least quite a while) you will forget the pain.

North London moving to South West London. Also have a 2.10 year old and 3 month old so lots of the same considerations. Space and being closer to parents had swung it for me. We exchanged today. Woohoo