Stupid question maybe but sell first or look first?

[Monr0e]

We were initially looking to put our house on the market last September. Due to DC's schools we are looking to buy in a specific area. When we were looking last year there were a lot of potential properties in the right area and within our price range however we had to delay putting ours on the market following a bereavement so decided to wait until the New Year.

We are now thinking again of selling however we are struggling to find any suitable properties for sale in the area we want to move to. So I'm wondering do we wait until more go on the market before we put ours on? But be unable to put an offer in as ours isn't sold. Or do we put ours on, potentially sell it reasonably quickly then risk losing the sale if we can't find anything to buy?

We are lucky in that we are not in a massive rush to sell but want to move hopefully within the next 12 months so we're keen to get the ball rolling soon, thank you

You need to be prepared to go into rented. Ours is on the market and we are moving to a specific area 100 miles away. DC will start new school in sept. We’ve turned a low offer on ours down. We will go into rented (prob tiny air bnb) if ours completes before the end of the summer term and tiny rented in the new area if ours hasn’t sold. If you aren’t a procedable buyer your offer wont be taken seriously. If you find your dream home and need a quick sale you need to be prepared to accept a low offer on your current home. We keep a very close eye on rightmove in case anything perfect comes up, but tbh it’s become apparent that anything good goes before getting as far as rightmove, so our current game plan is to wait until we’ve exchanged and then personally go into every EA in the city presenting our specs, budget and position. Good luck!

You need to be prepared.
We recently put our apartment on the property market and are currently looking at other properties in the area. I have a buyer coming tomorrow to look at the flat and discuss selling over a coffee. I have kept a eye on the property market.
One thing I would do is to create a information pack. Also do have a survey done. It will definitely take a while. If you are having issues selling independently try a estate agent.

You're right, I know. There's no point even viewing if we're not in a position to make an offer.

DS absolutely hates change, moving twice will really upset him. And me! But it's likely that's what we'll need to do 😕

We did it the other way round - found something we liked then marketed ours. However we were in a position to price the house very keenly, we had the EPC check done in advance and had already done a big declutter and had all the little jobs done ready to market immediately we spotted something we wanted. We were also moving within the school catchment area so didn't have that pressure.

I guess it depends on how popular you think your house will be, how fast-moving the area you want is, whether rental is an option and how able you'd be to detach yourself from the buying and selling process. If you did decide to sell in advance of buying then honesty with your buyer is essential.

Sweetheart, that is what we are planning to do. Currently finishing off some last minute jobs then we are hoping to do a big declutter. DH has mentioned putting some stuff in short term storage also.

Next door, which is almost identical, had an offer within 3 days of going on the market this time last year however things could be very different now. There is a house on the street for sale at the moment so I'm keeping an eye to see how quickly it goes.

We got burnt by this recently.. saw a house we loved.. put in offer and put ours on market immediately.. they accepted a lower offer from people in a position to move straight away.. frustratingly we got a cash offer on ours 2 days later... however the seller of the house we wanted was very moral and didn't want to back out having already accepted the the lower offer (which I was both gutted about and glad that they were decent people re the other buyers)

We offered before we were on the market. We were allowed to view and we chose to market through the same agent which made it worth them pushing us as good buyers. We were good buyers but their double commission worked for the agents.

I did this last view having had no intention to move at all. Viewed one day, house on market the next, over asking price offer 3 hours later, offer accepted on the one we want to buy 10 minutes after that. We were very very jammy, I know. If I knew I was definitely moving I'd do the marketing of mine anyway as the perfect house can come up anytime, if you get a quick offer and theres nothing around you like, you can either see if the buyers are happy to wait a while or dexide at that point to go into rented/family.

*week

In the main when you try to arrange to view a property the estate agent will ask what your position is. If you have not sold your house it is unlikely that sellers will be interested in letting you view their property if you are not in a position to proceed. I have fairly recently sold mine and only took viewings from people who were either cash buyers or had sold their property.

Desmondo, definitely jammy! I can only hope for the same luck.

There are a couple of houses we would like to view, one has been on the market since July and does need a lot of work but the price reflects this. The other has been on since October, so neither have been snapped up. I think we will view them anyway then if they are both still on the market if and when we sell ours we will know if we are interested in them still. We are definitely going to move, I just hope the right house is available at the right time.

We sold and went into rented. We were relocating to another county. We were then in a good position to buy. This is what I'd recommend