Would you stay or move?

[lorisparkle]

We have just had an offer on our house - full asking price but with caveat that we agree to move before the end of March

We are not keen to be tied in to this as there is no guarantee. They have offered to allow us to rent back the house we are living in to them if we can't complete on a house by then but again we are worried about losing out financially with this.

We have only seen one house we are interested - brand new but with the additional costs of carpets etc it will be at the very top of our budget

So shall we wait it out, hope the government extend the stamp duty thing, hope another house comes on the market and hope our buyers wait

Or accept their offer and go for this brand new house

Or stay where we are, do some major works to create an extra bedroom and accept living with the things we find frustrating in our current house

We are trying (unsuccessfully) to sell our vacant home. If the offer is right I would (in your shoes) accept/grab it and rent from them if needed until the new house is ready. Definitely the easiest and surest option for you.

You might not find it easy to sell in 2021 given the amount of uncertainties...

And about the rent money loss - you won't be paying mortgage on either house when you rent, so consider the rent as the interest component of your mortgage. It's not necessarily a 'loss' just a diversion of expense.

You have full asking price and 3 months, sell. Rent for a bit if necessary.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts - I think I am quite risk averse so it is nice to have some alternative views.

I'd grab that!!

Much better not to be in a chain anyway. Declutter and get rid of as much stuff as you can bear.

Unless Trey are cash buyers (in which case you would be crazy not to accept) I would be very wary of the 'rent it out to you'. That's because they will need a buy to let mortgage and they are both very expensive and require a larger deposit.

Once they realise all this they may start retracting.

I would bite their hand off. They want to get in before the stamp duty ends. Apparently the government have said this is unlikely to be extended (I'm about 50/50 if it will be), and so they want to save that money.

With Brexit and the threat of another full lockdown (including schools) I would say yes and push it through as quickly as possible with solicitors and searches etc....

I would take their offer but renting from them may well not be a viable option - needs a different type of mortgage and things like an EICR (electricity check) and all electrical works being done to get a satisfactory. So unless they are BTL investors unlikely to be an option.

If there's nothing on the market you are that keen on and better things may come up I would go into rental. The government have said it won't extend the stamp duty deadline.

Thanks everyone- yes they are buy to let investors. We have decided to take the offer and buy the brand new house. Fingers crossed it all goes well!!!

Good decision, OP!

I'm curious how would the rental work? Potentially I may have a similar option from y buyer (also BTL landlord) - but would they agree to a rolling / short term rental, as obvs you wouldn't want a usual 6 months let? Of course you may be able to buy the new house on itme, but I wonder what was is usual with these interim rentals!

@CatAndHisKit it is a tricky one. Our plan is to discuss with our solicitor to get a very clear agreement on amounts and time scales. Unless the government change their mind and extend the stamp duty thing it is going to be very tight. Especially at this time of year.

We sold a house to a BTL investor and ended up renting from them as they dragged sale out to 5 months and 2 rentals fell through and they let us just to 1 months notice, no minimum period but its whatever you agree on.