Critique my plan for selling my challenging house

[Fiftythreepercent]

Saying upfront that I appreciate this is a first world problem.

My house Is a period home. It has a difficult layout, no downstairs toilet and has a few other challenges that will take it some time to sell, even in a strong market.

When I previously tried to sell it the challenge that I had was availability of other suitable properties to move to. There’s not much available now in my area however I want to try and sell the house now before the market softens off or something major needs doing

With a loan from family I could buy a small home now in a not so nice area that I could potentially live in for a year or two whilst I find a permanent place I want to buy, then sell it on

This would also make my current house top of the chain and help it sell. Downside would be having to live in the other house for a while and potentially the cost of it standing empty for six months also whilst mine sells/falls through etc. This would me out financially in the short term.

Has anyone done something like this? How did it work out for you? Or are there any major pitfalls I’ve not thought about? Thoughts appreciated

Hi OP, you've not said why you want to move, is it area, size of the home, change in circumstances that has prompted this? That influences things a bit, e.g empty nest/downsizing is quite different from needing more space

I would be downsizing. My younger DD is still at home but now working. My older DD has just moved out and had a nightmare with competition for rentals despite being in a good position which is making me wary of relying on finding a rental after exchange

Another poster suggested leveraging the estate agent which might help I guess

You haven't taken mortgage payments into account in your buy/sell twice scenario

I’d be clearing my mortgage on sale and then hopefully buying mortgage free for eventual home

I feel like I’m arguing with posters saying “rent” there is lots to think about

@Summersdreaming will you need to pay Stamp Duty on your property? There's also usually the cost of a removal company when you buy and sell at the same time, as you don't get any cross over time to do the move yourself.

@PragmaticWench no, I'm a FTB, and have always had a crossover period to move my stuff. I can see it would be more expensive with a full removal service + stamp duty.

Sorry for the derail OP, have you had an estate agent round to value and give you an idea of the market? I'd be worried about buying a temporary house and not being able to sell that one if interest rates jump up and the market slows down, plus there could be some issues with it that prevent it selling. I would try to rent in your situation.

Ask around for a different kind of rental. For example you might be willing to rent at a lower rate from a friend who is, sadly, clearing their parents' home prior to selling it? Might be fine for a few months. Just keep the bare essentials with you to make you more mobile. Then a month in an Airbnb? Things have a habit of working out somehow.

We are about to move and inc stamp duty, agents fees and moving costs, we will be spending around 18k.

So actually if I have 12 months of that it’s probably not that different to costs of moving twice if I claim back stamp duty

I may be misunderstanding - what do you mean claiming back stamp duty?

You'll have two sets of bills - one for the house you are living in, and one for the house you are trying to sell. Insurance may be more expensive for an empty property.

I don't think the property being empty will automatically move it to the top of a buyer's list tbh, and you'll still have another property to sell at the end of it (the second property you buy). Even if you can claim back some of the higher rate stamp duty, you'll spend more on legal fees. It just doesn't seem to be a good plan to me, sorry.

It just doesn't seem to be a good plan to me, sorry

I appreciate everyone’s comments and I have some new things to think about. Airbnb and rental options and I’ve not had my house valued yet. I will start from there

I may be misunderstanding - what do you mean claiming back stamp duty?

If I move into the new property within 3 years I can reclaim the 3% second property additional stamp duty