How long is reasonable to search

[FiftyStoriesHigh]

We accepted an offer on our house on Wednesday. Buyers are keen and able to move forward but not at all pushy as of yet. We did find a house we loved but we didn’t get it (put in the highest offer but at that point, we hadn’t sold and they went with FTBs). Basically, how long do we have? What’s a reasonable amount of time to house hunt? Worried we might rush into something - already feel guilty about it’s been 3 days since we sold! Thank you.

Also we’ve already done all the solicitor paperwork etc. Is that wise or is there anything we should stall? First time we’ve sold.

I would be willing to wait a month for you to have an offer accepted I think

Reckon a couple of months is fine as long as your buyers are aware you havent found anywhere yet and are expecting to have to wait :)

Brilliant, thank you. That’s what I was hoping! 😊

Our buyers waited 6/7 months for us to find something and nearly a full year to move in. They were so patient as we didn’t increase the price despite the rocketing prices all around us. We did lose out on money but we found a brilliant house so everyone was a winner. Was stressful though!

In my eyes fucking none. If I was you’re buyer and you’ve not got an offer in in the next week or so I’d be pulling out. It’s turning much more to a buyers market.

Your not you’re.

Well, when most sellers won’t take an offer seriously unless you’ve sold, it’s inevitable that plenty of people will be looking whilst the buyer waits. Buyers seem okay to wait for now, I just don’t want to mess them about. If they want to pull out in a week, that’s on them but it’s a nice, well priced house and they’re not in a hurry so I’m more just after a standard, reasonable wait time.

@Outonmyear That’s helpful, thank you. I’m glad it all worked out for you.

@somewhereovertherain

In my eyes fucking none. If I was you’re buyer and you’ve not got an offer in in the next week or so I’d be pulling out. It’s turning much more to a buyers market.

Absolutely not true. And it certainly isn't a buyers market round here.

Tbh op, if you do get buyers like pp, then you are probably better off with them pulling out early so you can find reasonable buyers who actually understand how a chain works

Where I am in London they won't show you properties until you have an offer on your house so that naturally builds in a delay whilst you find somewhere. I'd say a couple of months if all goes smoothly. Though in my area there's not much that worth buying. I'm not sure why - it was so hot before the stamp duty holiday ran out.

Yeah this is it! We did offer on a lovely house two days before we sold and lost out because we hadn’t sold, so you’re damned either way really.

@SunnyKlara Yeah I thought the same 😆

We are looking to buy, but aren't allowed to view until we've sold ours. I'm expecting it to take a few weeks to be honest.

I think communication is all it takes - and hopefully you will find something quicker than we did! It will all work out in the end. Good luck x

@somewhereovertherain

In my eyes fucking none. If I was you’re buyer and you’ve not got an offer in in the next week or so I’d be pulling out. It’s turning much more to a buyers market.

Not my impression, interesting to hear that.

Our buyers waited 9 months for us! Not ideal but we were upfront and said we needed to be in a specific school catchment and they were very understanding FTB. I think as long as you have good communication via your solicitors or EA and they know you are doing your best then hopefully you won’t feel too pressured and they won’t get too annoyed!

Thanks all, that’s great. We’ve been really clear so far and they seem cool, have also clarified on the paperwork too so fingers crossed. We’re really keen though, just don’t want to go somewhere purely out of pressure.

Depends where you are. In Scotland, a buyer isn't waiting around. It's a standard 8-12 week turn around period from offer being accepted to exchanging missives/moving and that's only because a mortgage can take around 8 weeks to sort.

It is difficult as it means effectively making yourself potentially homeless if your property doesn't sell quickly/you haven't had an offer accepted within a short space of time but that's just the way it works (where I am anyway).

Oh wow, really? Yeah not in Scotland. I did run it by the solicitor and he said there’s no commitment to timings until everyone is ready to exchange so that’s something I guess.

I would be happy to wait around 2 months I think as long as I knew you weren’t searching for something that’s unlikely to come up!

We found a house we liked but the sellers hadn’t found anywhere despite it being on the market for a while. We then found out their were looking for a renovation project - these don’t come up often. We found a house we preferred and went with that.

I think as long as you are showing you’re proactive and likely to find what you’re looking for them you’ll be ok. Good luck 😊

@LaLaFlottes That’s a good point! We should probably let them know we’re pretty conventional in what we’re after. We need a four bed and we’ve got a few villages we’re looking in as long as only a few miles from school. There’s not loads out there atm but I’ve heard it’s picking up. 😊

Was 5 months for us. But I wasn't bothered if our buyer pulled out, we could have sold our old house 10 times over. I wasn't prepared to move unless it was for something I adored.

Sellers can pretty much take as long as they like, it's definitely not a buyers market in London and the South East, where I am looking.

I recently had my purchase collapse after waiting almost 7 long months for my elderly vendor to get her head around a simultaneous sale and purchase, only for her to change her mind about selling on the day of exchange, which was a week before completion.

Even if your buyers drop out after waiting a few months, you could probably remarket immediately and sell for more; I know my vendor could get at least £30k more than we agreed mid last year if she listed again tomorrow.

The decent thing to do would be to keep your buyer updated on your progress, let them know the timeframes you are working to, and tell them immediately if anything changes.

@Woahthehorsey Yeah I don’t want to end up feeling pushed out. I do love our home, it’s just too small now. I’m a bit worried about what we might lose in solicitors costs etc if they pull out but I’m assuming it won’t be a huge percentage. Am I right to get the ball rolling with solicitors now or did you wait to buy time? Thank you.

@Starseeking That’s a really good point. I’m already wondering if we could’ve sold for more as we got asking price within the week. So if they pull out, we could up the price and atleast re-coop any lost costs in the meantime. Thanks so much, that’s really helpful. You lot are great.