Question about order of what to do…

[Fallulah]

We have a two bed in one of the nicest parts of town. Houses sell as soon as they are listed (if not before) and two beds are particularly in demand. We want to move to a 3-4 bed, which are really rare at the moment in the areas we would move to.

I am worried about putting our house on the market because I know it will sell almost straight away, and I want to make sure we find the right house rather than feeling rushed in to one. However when I phone to ask to view properties, estate agents have been less than friendly because our house is not yet on the market, even though I’ve explained the above to them and they agree.

So is the correct order…

1.Speak to mortgage co and get offer in principle (done)
2.Put ours on market and have it potentially sell very quickly.
3.Look for house for us which could take a while.

Or, put ours on the market once we have found a house for us, knowing that the way things are at the moment we won’t have a problem selling ours fast. But risk agents thinking we are not serious because ours is not on the market?

Also, we have a dated kitchen (not green/orange from the 70s but wood from the 2010s) - sort it out first or let potential buyers see it as something they could do to put their stamp on it?

Just because it’s on the market doesn’t mean you have to take an offer, let the estate agent know you won’t be accepting an offer until you’ve got something you want to buy.
If you know where the houses are that you want to buy, why don’t you write some cards saying that you are looking to buy that type of house, and see what happens. It might be worth saying that you are selling a 2 bed, as that person might want to downsize.

Thanks. We actually did the card through the door thing to a house last year but heard nothing from it. Worth looking around and trying again though!

Yep, you may well find you have problems being allowed to book viewings if your house isn't on the market - we couldn't get viewings until our house was under offer.

You have some options with get your house under offer, then look for one to buy - make sure EA is clear you are looking and how long you're prepared to look for so buyer is aware (how often do suitable properties come up in your area - we knew it was 1 or 2 a year where we were looking). It's possible if it does take months to find somewhere your buyer may drop out but that probably isn't a problem for you as there seem to be many buyers out there - just make sure to communicate well with your buyers and be prepared for them not paying for surveys until the chain is complete.

Is there something you can do to break the chain - move in with relatives or into rental? This isn't an easy or cheap option (we are in rental at the moment waiting to complete our house purchase). That makes you a better proposition as a buyer.

I wouldn't worry about replacing the kitchen - it'll be priced accordingly and many people prefer to do something to their taste rather than buy something with a new kitchen they don't like but can't justify replacing as it's new.

Good luck!