Buyer wants us to go chain free

Jacketandbeans · 2022-07-22T12:29:50+00:00

We currently live in a 2 bed flat with 3 children and no garden (one child is a newborn). We have tried to sell a couple of times but it hasn't been easy due to us having a large flat with no outside space. The market is limited as people often choose a smaller house instead for the same price. We eventually got a buyer back in April but they wanted us to sell chain free, we agreed and then after an emotional month of me freaking out that we would be moving into rental at the same time as our baby came, they pulled out! Having had very sporadic viewings (some weeks none at all, some weeks 1 or 2) we now have another offer, but again chain free request!! What would you do? Sell it and accept that we might need to move into rental, hold off and wait for another buyer? Bearing in mind we have been trying to move for 5 years and desperately want the outside space. Has anyone else moved into rental? Was it a good idea or a bad idea? I hear conflicting views about whether the market is set to rise or fall so not sure if it makes financial sense or not. I don't want to lose this buyer and find ourselves having to drop the price a lot in a few months time to sell it. Any views much appreciated!

DidYeEye · 22/07/2022 13:35

Im following, but because I'm considering being that buyer, and I am that seller. I have had an offer on going for over 6 months and my vendor isn't in a position to do anything to free it up and has had loads of issues with their onward.

I'm moving I to rented to release my property.

I'm thinking of putting in an offer on another house, offering a little extra if we can try and move before Christmas.

It's so hard, all of it from all sides.

PragmaticWench · 22/07/2022 13:40

I think finding a rental is extremely difficult at the moment, there's so much demand. Obviously you also then can't port your mortgage so may lose out financially in that regard. Is there definitely no way to tie in a purchase? Have you found somewhere to buy?

jonesdarcy · 22/07/2022 13:43

We sold up and paid a hefty repayment charge to do so when our onward purchase fell through. We moved into rental which cost us a more (incl 2x moving fees and renting fees). However then we were in an excellent position to buy as chain free.
I don't think house prices look likely to spike so not a bad time to do it

Original poster

Jacketandbeans · 22/07/2022 13:43

Thanks for your response, it is so stressful isn't it! We never intended to stay here this long, and every time spring comes around I desperately want a garden for my kids. I know if we lose this buyer and don't get an offer soon that I will regret it.
Equally, moving a very young family into rental is stressful and expensive with no idea how long it could go on for. Are you moving into short term rental accommodation or long term?
I'm finding most is minimum 6 months so it's not like we can just move in somewhere for a couple of months to bridge the gap.

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DidYeEye · 22/07/2022 13:53

I'm lucky, and I use that term very loosely, to be able to move to a friend's place so have a 1 month notice. Otherwise I'd struggle too.

It depends on the market where you are too. Where I'm selling, you need to be ready to go and it's highly competitive. Bear in mind too that the conveyancing may take up at least half the time of your 6 months minimum contract. So by the time you move, find properties you like, get offer, get chain complete, exchange and complete.

Original poster

Jacketandbeans · 22/07/2022 13:54

@PragmaticWench our mortgage runs out on the 31st August so we could just pay it off and then get a new one which is handy. We have seen somewhere online that we like that isn't doing viewings for another week, it's chain free. I have a feeling it will go for over asking price though and out of our reach.
Not many places I've seen have been chain free as we don't want a doer upper.

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PantyMcPantFace · 22/07/2022 13:59

Just be aware that your current mortgage rate (or what the variable is if your fixed rate is coming to an end) can be ported to a new house. But moving into rented will scupper this. This may or may not be an issue for you, but it was for us when we looked at similar a few years back. Our current variable was .95% above base - which as about 1% lower than anything available elsewhere. If we had gone into rented we would have lost that....instead we held for the chain and were able to "port" to the new house. Probably saved us £££ in interest.

WulyJmpr · 22/07/2022 19:22

I would not recommend you stepping off the property ladder into rental, especially with 3 kids. The right buyer will come along in time.

Pinkdelight3 · 23/07/2022 10:23

I was helping a friend look for flats recently and all the estate agents were dodgy about this, making out that it would be chain-free/they were "sure" the owners would move into rented, when it was clearly just part of their sales spiel and we knew from experience that it's rarely the case in reality. So I'd have a talk with your EA in the first instance to make sure they're not causing this issue in the first place. If they're showing people around and saying you'd be up for being chain-free, then of course it's going to come back to bite. That said, the degree to which it was happening (when it hasn't been my experience in the past) suggests to me that it's now something that buyers are expecting a lot more with a 1 or 2 bedroom flat where they know they'll be the bottom end of a chain that could go up a long way and fair play to them, they don't want to get stuck.

Gardengirl108 · 27/04/2023 13:19

PantyMcPantFace · 22/07/2022 13:59

Just be aware that your current mortgage rate (or what the variable is if your fixed rate is coming to an end) can be ported to a new house. But moving into rented will scupper this. This may or may not be an issue for you, but it was for us when we looked at similar a few years back. Our current variable was .95% above base - which as about 1% lower than anything available elsewhere. If we had gone into rented we would have lost that....instead we held for the chain and were able to "port" to the new house. Probably saved us £££ in interest.

Our current lender (Nationwide) allows 180 days between sale and next purchase to port the mortgage, so it’s worth people checking what their own lender allows.

Original poster

Jacketandbeans · 27/04/2023 16:09

Well seeing as someone has revived my thread, I might as well give a little update on case it helps others.
We took the offer and agreed to go chain free. We couldn't find a property in time to buy. We ended up moving into a rental with a 6 months minimum tenency. Our purchase completed end of January so we ended up with 3 months of rent and mortgage which cost us over 6k of additional wasted money and we now need to move again.
The plus side is we were able to get a few messy bits of work done on the house before moving in, and are due to move in soon.

Would I do it again? Hard to say. I'm glad we sold the flat, it was such a worry not knowing if it would sell, but the up-heavel has been dramatic, and the cost. I can't feel settled in a rental that is too small for us. It has really taken its toll on me with a small baby.

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SaveMeFromMyBoobs · 27/04/2023 16:15

Jacketandbeans · 27/04/2023 16:09

Well seeing as someone has revived my thread, I might as well give a little update on case it helps others.
We took the offer and agreed to go chain free. We couldn't find a property in time to buy. We ended up moving into a rental with a 6 months minimum tenency. Our purchase completed end of January so we ended up with 3 months of rent and mortgage which cost us over 6k of additional wasted money and we now need to move again.
The plus side is we were able to get a few messy bits of work done on the house before moving in, and are due to move in soon.

Would I do it again? Hard to say. I'm glad we sold the flat, it was such a worry not knowing if it would sell, but the up-heavel has been dramatic, and the cost. I can't feel settled in a rental that is too small for us. It has really taken its toll on me with a small baby.

I'm sorry you had a hard time. Reading I would have done the same thing. You'd waited so long to find a buyer, I doubt another one would have come along in time for you to get your new house. You'd probably still be in the flat! So while the interim in the small rental was a trial, it was a step in what has allowed you to get your lovely new home.

Original poster

Jacketandbeans · 28/04/2023 10:51

SaveMeFromMyBoobs · 27/04/2023 16:15

I'm sorry you had a hard time. Reading I would have done the same thing. You'd waited so long to find a buyer, I doubt another one would have come along in time for you to get your new house. You'd probably still be in the flat! So while the interim in the small rental was a trial, it was a step in what has allowed you to get your lovely new home.

Show quote history

Thanks for your lovely post 😊

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NicLondon1 · 28/04/2023 22:15

Glad it all worked out, hard as it was! It also probably helped you buy your house, being chain-free yourselves. Well done!

Twiglets1 · 29/04/2023 06:05

Jacketandbeans · 27/04/2023 16:09

Well seeing as someone has revived my thread, I might as well give a little update on case it helps others.
We took the offer and agreed to go chain free. We couldn't find a property in time to buy. We ended up moving into a rental with a 6 months minimum tenency. Our purchase completed end of January so we ended up with 3 months of rent and mortgage which cost us over 6k of additional wasted money and we now need to move again.
The plus side is we were able to get a few messy bits of work done on the house before moving in, and are due to move in soon.

Would I do it again? Hard to say. I'm glad we sold the flat, it was such a worry not knowing if it would sell, but the up-heavel has been dramatic, and the cost. I can't feel settled in a rental that is too small for us. It has really taken its toll on me with a small baby.

Thanks for the update, they are always interesting.
You did the right thing for your family. It put you in a brilliant position as a buyer and the market had gone down since you sold so you will have benefited from that with your purchase.
A difficult choice indeed but it seems like it worked out well despite the stress.

Roselilly36 · 29/04/2023 06:36

I wouldn’t if I was in your shoes with a young family. There is a lack of rentals available, also it would mean, moving twice and it’s not cheap to move. Stick to your guns if they want to buy your flat they will need for the chain to be complete. Good luck. I know it’s a stressful process, but it will be worth it in the end.

Roselilly36 · 29/04/2023 06:37

Aww sorry x post.

Original poster

Jacketandbeans · 29/04/2023 08:54

Thank you for your posts. I think what I underestimated is how hard it is to get settled knowing you need to move again.
We relocated as well, so a completely new town 60 miles away. I think when you have a small baby and small children being able to access everything you need and feel 'sorted' is so important. I felt I was in utter chaos for ages.
Also maternity leave is precious so there's an emotional impact of that too.
Luckily my husband was very supportive and did his best to help but it's definitely not something I'd recommend.

We are now two days away from being in our house (which is also a state as we ended up buying a doer upper as the market was just crazy) but I can't wait to be in. Just having a garden will be a huge relief with my very active boys!

Also my eldest (age 6) settled amazingly into school, literally no tears and made friends straight away. That was a massive surprise as he is shy. I think if we had ended up staying in the flat for longer and delaying the move it might have been harder the older he got and we might have missed the space in his new school. So it's probably all worked out in the end.

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Toooldtoworry · 29/04/2023 09:02

Glad to hear it's worked out in the end 💐