Timing to sell - completely missed the boat?

[HangerLaneGyratorySystem]

I have applied for divorce, now looking at if and when to put the house on the market. H is in a mess he doesn't want to split let alone sell. I want to wait a few weeks then start gently pushing about valuation etc. Spoke to 2 estate agents today, looked on Rightmove for our area. Weeks ago you couldn't even see a property for sale on RM round here, now there are maybe 100 3 bed semis like mine, many better than mine, and prices have dropped from around 475-500k to c. 425k

Added to that several houses in my road were sold well below market value as they needed major work. And then there's interest rates, people not getting mortgages worried about interest rates. 2 Agents - one was like "this is a bad time to sell, we've had hardly any enquiries this week" etc., the other was saying yes prices are going down but you might still be ok, don't expect too much etc.

I am desperate to sell ASAP, but realistically I will have to wait until after Christmas, need to persuade STBexH and do some minor things like decorating and clearing out. So bearing all that in mind I'm thinking in fact waiting till then means we are pretty much stuck here for the foreseeable. We're on interest only mortgage, going up and up, should we try to get a 2 year fixed rate now and wait it out? Practically, that sounds like a good idea.

Emotionally, it sounds like a recipe for a nervous breakdown. WWYD? Anyone on here up for sale now and finding it hard due to market slow down? We're in South East 1930s 3 bed semi.

Bump

Those agents sound bad at their job. Why would they try to put you off putting it up for sale?

Houses are dropping from 500 to 425? Really?

Is that you DeadHouseBounce?
🤔

@HangerLaneGyratorySystem
Actually it depends on how much equity you have in your house, will you have enough from your share for an onward purchase? Can you afford to get ahead of the market by being extremely keen (low) on your price, so it looks like a bargain? If you accept a low price now, by the time the conveyancing is done, if the market is still falling, it may well work out that you’ve achieved a good price.

Sorry to hear that you're in this situation. I totally get the feeling of wanting to sell and get out asap. There's a whole thread (second one actually) of us currently selling. Some with more success than others. It will be so dependant on the local market, your house, the price etc. I have been on the market for 7 weeks with one reduction, but my house is also a bit weird/niche. My town has come to a standstill it seems though. Nothing has gone SSTC in over a week (if Rightmove can be believed). Nobody can tell you what will happen in a few months or the coming year though.

I don't understand. Why would you sign up for a two-year fix if you want to sell and divorce? Is that if you buy your STBexh out? Or are you expecting it to take that long for the divorce to go through?

Don’t forget that you’ll be buying in the same market

@ecochiroptera I've just found that thread and it does seem to bear out what my area is experiencing as well (@GreenLunchBox ?)

@dubyalass this is my question - will I (we?) be forced to simply stay here? We have an interest only mortgage that's gone up by £250 since January. By the time we are ready to sell god knows how high it will be. So I'm considering all the options no matter how ridiculous they are.

I just want us all to be in housing we can afford and that might mean staying in this house, but getting a cheaper mortgage. I reckon the process of divorce up to the financial order could take over 9 months; a lot more if they want pension valuations, during that time we could have paid £000s over the odds.

What a nightmare. No advice really, other than I can't see interest rates going down any time soon. Have you worked out the cost of staying on a standard variable rate for a year against what you'd pay in early repayment charges if you took out a fix and ended it after a year? I know nobody has a crystal ball but you might be able to find interest rate predictions for the next year and use that to work out where you'd be.

Is the two-year fix portable and would you be able to take out the mortgage in your name only?

I feel for you, you must feel trapped. Personally I would want out of any ties to an ex but I appreciate it's not that simple.

I’m in the Home Counties and we had an offer 5k below asking price within 2 weeks.

The asking price was level with where similar properties have been selling recently. So not much change although I think it has been a bit slower in terms
of interest than it would of been a few months ago.

@dubyalass - thanks I see you "get it" (not suggesting others on thread don't but your take seems very clear). I tried that yesterday; I looked at predictions for next year but I am confused by how rates = mortgage rates, so anyway what I did was look at my repayments now at 5.24% (Halifax SVR) and just plucked a figure out of the air of 10.50% and asked myself could I make those payments alone if STBexH moved out into rental (would take me to the wire). I then looked at one lender's fee for early repayment and compared the two total amounts over 12 months, it was broadly similar but I think I did the calculations quite crudely.

However I am seeing predictions of interest rates far higher than 10% - I remember when rates were 15% etc although I was in rental at that time, so I know its possible. And no, I can't take over the mortgage on this place on my own, we owe over £100k on it and my current maximum mortgage offer that brokers have suggested I would get on my salary is £80k.

I think I shall go and lurk on one of those threads for others trying to sell they seem pretty informed. Thank you all.

You can normally get around 4.79 times salary for mortgage if that helps op

Have you spoken to a broker? Might be worthwhile in case they have any suggestions for other ways through. There must be lots of people in similar situations.

I don't know where you've got 10% base rates from - the economic forecaster I use for work is currently working off a peak of about 4.5% in mid to late 2023, before they drop back to c.2% by the end of 2024. So if you assume a fixed rate that's 1.5-2% above base rates (but that will depend on how much the market feels it needs to price in future rises, which will drop as we head into an economic slowdown), the worst case for your mortgage is a rate of 7% - but i think that will only be at a very specific point in time, and if you have a good LTV you'll probably find better rates on offer.

Put it up for sale now as things are only going to get worse. The market by us is moving very slowly and there has been a huge increase in available homes. Soon we will be swamped by repossessions.

The recent activity was artificial as people scrambled for properties.

I sold before the push and it was a relatively realistic price but it still took 3 months to sell.

@witheringrowan I was just guessing a worst case scenario; we're on interest only at the Halifax standard variable rate, so I'm not sure what you are explaining would apply. The original question was should we get a new (repayment) mortgage even though we are trying to separate and I've already applied for a divorce. But yes, any new rate would be better I should imagine.

And then of course we have to see what will happen about stamp duty - will that boost the market? Or simply add inflationary fuel to the Bank of England's interest rate fire? :(

I’m by no means an expert, but have a very keen interest. Locally, houses have been flying off the market, until about June, when things started to slow down a bit to ordinary ‘good’ levels. It’s still ok here, but only ok. If you want to sell I’d do it now. I suspect the market will be dead within a year and I don’t expect recovery for multiple years. The stamp duty changes may breathe some life into it for a bit, but it will only slow the decline. If you have the option to sell now and move into rented (tough at the moment) or move in a with a relative you might get a lot more for your money in a year or so’s time. It’s what I’d do. I don’t think we will see a huge crash, but a definite dip.

Following with interest, although I’m not selling, trying to decide when to buy!!!!

You’re following (resurrecting) a thread from 9 months ago?

😂😂 my bad, it came up and I didn’t even check the date!! 🤦‍♀️ sorry OP- hope you sorted something!!!