Hoping to get some combined MN wisdom:
I'm a FTB. Offer accepted on a flat at the start of July. At the time, I said I could be flexible with timescales - the vendors hadn't found anything, and I was prepared to wait for the right property.
Nearly 3 months later, I've done searches, and got a mortgage offer in place, which expires early January - but given the slowdown around Christmas, we'll really need to exchange in December. Time is becoming more of an issue for two reasons: a) my landlord wants to sell, and has issued a S21 notice, and more concerningly, mortgage rates have shot up, and I think that if I was to have to reapply for the mortgage if the sale doesn't go through by January I'll be looking at about an extra £250 per month. That's still affordable, but leaves very little room for emergencies. I also want to be able to have a sensible conversation with the landlord about when I can leave. I have looked at what's available, but there is so much demand, landlords are asking tenants to lock into 18 month/2 year contracts, which is no good when I'm trying to buy &there are zero short lets available. So I can't leave at the end of the S21 period with nowhere to go, but I want to be able to give notice with a clear date so we avoid going down the fullblown court eviction route if possible.
The vendors have been moving incredibly slowly so far, but finally have said they have an offer in (but not yet accepted) on a house. No idea yet if there is a further chain beyond the property they are buying. If they are at this stage now, is it at all realistic to think that this can be completed by the end of the year?
Or should I keep looking in case this all falls apart? A couple of properties have come on to the market recently that are chain free & slightly cheaper so more manageable with the rate rises although would have the compromise of no outside space. I just want to get something sorted!