Expat relocated stay in air bnb or rent whilst waiting to buy house

[MrsG2017]

Hi All

Had a bit of a reality check on how long it takes for house purchases to go through here.

We are in a conundrum as we have a five year old currently NOT in school as we are in an air bnb and dont have a perm address.

We are wanting to buy but I'm a bit wary that even though we are cash and chain free that we could be waiting months to complete.

Should I suck it up and rent for a year whilst house hunting/buying ?

Crikey hadn't factored things taking as long as they seem to be at the moment, probably naive of me.

Is it any quick buying new build?

Thanks

We opted for a rental (6 month AST) over AirBnB when between houses. We figured it would be for about 3 months but felt safer having the 6 months in case the house was delayed or fell through. In the end it was only 2 months and we lost 4 months rent but at least we were covered if it all went wrong.

Sales seem to be taking a long time at the moment. Five or six months or so according to some people who have done it recently - and that’s if everything goes through ok and the chain doesn’t collapse. You could try to get a rental contract for 6 months initially, which then converts to a rolling contract after that, so you’re not locked into a second 6 month contract.

We also went for a rental and in the part of the city we thought we wanted to live (difficult as we had only visited twice before!) so we could get school sorted. I think it was important for us to feel like we were living in the area so we started to put down roots socially, and really got a chance to check that this was the right part of town. This did mean we were limited in our home search area for buying to the school district so our youngest child would get a place at the same school.

Though it sounds a bit like you already know where you want to be if you want to buy really quickly - so none of that may apply to you!

in terms of time to purchase - in the UK we have had such a variety - from offer to move in date, I think we have had 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (though that one was exceptionally stressful and unusual circumstances!)

new build might be quicker - depending on the stage of the build, but no guarantees (a friend completed on a new build in three weeks once, (v unusual, and the cash came from an inheritance so no banks involved!, my Mum’s took 6 months because of a flood on part of the site….

personally, I’d rather take a slower approach and make sure you find the right house in the right area, rather than making a compromise because it’s quicker. I’ve lived in three countries, and there are so many factors that affect being happy after a relocation, I’d focus on building the life you love - even if it costs a bit more in rent….

Its mad to Airbnb for an indeterminate length of time - it will cost a fortune!
I sold my house and thought I'd be down ding Teo weeks in an Airbnb. Put all my stuff in storage and me and my daughter took a couple suitcases only. My house purchase fell through at the last minute, so we extended. In the end we spent 8 weeks in three different deferent air bnbs plus three days in a hotel. Nightmare.
In your case I'd rent for six months with option to renew (some landlords will want 12 months lease, but you might get a break clause after six) in the area you plan on living in and register your child for the local school.

I sold my flat in December without having found a house to buy and considered going into an Airbnb to avoid dealing with estate agents/landlords and being tied down for a long period of time to a rental.

In the end I took a rental for a year with a six month break close.

I am glad I did that because the first house I offered on fell through.

I think staying in an AirBnB for a month would be fine but a sale could take 3 to 6 months and something could cause it to fall through. It is also much more expensive that a regular rental.

Having a proper rental also gives you time to do some renovations on the property you buy if needed before you move in.