How to move

[JamPearl]

So...
looking to move for a while but never got in gear.

Seen a house we like on rightmove. Do we have to have house on market before we can view it?

I will have to do a mad declutter if we need to get an estate agent round but is it too late if you don't have house on market already? And when do I need to get the mortgage application sorted?

We bought our first house years ago and haven't bought/sold before. Thanks.

Buying and selling at the same time is so much more of a pain in the arse than just buying - not wanting to be the voice of doom, but just so you know.

The market has slowed down a bit so you may find that agents are prepared to let you view properties without having sold yours first, but even if so it's not the most attractive position for you to be in so your chances of having any offer accepted prior to selling your own home aren't great.

Mortgage wise, you need to know what price you'll likely achieve in selling your current home in order to sensibly work out what you can afford anyway. If agents/vendors want to see an agreement in principle you can get one easily enough to show how much you can borrow (doesn't have to be from the lender you ultimately go with), but you also need a good idea of how much equity you have in your current property to do the maths on what you can afford to move to. So, getting agents round to value your current home would be a helpful next step. Don't forget to set aside a chunk of budget for stamp duty, estate agent fees, conveyancing, and removals.

Your actual full mortgage application is for a specific property, so you can't get going on this until after you've had an offer accepted (and, depending on whether the chain is complete at that point, you may or may not want to get going on that straight away). Don't forget to check your current mortgage terms to see if e.g. there are exit fees to pay if it's a fixed term deal, and if it's portable (it may well be a better deal than anything you'd get now). If you port your mortgage, they'll probably still make you do a full application for it anyway, so it may be worth talking through with a broker just to explore your options.

@Persipan thanks so much for a detailed reply.

I think I will tidy and declutter as much as possible this weekend and call the estate agent Monday. Might be too late for this house I know but got to start the ball rolling as you say.

I am absolutely dreading but we need to move and can't procrastinate any more.

We are out of our deal and don't have much left on current mortgage and can easily afford more than current payments so should be ok there. We have a financial advisor so maybe will give them a call too.

Eeek!! Better get on with some sorting!