Cash offer accepted - what now?

[housequestion1]

Hi, our house has been on the market for a couple of months with hardly any offers and we now received an attractive offer from a cash buyer, which we've accepted.

Because it took quite a long time to get any offers at all, we haven't really looked at any houses for our next purchase.

The estate agency is about to prepare a memorandum of sale.

It has just dawned on us that cash purchases are usually turned around quite quickly. This means that we would have to leave the house on completion date with nowhere to go.

Sorry if I sound daft (this is the first home we are selling), but what is usually done in such cases?

Should we try to negotiate more time until completion date to give us more time to find a house?

Thanks for any advice xx

Depending on why the offer is cash, it might not necessarily mean a particularly fast sale. We still did searches etc. Took 4months last year. Basically, the only step we skipped was mortgage application. Everything else was standard conveyancing.

Start looking for houses to book viewings with! Anything catch your eye on rightmove? Possibly worth a conversation with the estate agent about how fast your buyer is hoping to progress. Most sales are dependant on the chain above them.

You can ask if they can wait for you to find the right house. Ask when they need to move by. And start searching!

we were cash buyers and had a date when the money would be available which was three months after viewing and offer accepted and everything got done in that time but this was three years ago

Depends on the balance of power. Usually the seller dictates the move date and the buyer can take it or leave it. Here, you’ve struggled to sell and now have a great offer so they in general have more power than you. I would get the estate agent to ask what their expectations are re completion date and if they are in a rush or flexible / prepared to wait for you to find something. A competent estate agent would have asked this before the offer was accepted so keep a close eye on the agent as matters proceed.

As a guide, when I bought I said the offer was valid for 3 months and if no exchange by then I would reconsider the offer.

Start actively looking for a property. You are in a good position. Good luck.

Check that it is genuinely a cash offer- that they have the cash in hand and are not dependent on a sale

Be prepared for them to lower their offer at the last minute