How to slow down property purchase?

[78thcat]

I'm a FTB in the process of buying a flat.
I'd like to move in late August/September to give me a few more months to save for new carpets, furniture and redecoration. I think the conveyancing work will be finished in a couple of weeks. Vendor can move out whenever, she is waiting for a probate property to come through, so is willing to break the chain and move in with family. My mortgage offer expires in October.
Would you exchange next month and then have a long gap before completion, or try and delay the exchange somehow? What are the risks?
Many thanks for any help or advice.

I lived with camping chairs for 6 weeks when i moved into my first house. didnt have lots of stuff.. but it was fine as the place was mine.. just slowly get stuff over time, takes a while but you will get there!

i second the good matress, it will be fine on the floor, and u wont need to pay for removals if you dont have any stuff..

Argos, IKEA etc and a 0% card will sort you out. Make a plan to pay off the card abs stick to it.

Best advice is to co-operate with the sellers wishes .

You don't have to have everything newly fitted and decorated before you move in ; and take it from me when you've lived in it for a few weeks you'll have a much better idea of what decor/fittings would suit the house and your lifestyle best.

If you are happy with the mortgage offer I would just get it done and start paying the mortgage off ASAP rather than spending money on rent.

Move in then find your furniture slowly on FB marketplace and charity shops - make a list of your needs and wants and start looking. You'll save a fortune and your home will be amazing.

Honestly, I'd be concerned.

So your seller's new property is still going through probate and your mortgage offer expires in October but she's said she'll move in with family if needed?

I've heard this so often. The reality is, people say this but don't actually mean it. When the reality hits them, they hold out for as long as possible to avoid moving twice or actually staying with family.

For peace of mind, if I were you, I really wouldn't be worried about decorating or furnishings, but getting an exchange and completion date actually set.

You might find it taken out of your hands if your seller delays. I'd start talking dates ASAP to see what response you receive.

We’re in exactly this position as living with in laws now and buying a house. We have deliberately been slow with the mortgage application, survey etc, and have asked for around 4-6 weeks between exchange and completion so we can save more. Our solicitor said this is common. I wouldn’t leave it too long but definitely negotiate. And I’m not being rude but I’d be very very nervous about the little amount of money you have remaining. There’s so much you may need to pay for when you buy a property

You sound like you're sensible with finances so 0% is a good idea. Just divide the credit amount on it by the number of months at 0% and check you can pay off that much every month.

I would communicate with your vendor about Exchange of Contracts at the end of June, Completion at the end of July.
A month between Exchange & Completion is not unusual.

Get the best mattress you can afford. Sealy are good and usually on offer on mattressonline or mattressnextday and they do next day delivery.

You can get good second hand furniture from Gumtree, BHF and free cycle. And hire a man and a van to deliver.

A friend slowed a purchase for different reasons, then lost out because the vendor got a redundancy notice and pulled out.

Our vendors were breaking the chain and we rushed to exchange (with their agreement of course) as we didn’t want them to overthink it for too long.

Thanks, I hadn't thought of this. She's already been let down by two buyers and she says she's really keen to move. She hopes the probate will come through quickly but I'm not optimistic. I said I would try and coincide with her move but she knows I have to move by October no matter what, and especially more so with recent rate hikes as its unlikely I'll be able to get such a favourable mortgage offer again.

This thread has been really helpful and has helped me to see the risks of delaying. It's scary and exciting to think I could be in by end of July! I'm literally going to be camping in my own house but it sounds like a rite of passage experience too so maybe I just need to go with the adventure of it.

I'm all over the second hand furniture thing so thanks for all the suggestions. Have signed up to all the local freecycle-type FB groups and sussed the nearest charity furniture shops.

This is exactly my concern (having so little money). I've put all my life savings into the deposit and have budgeted for solicitor fees, survey etc. If I move end of July then I still need to pay for:

• A small van for moving my stuff (about 90 miles) no idea of cost £500?

-Change the locks (£100?) -The boiler is very old and could easily need replacing after I move in (£2.5k?)

• Redecorate (strip wallpaper, repaint, new carpets) (Could be £2500-£3k? 2 bed flat)
• Furniture: bed, mattress, table, fridge-freezer, sofa or armchair (estimate £1k if buying second hand)
• I'd like an emergency/buffer fund of at least a grand in case anything unforeseen happens (£1k)

That's about £7k just for basics..

It's going to be weird to suddenly be scraping about for money again after so many years.

We went from saving a large surplus to smaller savings it’s unnerving - my dad pointed out we hadn’t spent it, m it was in our asset.

We haven’t decorated (it’s been a year), and I’m due Mat soon so don’t spend the funds on that.
our home is safe, livable and not a complete bomb site - just dated.

re goods, try Freegle/gumtree/Freecycle. We got some stuff removed using wanted ads.

goid luck op

A small van for moving my stuff (about 90 miles) no idea of cost £500?
An Enterprise van will be c. £150 for 24 hours plus petrol. Hopefully you have someone who can help with the big stuff.

-Change the locks (£100?)
DIY job to just change the lock barrels. Watch a YouTube video.

-The boiler is very old and could easily need replacing after I move in (£2.5k?)
Plausible

Redecorate (strip wallpaper, repaint, new carpets) (Could be £2500-£3k? 2 bed flat)
Stripping wallpaper is a DIY job. Get a wallpaper steamer - someone might be willing to lend you one. Likewise painting. Paint will cost money; Dulux one coat stuff is worth it though.

Furniture: bed, mattress, table, fridge-freezer, sofa or armchair (estimate £1k if buying second hand)
I'd like an emergency/buffer fund of at least a grand in case anything unforeseen happens (£1k)
Plausible if buying everything second hand, but factor in van hire if you don't have a car. Car Clubs often have vans to hire by the hour. Lots of people don't like second hand mattresses though.

That's about £7k just for basics..

It's going to be weird to suddenly be scraping about for money again after so many years.

• A small van for moving my stuff (about 90 miles) no idea of cost £500?

Hire one and pursuade a couple of friends to help - hire will be £70 - £100 and fuel maybe £50. You say you don't have furniture - could you even do a few runs in a car?

-Change the locks (£100?)
Depends on lock, but many are not that expensive or difficult to change. Could you DIY or get a friend/family to help? Two Euro locks for example are £10 each, a mortice lock £15.

-The boiler is very old and could easily need replacing after I move in (£2.5k?)
Don't change it until it is dead. Do start saving, but if it works it works for now.

• Redecorate (strip wallpaper, repaint, new carpets) (Could be £2500-£3k? 2 bed flat)

Is nice but not needed massively. For now you could just DIY paint, and if you are careful on not getting carried away you could get away with £150 a room of paint and materials.

• Furniture: bed, mattress, table, fridge-freezer, sofa or armchair (estimate £1k if buying second hand)

That seems sensible - and keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace - I have a large fridge freezer that was a year old and £60, and a couple of year old Dishwasher was given to me by a neighbour up the street who recognised me and refused the £30 they wanted.

• I'd like an emergency/buffer fund of at least a grand in case anything unforeseen happens (£1k)

Great thinking, but that does not have to be from the first day. I have a credit card for emergencies - and have also now built up a modest 'emergency fund'.

So being careful and slow, you could get away with under £2k of locks, furniture, some decorating and moving costs.

Check if you are elegibly for this

https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme

If not then British Gas so a 0% interest replacement boiler for 4 years with no deposit

But do look around there are many ways to get help with boilers

If you let me know what Council you are under then I will get you a link

If you feel revealing your location is too outing then you can start your research here. Councils have a duty to ensure homes are habitable, including those who "own" their own property. They don't advertise it, but help is there and they usually put a charge against the property which is repaid when you sell it. It will cover things like mending a broken roof or replacing single glazed windows....it wont cover luxuries like buying you a hot tub.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/moving-and-improving-your-home/help-with-home-improvements/

If you're going to be left with so little in savings and your rent is the same as your mortgage will be, can I ask why you want to buy now? It seems like a scarily precarious position to put yourself in for no reason. Especially as house prices are currently falling.
Why not wait a year or two more so you are more secure?
If there's little leeway in your budget, how will you cope when your fixed term ends or if you end up in negative equity?

I would talk to your solicitor about how you could manage a month or so between exchange and completion and find out how much buildings insurance would cost (the current owners can tell you, and you could approach their insurers).

IMO, best to lock in the purchase with an exchange if you can because the vendors might start getting cold feet about breaking the chain as the date approaches and losing your mortgage offer could be expensive in the long run.