Advice/tips when you don't have to move out on day or sale/rental

[elderberryblue]

I am in the very fortunate position that when the completion date comes re my purchase I will still have a home (well two I guess).

Basically my purchase is not dependent on sale of our main residential home (though I will sell within three years for stamp duty rebate and understand ramifications of this)

Has anyone been in a similar position and do they have any tips re moving gradually into one family home to an other?

We want to be in the main (new) residence in about three months after the sale and then prep the other for sale whe market feels right (maybe Spring 2024?)

how leisured are others in this situation? Do you flit between houses or take everything? Do you clean one ad do all the niggly bits and then move in?

For context the two properties are less than a mile apart and no DCs of child age to think about.

I was in this situation though in a rental with 2 months left of the contract after we completed. It depends how much work the new place needs. I was able to get all the decorating done including dirty jobs like sanding all the floorboards before the furniture went in which was great.
In the last couple of weeks I flitted between staying in the 2 places as I’d ordered a new bed. That was actually a pain as everything I needed was always at the other place! I would just set a date to move fully in and aim to get all the messy jobs done ahead of that.
The only thing to bear in mind is that when you come to sell you don’t want your old place to feel empty and unloved but you would have the time to spruce it up and maybe stage it somewhat if you have furniture there you won’t need in the new one.

I sorted the cleaning of the new house one day, did all the painting another weekend, and then moved another weekend. Left bigger jobs like new kitchen, new bathroom, for a couple of years after moving, so I could see what would work or wouldn't.
Easier to do that way if single. With kids, and jobs, might have to stretch that a bit more. Just paint the living room, main bedroom and kids bedroom before moving in

Cleaning, painting, carpeting are all easier to do when the house is empty.
Check any restrictions re contents insurance / inspections needed of empty property.
Council tax will be payable on both properties

I don't think you have 3 years to get the stamp duty rebate. It's 12 months unless you can show there were exceptional circumstances that caused the delay.

Thanks all

@Digimoor - I think it's three years not 12 months - I panicked but just got this from HMRC website:

"If you’re replacing your main residence. You will not pay the extra 3% SDLT if the property you’re buying is replacing your main residence and that has already been sold.
If you have not sold your main residence on the day you complete your new purchase you’ll have to pay higher rates. This is because you own 2 properties.
You can apply for a refund if you sell your previous main home within 36 months."

Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Properties sold on or after 29 October 2018
If you sold your previous main residence on 29 October 2018 or later, a refund must be claimed within 12 months of whichever comes later out of the:

• sale of the previous main residence
• filing date of the SDLT return relating to the new residence

Exceptional circumstances You may still be able to apply for a refund, if you purchased your new home on or after 1 January 2017 and were unable to sell your previous home within 3 years. To be able to get the refund, the delay in selling must be because of exceptional circumstances. These may be, but are not limited to:

• the impact of government imposed restrictions preventing the sale
• an action taken by a public authority preventing the sale

Once the reason has ended, you must sell the previous home to be able to apply for a refund.

Like the original poster, I thought you had three years to sell your first property.

When and how to get a refund

If you sell or give away your previous main home within 3 years of buying your new home you can apply for a refund of the higher SDLT rate part of your Stamp Duty bill.

I thought you had 12 months to claim the refund after you had sold the first property. Not that you had to sell the original house within 12 months.

Do as many messy jobs as you can afford whilst running both houses.
Move all in one go.
Consider the implications of selling an empty house. Houses can look very unloved without furniture. It can also be hard to judge room sizes.

36 months to sell - and then 12 months to reclaim the excess stamp duty is my reading of that link.

we have done this several times , I usually gut the new house , including any structural work before we move in , however I also have previous property on the market concurrently, just in case the market gets tricky , or change in rules

the order we do the work is normally
strip out ,
any structural work
new bathrooms / cloaks
new kitchen
new boiler / heating
rewiring
decorate
flooring
outside work

last time we were very much a work in progress when the other house sold very quickly so we put everything in storage except essentials and rushed the upstairs where we had one room to camp in and a working bathroom , whilst we finished off the rest of the work

last time I bought end of June and sold in November ( finished all internal work by February) it was tough but very rewarding

I got the uplift in stamp back fairly promptly after the sale , I was up to me to do the paperwork but not tricky
I was told I had 3 years to sell & claim it back , this was 2018/2019

@Greenhamcommon Wow! I don't imagine I will need to do that much work - impressive though!