Moving to rental to avoid loosing our buyer - are we mad?

[Northernlass99]

We accepted an offer on our property in June last year at asking price. Our buyer is a first time buyer and has been happy to hang on and not pressurising us, but will do soon I am sure. Unfortunately we haven't been able to find anywhere in the area we want to move to which is about 90 mins away. There have been 3 properties we were interested in but none have proceeded for various reasons (the latest one we just missed out on as someone put an offer in just before us).

So we have instructed the solicitor to proceed with the sale as we don't want to lose the buyer or him to start messing around on price. We will have to find a rental property in the new area although decent ones are pretty scarce so I am worrying about that.

I know I want to be in the new area asap but wondering if we are doing the right thing and stressing about moving twice (or more), about putting things into storage, about not finding anywhere for another year, about not finding a decent rental etc. Can anyone offer words of wisdom?

sounds sensible to me, you will be able to offer and move quickly when you find somewhere.

Your buyer has hung on for 9 months ?
Many wouldn't have.
Have they pushed at all ?
I'd be checking ti make sure they were serious
Won't their mortgage offer have expired?

Sounds like a good idea

Yes I know, very patient. They really want to live in this street!
They were waiting to get their mortgage offer, but have done so now, so it will be current.

It's extremely commonplace and oft-recommended. Just take somewhere cheap with a 6 month contract term (not 12 months) that goes onto a rolling monthly contract after the initial term. If you're on a 12 month rental contract you'll be liable for rent if you move out before the end of the contract and you'll be more likely to get this sorted in 6 months I'd imagine.

Usually this is only if they can't immediately find someone else to move in but some agencies/landlords can really try it on. If you think you'll only need a very short let, an Air BNB might also work if you put most of your stuff in storage for a little while?

Sounds like a very sensible plan to me. Even if the rental isn’t ideal it’s only a temporary measure,

I think it would be wise. I think everyone's patience has a limit and in your buyer's position I would probably be about to lose mine.

It'll put you in a very good position when you buy anyway - and if you have a decent amount of equity, with interest rates as they are, you'll get a decent return on savings for any time you are in rental.

Is what you're looking for something that exists in your price range and is reasonably likely to come up, or are you after a bit of a unicorn? I'm not sure whether when you say you've been interested in 3 houses in 8 months you mean there have been 3 you were moving towards buying, or that literally only 3 have been of any interest to you?

Not that renting is necessarily a bad idea either way, but I guess what I'm getting at is the likelihood of having to spend longer in a rental property is higher if you're after something relatively unusual. It's also very individual in terms of financial circumstances whether renting for a bit is a 'yes, sure, whatever' kind of blip or whether it's likely to be more impactful. Personally I doubt I could afford to do it, but I know that's not the case for everyone.

I just did this and was the best move ever - yes it does make it harder in one way but living in the new area whilst renting is actually really helpful too as you can scope out various areas and be super quick to view.
it’s how I got my house and at such a bargain.

We thought about doing the same to chain break, our buyers were keen for us to do so. We decided against it, mainly due to the lack of available rental properties, not wishing to move twice, especially as our move was a relocation and down size. Thankfully for us,we find our ideal new home, if we hadn’t we would have withdrawn from the sale. This was the right decision for us, but may not be the right decision for you OP. Wishing you all the very best.

We did exactly this for your reasons. Within a week of being in the rental we found our house. We had a 6 month tenancy but luckily they let us stay an extra month and it all went through beautifully.

I did this and it worked out really well for me. Sold my property for a price I was very happy with and ended up buying a place I love. And being chain free really helped getting the place I bought. I would do it again.

I did this admittedly 20 year ago but it worked out brilliantly. We got a short term rental, minimum 1 month but extended it until about 9 months in the end until we found the perfect new property.
The interest earned on the old house money sat in the bank near enough covered the rent and moving into the new place was really stress free because we could take our time. I’d absolutely do it again.

Thanks all. Good to hear positive outcomes. Think we just have to suck it up as prices are definitely falling so I dont want our buyer to start grumbling about the price. We will be in a good position to buy. I just hope we can find somewhere as the market is so slow where we are looking.

We did this but then struggled to get a rental place

I have two sets of friends who did this and it’s worked out really well. Yes, it’s a PITA putting your stuff into storage, but in both cases, they’ve now bought homes that they’re very happy with.

This is my worry. What did you do?

Lived with my in laws for 6 weeks and then snapped up the first vaguely suitable place we saw. We had a child and 3 cats that made it worse!

My friend did the same thing and rented for 6months before finding her dream home. She asked the agent who was selling her flat to find her a rental home

When we were buying and selling last year we specifically told the agents to tell prospective buyers that we wouldn’t be willing to do this because we had a young child and I was pregnant - there was absolutely no way I could handle the stress of moving twice! Do you have children? If not, go for it.

My neighbours house has now fallen through because of this. Buyer hung around for a while whilst neighbour was faffing around with her new purchase. Now the buyer wanted to renegotiate the price, as they had fallen and neighbour was relying on the higher price to complete her purchase. So the whole thing fell through.
I'd get into rented ASAP then you can take your time finding a property.

I would make sure you can get a rental place. I rented for six months so I could sell my house but it was really hard and that was about five years ago and I believe the rental market is more difficult now. There appeared to be lots available online but when you actually spoke to an agent about what the landlord wanted and when it was available, it was a different matter. Lots online didn’t actually exist to rent for a normal person!

Just what if you can't find anywhere after renting the place?

If I were you, I wouldn't have risked it to sell..

Did your buyer know it's a chained property? What are their positions? Are they renting currently?

Without exchanging contract, you can still pull out. If they want your place so bad, they would wait no matter what.

If not, you can always find a next buyer.

Renting is pain in the butt... not to mention about the packing part...
when you rent, it's just money burning.

I would never do this.

My friend had her house valued last week. Prices have risen round here by 15 k since October ( it’s a bit of an anomaly where l live)

So, in another 5 months if l was renting I’d have to find an extra 15 k. And spring is peak buying season.

Yes it’s a risk. There are so many pros and cons in both directions. This is why it’s giving me headaches. Moving house is so stressful!

I had originally said I’m not being pushed out of our house and if we lose our buyer we will get another. But prices are falling and I’m worried we won’t get the same price for it now. Plus it is hard house hunting from 90 mins away. We will stick the money from the sale in high interest accounts so that will pay the rent. But I am worried we are being naive, and won’t find a decent rental, and then still not find a property to buy!