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?

We did this- pretty much had to as it was a 200 mile move for work and needed to be in the new location to start a job and also get a school place there.

It was very stressful and expensive. Obviously you have to move twice - and we found that different layouts meant it wasn't simple just to transfer between houses. We stored a lot of stuff in the garage at the rental.

Houses with six month tenancies just didn't exist. So we had to take a 12
month one without a break clause. We thought we'd only be renting for six or so months but it took a while to find a house to buy, then get to completion, then we renovated. We rented for 18 months in the end. I'd stress test your costs for renting as the rent was considerably more than mortgage was for either house and it was poorly insulated so high utility bills.

However it did mean we could get to know the area well before committing to buy. We ended up buying in an area we wouldn't have considered coming in from somewhere else without knowing the areas. Having the overlap was expensive but meant we could buy a house in poor condition and upgrade it without living there during the building work.

Oh and obviously being chain free then puts you in a great position when you do come to make an offer.

It's also much easier to view houses if you're in the area than having to arrange it round travel.

We did this once when we were moving to a completely different area & it worked out well - got a good deal on the house we eventually bought because we had no property to sell & had a decent deposit. It wasn’t the happiest time adjusting to a new area while living in a rented house on a boring huge estate but it was invaluable in giving us time to research the new area thoroughly before buying our next property.

Your buyer has been very patient but you can’t keep them hanging on forever and wouldn’t want to lose them so your decision is sensible.

Could you sell it to them, and ask if you could rent it off them for another 3 months? That way you'll be spending the same money on rent, but less hassle because you don't have to move twice and you've not lost the buyer

You're taking a risk one way or the other. If you stay, you risk losing the buyer, and not finding somewhere else, or getting gazundered. If you go, you risk not being able to find a rental etc... So it's just a question of picking your risk. But this sort of thing is why it's known as one of the most stressful things you can ever do in your life - we're all gambling on all kinds of parts of this.

If it helps when I last moved I sold before I bought (staying with relatives rather than renting) and the stuff going into storage was very smooth and easy. It's just like any other kind of move. The removals company loaded my things directly into a container that they brought to my house, seal it up and store it as it is. Then when you are ready they bring it to the new place and unload. It was actually quite nice because I could move in with absolute basics for a couple of weeks and get the flooring replaced and a bit of decorating done while the house was easy to access, and then order the delivery when it suited me. Obviously the storage costs a bit, but as I recall it was very reasonable.

Not in the least bit mad. In fact I think you're mad for not having moved sooner. You've really messed your buyer around keeping them hanging for 9 months.

At least if you move to rented you're in a good position and can proceed quickly.

My dsis did that. Much less stressful, it puts you in a better position to proceed and makes eventual moving in much less hassle.

Good luck

We did exactly that at the end of the lockdowns, got a buyer but hadn't found anywhere to buy. Agreed to move to a rental while we looked. Found a rental (not easy!) and signed up for 6 months paying all the rent upfront in order to secure it. The weekend after moved out we went to see an amazing place to buy and had our offer accepted as we proceedable offer due to not having a place to sell.

On balance being in the rental put us in a much stronger position but we were very lucky and things might not have turned out so well.

Some great points and tips from both sides thank you. Our buyer just had a baby so they weren’t in a rush to move and haven’t been pressurising. We have been communicating with them all along. But they will eventually get fed up!

Yes it’s risks both ways and given all the points raised I just feel we have got to do it. It’s good to know others have had good outcomes even if it’s hard.

No wonder moving house is one of the top 3 stressful life events!

Thanks @Tupster I had never heard of this container idea, how brilliant. I’m going to research that now ta.

I work in self storage and we have this a lot ATM due to the housing market. We have people who love their house contents in, then either rent or air B and B til they find their property

I broke the chain. I intended moving into a rental for six months but no one would accept a tenancy less than a year, it required an eye watering amount of cash up front and every place got snapped up so quickly. The rental market is brutal now.
Is their family nearby you could live with?

(I do still think it’s s good idea though, and puts you on a strong footing for your onwards purchase - but be aware the logistics aren’t quite a simple as “just renting for a bit”)

I did this too, but I contacted a few hosts on Airbnb and managed to secure a short-term let of 4 months by going directly through them (we both saved Airbnb fees). The monthly rent was obviously more expensive but it did include bills and meant that I wouldn’t have to enter into a 12 month tenancy. It is a pain to do but as other posters have mentioned, put me in a much stronger position as well as not having the pressure to find something immediately.

Update - we moved into rental!

We felt we just had to get on with our lives and break the stalemate. It was actually much easier than we thought. We found a beautiful rental place which is more expensive than we planned for but is gorgeous, all clean with modern appliances. Our furniture fits really well and we only had to get a few new bits.

We packed up the stuff for storage and the removals guys put that on the lorry first, then took all our stuff to the rental, then went to the storage facility with the rest. We managed to squeeze it in to 50 square feet which is £100 pcm. We could take our time with the move and cleaning (so much cleaning!!).

We are so happy to be in the new location and it really does help get much more of a feel for it. It still took 9 months from start to finish, and 4 months for the sale to go through once the solicitor was instructed even though it was a first time buyer. The interest from the house sale money is paying about 80% of our rent.

Prices are still falling or stagnant around here so I am not too worried, but would like to find somewhere soon. And now we are a cash buyer! Overall I am so happy we decided to do things this way. Obviously its not for everyone (especially with kids), but just thought I would update in case anyone else is thinking of this.