Roughly - how long does selling/buying take?

[MrsB2019x]

We remortgaged last week and we were given an AIP which would be enough to upsize to a 3 bedroom house. This is something we have been desperate to do for ages so we are really keen to get moving.

This is our first house, so we have never sold before and have no idea how long the process takes.

We have an added complication that we’re due our second child in February… so we’re weighing up whether to go for it now or wait.

In your experience how long has the whole process taken?

Thank you!

Not what you want to hear but we will move in almost 11 months after offer accepted. Took a while for our vendor to find an onward purchase and then we all need to wait for a new build at the top of the chain. It's fine as we are not in a rush, but yeah, not quick.

I would say that if you hustle a lot, are very clear what you want, and have no major issues turn up, that 5 months is about the minimum from offer accepted to completion. Admittedly the last one I did was 4 months.

Honestly realistic experiences is what I do want to hear so thank you! My husband thinks we should just go for it but I’m so conscious about getting so far then having to pull out because of the baby

Why would you need to pull out because of the baby? Honestly these things are hard to time and it may just be that you have to move at a really inconvenient time but it's only a week of mayhem really- less if you use movers. If you want to move I'd just go for it.

We're almost 5 months in a small chain, looking to move in the next 4-8 weeks as a legal complication has arisen. I'd say 6-9 months is pretty common.

Presumably because she'd be on maternity leave and reduced pay so her payslips would show this if she needed to renew a mortgage offer if the house buying took longer than 6 months.

Ah ok! Yes- that makes sense.

This and I’ll be having an elective section and really don’t want to be moving in those first few weeks!

Five months is the average at the moment, but more chains than usual are collapsing atm (iirc, around 40%), so I would allow time for several false starts. There is also a widespread lack of good quality houses right now, so I would get started immediately if I were you.

I would just go for it. Easier to have a house ready for viewing before the baby is born.

Start decluttering now. The place will be easier to keep tidy and you won't be moving stuff you don't like or need.

Do you have family or friends close by that could help you for the actual move? People will step up.

I have done it in 6 weeks, 4 months and 5 months. It all depends on the chain etc......

The average is 4-5 months I think.

This is a depressing read! We've just had an offer accepted and we were hoping to be in by Xmas. Our buyers are currently renting and our vendors are selling a probate property (probate granted), so a very short chain.
Have never done this before so it's all a learning experience.

If you're in a chain, as you will be, 4 months minimum if nothing goes wrong.

But there's an awful lot that can go wrong.

17 weeks is average here
14 for our agent
We are on track for 11 for selling and 10 for buying

@Saisong dont have any aim like that. Or you could be disappointed. Just do everything you are asked of immediately (solicitors questions etc)

Ive bought and sold about 8 times now. Varied from 8 weeks (very unusual was first house) to 13 months. Most were probably around 6/7

Here’s some fun data for you:

https://todaysconveyancer.co.uk/scotlands-property-transactions-faster-england-data-shows/

Of my last three property transactions, two took 5 months and the last one took 7 months (completed last December). All were very short chains with max 3 parties involved.

I've done 5 weeks to completion in the past, last house took 3 months. Parents moved recently and it took 7 months.

Offered on a house in January this year, and accepted an offer on ours about a month later, all exchanged and completed in May. Helped that we were buying a house without a chain, and the buyer of ours was a cash buyer.

10 months so far, including one collapse and restart which has been going on since April with no end in sight. But with a proper deadline like a baby you could be fine!

So much depends on your buyers and the sellers of your future home.

We got from offer to completion in four weeks when we sold but that was to very motivated chain-free cash buyers. And we'd already moved out.

When we bought it took four months because of waiting for probate and the seller wasn't very motivated to get on with it (exchange was delayed several times - we could have completed in 2.5 months but seller wanted to go on holiday first, then hadn't packed!)

It helps if you have a solicitor who is on the ball. We used a local one rather than one of the online conveyancing companies.

Our EA had a sales progressor who was excellent at keeping things moving and everyone updated on progress.

Get all your paperwork ready and return anything you're asked for very promptly.

This is something where I don’t think knowing the average time helps at all. It completely depends on your chain how long it takes and if it falls apart.

Things you can do to minimise that are buying a chain-free house (and one with probate granted if it’s a deceased estate), accepting an offer from a chain-free buyer who doesn’t seem like a dick, and choosing a good estate agent and conveyancer (rather than just the cheapest). However you still have very limited control and it can still drag on or go wrong due to things completely out of your hands.

Based on my past experiences, I’d find that potential for stress hard to deal with alongside a pregnancy. However plenty of people have a smooth, quick and successful ride. It’s all luck of the draw!

How long is a piece of string?!

We viewed our new house end of February, got ours on the market the following week, chain for four parties and we moved in end of July. Chain was complete by end of March and we exchanged towards end of June (top of chain couldn't move until end of July which we knew from beginning).

I was lucky, and did it in nine and a half weeks earlier this year.

Thank you all for your different experiences, it’s really helpful!