When would you start?

[notanarchaeologist]

Appreciate this is a 'how long is a piece of string' question but...

Looking to move next year. Have one school age child, and one starting in Sept. Ideally would be in the new location for starting reception school (ideally would have been there last Sept so we were in time to blooming well apply for those schools before the deadline this Jan but let's not dwell! on ships that have sailed) but also would like DS to finish out the school year in his current place. So rather a narrow window.

Had an EA over and they advised not to put the house on the market in November/December but to wait for the new year so we're using this time to get ours looking ship shape. They recommended March as 'the best time', but that feels tight when hoping to move before September. In hindsight since the budget I wish we'd just done it last month as was the original plan...but that's me focussing on those pesky ships again!!

We're porting our mortgage, so renting not an option.

So, if you were us, when would you put your house on the market? Houses on our street seem to be SSTC within a week or two of going online, on average.

I think if you sell in March you should be there before September. Assuming you think the house will sell quickly.

Most houses on our road seem to go pretty swiftly, but hard to tell really isn't it. Preparing myself to be in the land of uncertainty, not my fave place 🫣

Thanks for verifying the EA'S thoughts though!

I would put it on the market in February so you have the whole Spring period in which to sell it.

It depends on how long it will take you to sell, how long it will take you find somewhere new and how complicated the chain will be. If yours is a typical FTB house and you buy a chain free house then you have a short chain that can move quickly. If there are a couple of buyers below you and a couple above you it can take ages.

As an example, mine is a chain of 3 - FTB, me and then a probate house. I put mine on the market in August, accepted an offer 2 weeks later, took until October to find my purchase and will hopefully complete at the beginning of January.

Excellent example of a 'how long is a piece of string' answer!

So if you were the OP when would you list?

@statusquochangeneeded the OP hasn't given enough details for me to give a good estimate which is why I gave the answer I did.

But since you're pushing me to give an answer, in my experience of a short chain that will take 5 months, she needs to list in March so she can move in August and be ready for a September school start. If it ends up being a longer chain, or someone higher up takes ages to find their purchase, then it could take a year in which case she should have listed 3 months ago.

I’ve been in short chains that have only taken 3 months to complete so it really is a piece of string question.

But if a buyer makes an offer in February most would probably be willing to wait until July when schools break up, (or the chain could just take 5 or 6 months to complete) which is why I suggested February.

We put ours on at the end of February, and got a buyer after two weeks. We completed in July as soon as the schools broke up (our buyer was a teacher so we agreed to delay completion for her). While it was a relatively straightforward sale and purchase, inevitably it had its stressful moments!

March to September isn't unreasonable.

In my recent move, I'd been in rented, so was at the bottom of the chain. Offered on a property at the very beginning of May and exchanged second week of September.