Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Selling chain free? Go into rented or stay with friends/family

20 replies

mumma24 · 03/06/2025 21:47

Would like to hear from those that have sold their homes chain free. Maybe moved out, to make the selling process easier. Did you leave your home furnished/unfurnished and put things in storage? Rent a house ? Moved in with friends/family? would love to hear your story.
we are thinking of selling ours chain free, maybe move into a rented once we have exchanged.

OP posts:
Karmatime · 03/06/2025 22:19

We did it a couple of years ago. We were moving over 250 miles and there was not much on the market in the new location. We sold quickly and secured a rental shortly before we were due to exchange. Ideally we would have waited until exchange but Christmas and train strikes meant that we had a limited window to find somewhere. The sale was delayed by a couple of months but we moved anyway.
Luckily the rented place was unfurnished and big enough for all our stuff though lots stayed in boxes. We had a year’s contract with a 6 month break clause and found somewhere and moved in after 6 months.
I’d definitely do it again. We were in a strong position as buyers and both transactions were much less stressful than they could have been if in a chain.

Original poster
mumma24 · 04/06/2025 05:02

@Karmatime thank you for sharing. Interesting to hear about the 6 month break clause.

OP posts:
Lurkingandlearning · 04/06/2025 05:18

There are lots of woeful posts on here from people who have moved in with friends or family (or had f/f stay with them). It often goes badly and can permanently destroy relationships. If you can afford to rent then do. The above is helpful for a short tenancy. You might also be able to negotiate a good rate with air bnb.

Navigatinglife100 · 04/06/2025 05:59

I've known people planning to do this but then finding a place to buy. There was a gap between the two caused by the original plan to rent/delay in finding somewhere but as it was a gap they went into air b and b.

I've known this happen twice now and the second one had to move air b and b 3 times! But it all worked out and they are happy they weren't pressurised into buying a place that was a compromise.

I live in a tourist area so there are plenty of options for this but ease depends on season and how long you can stay sometimes depends on the rules the property is subject too.

AliBaliBee1234 · 04/06/2025 06:35

We did it last year. Sold, put things in storage and stayed with my in laws for a few months.

We got our current home for a very good price because we were chain free.

Worked really well for us.

Els1e · 04/06/2025 06:40

I did this. Sold and moved out my house, put stuff in storage, rented a holiday home for winter on a cheap deal. Much preferred it and would do it again. Took the stress out of the move.

Sourisblanche · 04/06/2025 06:50

We sold and went into a local rental so our dc could finish their school year. It was during the post Covid house buying madness and we really didn’t want to feel rushed into a decision so we decided to take some time out. Also we hadn’t decided exactly which area we were moving to.

We’ve been in rental for two years, longer than planned, but we’ve been really happy here and actually decided in the end to leave the uk altogether and have just bought our dream house, pick up the keys this week.

We also put equity from house sale into high interest accounts which more than covered rent. For us it was the right decision.

Bluevelvetsofa · 04/06/2025 12:54

Rented unfurnished and stored multiple boxes in a bedroom.

KievLoverTwo · 04/06/2025 13:14

mumma24 · 04/06/2025 05:02

@Karmatime thank you for sharing. Interesting to hear about the 6 month break clause.

Not all LL's will allow a 6 month break clause.

Look up 'renters' rights' bill' and 'periodic tenancies'; things are about to change. I recommend the Independent Landlord's blog as a source of information. Watch a few of her videos about the major changes and it will get you clued up.

olderbutwiser · 04/06/2025 13:31

I’ve sold and moved to rented twice, and frankly would strive to break the chain for any future moves.

kirinm · 04/06/2025 13:33

We moved into a rental and took some of our stuff with the rest going into storage. We only signed a 6 month contract and have just agreed to review it on a monthly basis. The idea of a chain is hideous so on balance I think it was the best idea. Not the cheapest though.

gottakeeponmoving · 04/06/2025 14:20

We didn't rent or move in with family.

Instead, me and DH and 3 primary school age kids went off to Spain for 3 weeks and then moved into the local Premier Inn for another 3 weeks.

We put small stuff in my mum's garage and big furniture in storage.

We moved out and flew out on the same day. I did moving day all myself as DH couldn't get the day off work. I dropped the kids off at school in the morning and we picked them up in a taxi at home time. And then off we went to the airport. They changed out of their school uniform at the airport.

It took packing for a holiday to whole other level 😀

I won't lie - being homeless was a bit stressy and it could have all gone terribly wrong. We were porting our mortgage to the new house and there was a time limit on that. We also hadn't exchanged on the new house which probably wasn't a good idea.

It was nice to be sitting on a beach with 300k in the bank.
It was also nice to not have to worry about holiday spending money.
DH to this day says we should have stayed there 😎

StrawberryThief1930 · 04/06/2025 14:35

we sold years back, moved everything into storage and then moved in with parents. we actually did it twice. but only stayed about 3 or 4 months. we then bought chain free. currently SSTC and in a proper chain - first time and its way more stressful than when we broke the chain. so many people involved!

Original poster
mumma24 · 04/06/2025 15:19

@AliBaliBee1234 storage is a great idea, must be cheaper than renting surely.

OP posts:
Original poster
mumma24 · 04/06/2025 15:21

how wonderful @Sourisblanche where are you off to ?

OP posts:
Bluevelvetsofa · 04/06/2025 15:35

If we dd it again, we’d probably get a one bed place to rent and put other stuff in storage. You have to stay somewhere whilst waiting for a new house, but I do t know whether it’s better to get a bigger place and have boxes there, or smaller and storage. We had a six month rental, which we paid upfront and the landlord knew the circumstances.

Ezzee · 04/06/2025 15:48

Ours wasn't on the market but a family member of a neighbour approached us with a stupid offer so we took it!
Went into unfurnished rental with a six month contract, ended up staying for 5 years until we found the house we really wanted at a price we wanted to pay.
Would do it again.

BarneyOreilly · 04/06/2025 16:13

Yep we sold and took a 6 month rental on somewhere. Meant we didn’t have to pay extra for storing a house worth of stuff and gave us time to find our new place ( also chain free).
if I was doing it again I would 100% try and break the chain, it’s so much less stressful.

Sourisblanche · 04/06/2025 16:13

@mumma24 south of France 😎

Original poster
mumma24 · 12/06/2025 12:08

Thank you everyone

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread