Renting our house off of our buyer whilst we renovate our property?

[Namechanged1800]

Hi all. Interested in a house that needs a full refurb. It isn’t really liveable until some work has been carried out. We have young children and pets so short term let’s aren’t really an option.

Anyone know if it’s possible to sell our house but to remain in it for 2 months or so? We could offer our buyer £10,000 off of the house price or something (worth approx 30% more than the rental value).

Obviously this wouldn’t suit all buyers. But say they are a non chain buyer - would this be a major big ask?

Just get an airbnb for 6 months, they take pets if you look forone that does and put your things in storage. Simplest way

I wouldnt want to be forced into being a landlord, you might not leave, they might have to evict you

Yeah although I just posted about moving into an airbnb, this thing of not living in aproperty while its being done up, really is quite a modern thing, born out of seeing people live in caravans on the drive on Grand Designs and stuff like that

In the old days, people just muddled round and got their house done up, kids and all.

We continued to insure the property, as did they from exchange.

You can't have two insurers at the same time. It would negate the cover.

The only way you can do it is where the landlord covers the buildings insurance and the tenant covers the contents insurance. But as you had no tenancy agreement both insurances would still be invalid. You were lucky the house didn't burn down. You would have lost it all.

A lot has changed in the rental sector since 2018 and the new owners were ever so naive back then as things could have gone terribly wrong. It’s fine if you don’t want to listen to me.

As I understood it, buyers and sellers can both insure the same property (building) at the point of exchange until completion?

However, I agree, we were very lucky. Definitely wouldn't do it again as those particular circumstances would never arise a second time and I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone else do it.

No I don't think this would work. Neither you nor your buyer is going to want the responsibility of getting the house up to scratch to be rented out, so your buyer would be acting illegally as soon as they started renting to you. As others have said sell and then rent somewhere that is already ready to be legally rented out.

My neighbour rented their house for 8 months after they sold it so they could do up the new property

BUT the new owner was BTL and insisted they be able to market and prep the property so new tenants could move in pretty much immediately. They had a proper tenancy agreement - it wasn’t linked to the sale.

I think if your buyer wants to move in they will have no interest.

You can get airbnbs that allow kids to and dogs.

I think you'd have to be prepared to give a hell of a lot more than £10k off to persuade anyone to agree to a scheme like this. As everyone has mentioned above there are so many legal issues with mortgages, insurance, and any solicitor is going to be advising their clients very, very strongly not to go ahead with something like this. Unless for some crazy reason you manage to find some cash buyers who have reasons why this scheme would suit them, you'd be asking the buyer to take on a massive amount of extra trouble which would not benefit them at all. That £10k could very quickly get eaten up with additional legal fees, mortgage fees, landlord costs, insurances etc. Maybe if you were prepared to offer a discount of something like 50k on the asking price, I might entertain the idea, but 10k feels like a pretty insulting offer for the amount of trouble it would be.

Lawyers will not like it, mortgage will not like it - find somewhere else to rent.

Unless your buyers are either a cash buyer or were buying the property as a buy to let (on the relevant mortgage) I’d say they’d be unlikely to agree but if you can afford to give them a £10k discount I’d get the house sold, stuff in storage and get a 6 month tenancy somewhere while the renovations are taking place.

get the house sold, stuff in storage and get a 6 month tenancy somewhere while the renovations are taking place.

This is the most obvious and simple solution that I am surprised the OP is so against it.

I’m not so against it. It’s what we will have to do. It just feels like such a faff with such young children. We are used to quite a large, modern living area and having to move to a small rental without all of our stuff isn’t appealing in the slightest. I guess we will just have to suck it up!

Having renovated a probate recently although with no small children, having a rental flat for 6 months and the breathing space when things inevitably run over and are hugely dirty will make your lives so much easier. If you are used to modern living then living in a partial renovation with the dirt and noise etc is going to be a serious shock to the system!

This.

And they would have to pay tax on rental income.

I reckon any buyer who agreed to this would be mad.

You would emd up with a tiny pool of buyers and be much less likely to get market value. Surely it makes more sense to rent somewhere pet friendly, or have the pets board elsewhere for a couple of months?

With 10k to spend you can rent somewhere with space, surely? You say 2 months or so which gives you at least 2.5k a month.

We wouldn’t get something very big for 2.5k per month here.

But isnt this the amount you were going to offer to the buyer?

In any case, you'll have to rent something smaller then or do it room by room like most people.

You do not need big.
airbnb furnished
Put stuff in storage.
Suitcases and basics
The price you have to pay

It sounds like a shit show. Overly complicating things. There are definitely airbnb’s who will take young kids and pets…

We are used to quite a large, modern living area and having to move to a small rental without all of our stuff isn’t appealing in the slightest. I guess we will just have to suck it up!

Indeed….no offence op but it sounds like you have champagne tastes on a lemonade budget!

Not quite - OP mentioned staying in her old house for two months (wildly ambitious for extensive works…) and that a £10k discount on purchase price would be 30% more than two months of rental for a house like hers.

But that is your budget to rent your current house - were you expecting your buyers to rent it to you for below market rent? Why would they do that?

So aiming to pay 5k per month (agree with you it wouldnt be 2 months but lets go with OPs logic)?

OP - so why not aim to pay 5k a month for an airbnb. Is it becuase you know it wont be 2 months only?