Houses - Anyone bought then sold these days?

[Andy74]

My house is just going on the market but I've seen this cracking place that is well below budget and has the advantage of being fully specced up inside potentially saving me tens of thousands of quid.

They have some other interest and I really don't want to let it go.

Anyone done this in the current market?

My place can be priced to go as I don't really care about what I get for it (not McEwan Fraser levels though!) and it is also in good order with a great plot so I think it will go within 3 months or so.

Problem is I'm being told that lawyers won't really let you complete yet unless you have a firm out at the end which I don't if it doesn't go.

I've got decent equity in the current place which would more than cover any brdiging payments if it came to it, but I don't have a deposit for a bridging loan as the money is tied in the current place.

I'd thought about an offer that gave the sellers more cash for a longer move in period and also a penalty on me for any delay after that which would cover their costs, again, i can more than cover that once mine is sold.

Anyone had recent experience of having to do something similar and any creative ideas!!??

It'd be a real pity to lose something which will be saving me tens of thousands just due to a short term problem! Mine will be on the market next week.

[degenerated]

I thought mine would go quickly at the price it was on at. Took nearly 10 months to sell, still to conclude missives so no home and hosed quite yet. Market is still pretty stagnant and banks are still being pretty cautious.

[Jay]

What about buying the other and lease yours? I dont know the ins and outs of it but my friend who is on a low income bought a new house and leased her existing one which was included in how much of a mortgage she could get and it was all through within 3 months. Might be a way to push things through then sell your one?

[Andy74]

What about buying the other and lease yours? I dont know the ins and outs of it but my friend who is on a low income bought a new house and leased her existing one which was included in how much of a mortgage she could get and it was all through within 3 months. Might be a way to push things through then sell your one?

Worth a thought. I may have a problem though as the two mortgages would take me over the total the bank would lend me, unless they take the rental as increased income and it all works out the same? One to look into!

[Jay]

Worth a thought. I may have a problem though as the two mortgages would take me over the total the bank would lend me, unless they take the rental as increased income and it all works out the same? One to look into!

Pretty sure thats what happened with my friend :agree:

[Andy74]

Pretty sure thats what happened with my friend :agree:

Interesting. It could be a fall back if say I don't sell in 3 months.

Although I also wouldn't have the deposit for new place without selling! Ah!

I used to like the old way of buying then worrying about selling! Particuarly when a bit of a one off opportunity comes along that I can afford easily to get!

[Andy Bee]

I'm in a similar position and about to put my house on the market shortly although I've not got another in mind. I'd be inclined to follow the traditional route and see what interest your house generates, if it's competitively priced it should still shift quickly knowing the area you're in (mate of mine just completed at market value in around 3 months along the road from you).
These bridging loans or penalty clauses can end up costing you a fortune if your house sale drags on and you may still not get the new house.
As me old Ma always says....what's for you ill no go by you. :greengrin

[Andy74]

I'm in a similar position and about to put my house on the market shortly although I've not got another in mind. I'd be inclined to follow the traditional route and see what interest your house generates, if it's competitively priced it should still shift quickly knowing the area you're in (mate of mine just completed at market value in around 3 months along the road from you).
These bridging loans or penalty clauses can end up costing you a fortune if your house sale drags on and you may still not get the new house.
As me old Ma always says....what's for you ill no go by you. :greengrin

It's a nippy one. They have a second viewing at the weekend and the quality of the stuff in this house will see it go pronto. I'd love to be able to outbid and then worry about the sale but just not sure.

I can basically knock whatever I want off mine, don't really care so I should be able to shift it. It is in Murieston and our neighbours, although a sought after bungalo (who'd have thought, always hated bungalos) sold within 4 weeks.

I did think to hell with it, I could bridge for a few months and still end up saving what I would have to pay elsewhere but I couldn't raise the deposit for that so don't think bridging could actually be done.

That just makes me a bit nervous about doing anything!

[Houchy]

Interesting. It could be a fall back if say I don't sell in 3 months.

Although I also wouldn't have the deposit for new place without selling! Ah!

I used to like the old way of buying then worrying about selling! Particuarly when a bit of a one off opportunity comes along that I can afford easily to get!

The other problem with this option is that if you are going to use the rental income as further income, your bank may insist on you switching your mortgage to a Buy To Let mortgage. You may get away with it if you say that you are renting to immediate family as some lenders such as HSBC* will let you rent out a property on a residential mortgage.

*I only know about HSBC because I was an HSBC premier Mortgage manager until 2009 so don't know about other financial institutions.

[Andy74]

I think I might just offer them well over the odds to be patient with me on moving dates!

[speedy_gonzales]

It is in Murieston and our neighbours, although a sought after bungalo (who'd have thought, always hated bungalos) sold within 4 weeks.


Speak to your solicitor about average sell times in Livingston. For some reason certain areas are having long marketing times. A colleague at work has a property on sale at Bankton Park, 9 months 5 viewings and no offers. He has it below valuation and it is ready to walk in to. He is getting frustrated at the lack of interest and the fact that all the 'experts' are saying, 'well, it must be overpriced!', fact is he could take another 10% off and it still might not shift. Then, when the property has been on the market so long, buyers stay well clear assuming something must be wrong with it!!

[Andy74]

Speak to your solicitor about average sell times in Livingston. For some reason certain areas are having long marketing times. A colleague at work has a property on sale at Bankton Park, 9 months 5 viewings and no offers. He has it below valuation and it is ready to walk in to. He is getting frustrated at the lack of interest and the fact that all the 'experts' are saying, 'well, it must be overpriced!', fact is he could take another 10% off and it still might not shift. Then, when the property has been on the market so long, buyers stay well clear assuming something must be wrong with it!!

Yes, unfortunately the market is well below even the home report valautions in most cases.

The agents I've spoken to have all said the same thing that there are buyers there and the only thing that will stop sales is price. If the location and condition are crap they will still sell if its priced in.

What is also happening is that there isn't a premium now really for 'better' areas. People are limited in budget so just going with the houses they can get a bit cheaper down the road.

We'll see what happens!

[SlickShoes]

I sold my flat in September last year and it was on the market for 18 months.

When I started to sell it was valued at £112k. Gradually I brought the price down over the 18 months and ended up taking an offer of £93k for it. Which was less than I paid for the place 5 years ago. Taking a loss and having spent so much money doing the place up was a bit soul destroying.

I did try other avenues but McEwan Fraser were only willing to give me £80k for it max and that was far too big a hit to take.

We had maybe 6 or 7 viewers in 17 months of FOR SALE time and suddenly we got 4 viewers in one week and the place sold. It is a terrible time to be selling a place, anyone with money that is looking to buy is looking to get a bargain, first time buyers can't get great rates or decent loans so they are very limited in what they can even look at to purchase.

I would not rush in to buying something, chances are you will see something else you like. I wanted to buy a place but the seller was being an idiot about our offers so we withdrew the sale, for a week I was gutted then all of a sudden a much better place popped up on the market and we ended up buying that, far better house and better location.

All i would say really is do not rush anything, just take your time.

[Peevemor]

I'm so happy to be away from all this stuff.

Across here they don't do the blind auction thing - houses are marketed at a fixed price (which can sometimes be negotiated to a bit less) and that's it.

You go the bank, tell them how much you want to borrow, and then agree the repayment period, based on your total loan repayments not exceeding 35% of your income. If, for example, you have a car loan with a couple of years left to run, your mortgage repayments will be adjusted accordingly. This system means that people (even 1st time buyers) will often have a mortgage duration of between 12-18 years, instead of being automatically ripped off for a minimum of 25 years interest (25 years being the maximum period here).

This is one of the reasons that French banks were a lot more comfortable during the worst of the crisis than most of their neighbours.

[One Day Soon]

In this market there are pretty much no circumstances other than extreme emergency in which you should buy first and hope to sell afterwards. What happens if you buy, fail to sell for 9 to 12 months and during that period interest rates start to climb, further depressing house buying demand?

This is your home you are talking about. Don't put it at risk.

[RyeSloan]

Worth a thought. I may have a problem though as the two mortgages would take me over the total the bank would lend me, unless they take the rental as increased income and it all works out the same? One to look into!

Andy

If you move your current mortgage to a Buy to Let then it's normal for it not be taken into account when applying for a new residential mortage...i.e your application will be considered as if you didn't have the Buy to Let at all. There is obviously differences between mortage providers so not all might exclude but there will be plenty that do.

Even if you are wanting to sell rather than rent you could (at a the cost of an 'arrangement fee') move your current residential mortage to a buy to let anyway and that should allow you to pursue getting a new mortgage arranged for the new abode without delay.

Of course the new mortgage will need a deposit which I assume is planned to come from the current houses equity but you could borrow that on an unsecured loan if needed, probably at cheaper rates than a bridging loan...just make sure that there are no early re-payment charges on the loan (a p2p lender like Zopa loan up to 15k with no early repayment charges at rates as good as about 7% depending on credit rating)....this way if the house doesn't sell you can use the rent to cover the Buy to Let mortgage payment and maybe some of the loan cost. The tax man may be interested in your new found additional income but I'll let you work out if he will spot it immediately or not! :wink:

That's what I might consider doing in your situation...best of luck anyway!

[Andy74]

Andy

If you move your current mortgage to a Buy to Let then it's normal for it not be taken into account when applying for a new residential mortage...i.e your application will be considered as if you didn't have the Buy to Let at all. There is obviously differences between mortage providers so not all might exclude but there will be plenty that do.

Even if you are wanting to sell rather than rent you could (at a the cost of an 'arrangement fee') move your current residential mortage to a buy to let anyway and that should allow you to pursue getting a new mortgage arranged for the new abode without delay.

Of course the new mortgage will need a deposit which I assume is planned to come from the current houses equity but you could borrow that on an unsecured loan if needed, probably at cheaper rates than a bridging loan...just make sure that there are no early re-payment charges on the loan (a p2p lender like Zopa loan up to 15k with no early repayment charges at rates as good as about 7% depending on credit rating)....this way if the house doesn't sell you can use the rent to cover the Buy to Let mortgage payment and maybe some of the loan cost. The tax man may be interested in your new found additional income but I'll let you work out if he will spot it immediately or not! :wink:

That's what I might consider doing in your situation...best of luck anyway!

I've noted interest and won't move unless someone else does first but when it comes to it I might offer more cash with a longer move date to give me some time. As back up I can agree in principle to move current deal to buy to let in case it comes to it.

I can then borrow short term for the deposit. The house is well under budget so no big deal if i attract some short term cost and the buy to let will mean I'm not taking a huge hit each month if it all goes wrong. Renting isn't a problem just now and could have someone in in no time if need be.

Still, I can also price mine pretty keenly to shift it so we'll see, hopefully I can sell before anyone else offers on the other place!

[Andy74]

Accepted an offer yesterday after just 2 weeks on the market. Good feeling being able to check out the ones we liked knowing we can do something about it.