Should You Sell Before You Buy

 

Are you thinking about moving?  Are you unsure whether to sell your house first before buying another property?

 

The vast majority of people sell their home at the same time as buying a new one, which will automatically create a chain.  Please understand this isn’t a bad thing and again lots of sales have chains, some longer than others.  However, if a buyer comes along who is chain free then the chances are most vendors will be drawn to them.

 

All this would suggest it is better to sell your home first, then buy your next one.  Or if you already have the funds for your next property, you could buy first, then sell your current property once you have moved.  As with anything there are a couple of downsides to going down this route.

 

Throughout this article we will help you navigate the pros and cons of selling your house before you buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POSITIVES

No Chain

We may as well start with the biggest advantage of selling you house before you buy your next.  That is, you won’t end up just being one of many links in a chain however long or short.  This means that you don’t have to wait for the sale of your property to go through before you can buy the one that you are interested in. 

 

In the long run, this puts you in a stronger position when buying your next property.  By already having cash in the bank and ready to go, any offer you make is more likely to be accepted than if you have to wait for the sale of your house to go through.

 

Of course, whilst being part of a chain is a very common occurrence, it isn’t ideal.  No one can say how long the chain will be.  You also need to bear in mind buyers and sellers could be waiting for multiple deals to be finalised before they can go ahead with their own sales.  This is the main reason why most sellers will go with the offer that has the least amount of hassle and restrictions attached to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Is on Your Side

A regular problem that occurs when people buy at the same time as selling their property is they end up feeling pressured into going through with a quick sale.   The reason being they see a house they love before they have the funds to buy it.  In order not to lose it, they end up accepting a lower offer on their own home.

 

By selling your property before you start looking for your next, you don’t have to settle for low offers.  Instead, you can wait for an offer you are happy to accept.  Bonus – this means you will have more funds to help you when you negotiate on your next property.

 

In order to make sure you are receiving the best possible offers for your property it is a good idea to invite a local estate agent around to value your home first.   This means you will have an accurate idea of what your property is worth in the current market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Budget

It is all too easy to look at properties that are over your budget, but be aware this can be a very costly mistake.  Chances are you will fall in love with a property that is beyond your financial reach, and consequently struggle to find somewhere within your budget that measures up to the higher value property.  By selling your home first, you will know exactly how much you have to spend on your next home. 

 

By having the budget already set, you can decide which houses are worth looking at and find the best property for you.  By selling first you have a definite set figure to work with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEGATIVES

Having Somewhere to Live in the Meantime

As we have already said selling your property first means you will have cash in the bank for buying your next one.  However, a downside to this is you will naturally have to move out of your house as soon it is sold, meaning you will need somewhere to move into.  The obvious choice is to move in with family and friends, but that isn’t always possible or practical. 

The other option would be to rent a property, but there is a good chance that this will massively eat into the budget you have for your new home.  On top of the rent payments, there will be contractual obligations such as length of lease, maintaining the property etc.

 

 

What Happens With all Your Possessions?

Once you have sorted temporary accommodation out, the next thing to think about is where will all of your possessions go.  Of course, you may be able to take a lot of them with you to a rental property, but it is highly unlikely you would be able to take everything.

 

Should you find, you can’t take everything with, you will need to organise a storage unit. Again, this is going to eat into your budget and drastically reduce how much you have to spend on your next house.

 

One final thing to remember is there will be further costs in the shape of transport.  Every time you move you will need to organise transport to get everything from one property to another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Houses Prices Could Rise

 

Absolutely nothing is guaranteed in this world least of all house prices.  Bearing that in mind there is no way to know if house prices will remain the same by the time you have sold your current home. 

 

In theory in the same way they could go up, they could also drop, but either way you are taking a huge gamble, especially if you have your heart set on a certain property.

Anyone who works in property will tell you the market is always changing, so talking to a local estate agent is a good way to ensure you are on top of a fluctuating market.

 

Finally…   Should You sell Your House Before Buying?

Deciding to sell your property first has definite advantages when it comes to buying your next property, but as we have learnt that comes with a few caveats: mainly all the hidden costs and an ever-changing property market.

 

Ultimately when it comes to weighing up the pros and cons the best thing to do is work out much money you will need to achieve your end goal. The majority of this money will come from the sale of your current home.  In order to work this out you will need an accurate valuation of your current property. With this in my mind if you are thinking about selling your property, call a member of our team today for a free valuation.

 

 

 

 

Till next time....