want to buy the house but havent sold ours! Help!

[boyo bach]

Hi.
We have recently seen a house that we want to buy. The thing is how does it all work?!/ Here is our situation -

We have put our house on the market (after seeing this house).

The house that we want - the owner has not yet found a house.

We want to secure the house as it is perfect for us but are not sure of which steps to take now as our house has just gone on the market. We have had very favourable discussions with the vendor and I think she is happy to sell to us, but we are in kind of Limbo now and dont know what to do!?!

Any advise would be much appreciated, especially if there's a way we can secure this house. Please help. Thanks.

[pingping]

hi boyo,

we have recently been in a similar situation where we had found the house we wanted to buy before our current flat was under offer. as it happened our flat then sold v. quickly, and we ended up with delays on the house front! everything changes very quickly in the housing market, but my best advice to you is to keep your buyers/sellers informed of your progress as often as you can. Talk to your estate agent and let them know your position, your seller may be happy to accept your offer (subject to you selling your flat) especially as they are still waiting to find some where too.

always bear in mind though that securing the sale of your property is more important than buying your next one - after all, you can't buy without the cash from your last one. be prepared to move in with friends/family/rented accommodation in order to get yours sold. that way you can offer yours chain free which is always more desirable.

good luck! (or should i say pob lwc!)

[boyo bach]

Pob lwc is right!! Da iawn ti. Ti'n siarad Cymraeg?

Yes...it's a very tricky situation, that's a great idea selling with no chain....as we would be prepared to move home (god forbid!!) for a SHORT while!! :-)

Many thanks for the word of wisdom.
Diolch yn fawr.

[pingping]

Hi boyo - been out of Wales for 10 years now, so slowly losing my vocab - not that I was ever fluent anyway!

I'm currently living with my in-laws for 2 weeks (having moved out of the flat, and waiting to complete on the house) it's not ideal, but at least we are now cash buyers, so are in a strong position financially.

[boyo bach]

Let's hope you dont have to stay with the out-laws....oops I mean in-laws for too long!! He he!

Good luck, thanks for the advice.

[parkesquay]

I have just moved house so I can appreciate the problem. First things first though, DO NOT GO OVERBOARD AND PUT A DEPOSIT ON THE HOUSE YOU FANCY(sorry about the shouting).
One cannot rely on other peoples word because there are always other factors that happen. For example, I reached an agreement to buy my present property because the vendor said that they were going to move in with(funnily enough) their in-laws. Not long afterwards they saw a property they liked and put in an offer and all of a sudden there was a chain that originally had 2 below me and one above and now suddenly had 2 other people with complications.
The only safe way is to sell your property on the basis that you will move out into temporary accommodation. Bear in mind that you may not actually have to do this but should prepare for it. You see ,just like in my case ,the vendors of the property you fancy will probably see a property that they fancy and so it goes on.
By selling and moving out(if necessary) you will break the chain and this will put you in a powerful position as a cash!!! buyer. There is also the fact that the pro rata interest that you earn on the capital you get for your property will more that pay for removal and temp.dwelling.
Now, if you need to carry over a mortgage etc make sure first before you do anything that you have the appropriate guarantees in place. Many purchasers will tell you that they have all their finances in place when all they have had are suggestions. Make your Estate Agent earn their money by bringing only clients that seem to be in a position to purchase.
Should you not get this house you fancy don't worry because, believe me, something else will be out there just as good.
Hope this helps.

[want2findout]

Yes it helps. Many thanks. It is a funny situation. I suppose we've done all we can at this stage and guess it's a matter of what will be - will be! Thanks guys for all the advice...fingers crossed eh!? x

[VannaB]

I've been in this situation since November when I found a house I loved and then within a week of putting it up for sale, got a cash offer for my flat.

My hold-up ended up being with the hlease of the flat I'm selling and only now have I exchanged contracts (Friday) and am completing Tues and thats with a cash buyer and a seller who's moving into his mums house!

Unfortunately there seems to be no way to secure a property until the exchange of contracts has been done...you live on your nerves!! However the advice for speaking with your buyer/seller is valid-keep the lines of communication going so you all know what stage its at.
Make sure your buyer has a morgage offer for definite and not just an initial approval (saves disappointment when they drop out).

I had excellent advice and support from this forum so don't be afraid to ask others for ideas/advice and most of all, try not to get too stressed (says she who nearly went bald with the stress of it all).
Good luck!

[want2findout]

Thanks all.
Still no news. But are keeping communication frequent and favourable.
I guess it's the waiting game now.

[want2findout]

Sorry....boyo bach it is by the way....didnt realise I was on partners log in!!! :-)