Kenfrapin Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Morning All, Not sure where to post this so decided here is best. So we are planning to fly out Sept 1st week, and working backwards from that. The only thing we have to do is sell our house, nothing else to close out that will take a long time. Our dilemma is that we dont have close relatives to live with after the house sale so the options we are looking at are Put the house for sale in April, should be SSTC inside 4 weeks (most houses are sold in 2 weeks time) and assuming 3 months to completion, worse case, it will be wrapped up July end Do you know if people sell their homes and then rent it for a month or two? We are happy to pay the buyer rent until Aug end. We really dont want to move into a hotel or B&B for a month coz we will literally kill ourselves We dont need the money for our move so another option is put the house for sale sometime in June with target completion around Sept/Oct. We fly out as planned early Sept and completion can progress. But is it wise to fly out before completion and sorting things out? We are scratching our heads on the best way forward, at the moment getting evaluations done and advice from real estate agents to get some ideas Thanks KnK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I'm not sure for the UK but for Australia you can usually choose a completion date that suits both you and the buyer. The only downside to keeping the buyer waiting to complete is that they can pull out. However, you could maybe ask for a larger deposit if this is possible that way if they do pull out you will have enough funds to continue with your plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenfrapin Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Thanks for that, yes we did think of the long completion time and possibility of pulling out. Let's be honest, if I were a buyer looking to buy in April/May, I may not want to have completion in Aug coz the seller may change their mind too. It's not true for all buyers but we may lose 50% of the market with such a long lead time. Just another thing we have to worry about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Thanks for that, yes we did think of the long completion time and possibility of pulling out. Let's be honest, if I were a buyer looking to buy in April/May, I may not want to have completion in Aug coz the seller may change their mind too. It's not true for all buyers but we may lose 50% of the market with such a long lead time. Just another thing we have to worry about! Are you moving Oz to UK or vice versa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itegoa Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Morning All, Not sure where to post this so decided here is best. So we are planning to fly out Sept 1st week, and working backwards from that. The only thing we have to do is sell our house, nothing else to close out that will take a long time. Our dilemma is that we dont have close relatives to live with after the house sale so the options we are looking at are Put the house for sale in April, should be SSTC inside 4 weeks (most houses are sold in 2 weeks time) and assuming 3 months to completion, worse case, it will be wrapped up July end Do you know if people sell their homes and then rent it for a month or two? We are happy to pay the buyer rent until Aug end. We really dont want to move into a hotel or B&B for a month coz we will literally kill ourselves We dont need the money for our move so another option is put the house for sale sometime in June with target completion around Sept/Oct. We fly out as planned early Sept and completion can progress. But is it wise to fly out before completion and sorting things out? We are scratching our heads on the best way forward, at the moment getting evaluations done and advice from real estate agents to get some ideas Thanks KnK What makes you think that there's someone who wants to buy it? I think you're assuming a lot thinking there will be offers and it's all SSTC within 4 weeks. We put our house on the market in mid-Oct 2015, and only over the last fortnight have we had a couple of offers and it's now SSTC. So that was a 4 month wait for us. Things can still go belly up though (i.e. buyer pulling out). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNC FABS Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 House sales are a funny thing. They rarely go to plan !. We are in the South East. Put house on market end of November, sold in 3 days. End of January, no survey, buyer having mortgage trouble. We put it back on market and sold again to new buyers in 5 days. They need to complete by 1st April, as they sold to an investor who wants to beat the stamp duty increase coming up. We also are not needing the money from the sale to fund the move. So we have booked flight etc, regardless. We said we would simply hand the keys over to the agent to complete sale or even find 3rd buyers if need be and not be dictated by buyers. So perhaps you would be better off delaying putting it on the market, or just be bold and keep turning offers away. Might even get more money that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenfrapin Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hi, As I said, we know the local house market and there is a lot of demand where we are. Also know of our friends and neighbors who want to buy in our specific area. I agree completely this is all assumption and things can go differently, but I need to make these assumptions as they are based on sufficient information. Homes around us were taken off the market within 2 weeks of being up for sale (of course, dont know about it after that but asked around and it went through fine (again, it doesnt mean ours will be easy!) Thanks KnK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenfrapin Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 House sales are a funny thing. They rarely go to plan !. We are in the South East. Put house on market end of November, sold in 3 days. End of January, no survey, buyer having mortgage trouble. We put it back on market and sold again to new buyers in 5 days. They need to complete by 1st April, as they sold to an investor who wants to beat the stamp duty increase coming up.We also are not needing the money from the sale to fund the move. So we have booked flight etc, regardless. We said we would simply hand the keys over to the agent to complete sale or even find 3rd buyers if need be and not be dictated by buyers. So perhaps you would be better off delaying putting it on the market, or just be bold and keep turning offers away. Might even get more money that way. Thank you, the more we look at what's best, the more we think we should put it for sale later in summer and let it go on. We can hand keys to the agent and they can take care of it. This option also allows us to pack and move away with ease and not having to worry about timing the entire thing to a tee! KnK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenfrapin Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Are you moving Oz to UK or vice versa DOH!!! Sorry for missing that out, we are moving from UK to Melbourne, final stages of our 189, should come anytime now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 (edited) I'm not sure for the UK but for Australia you can usually choose a completion date that suits both you and the buyer. The only downside to keeping the buyer waiting to complete is that they can pull out. However, you could maybe ask for a larger deposit if this is possible that way if they do pull out you will have enough funds to continue with your plans. We exchanged contracts, then completed several months later. The ball is in the sellers court though, as they hold the buyers deposit. I have also seen people sell and rent back from the buyer. Edited February 11, 2016 by newjez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 You can't guarantee anything with the UK system on house sales. It could take a while to agree a price, the buyers could pull out or deal fall apart, you could get stuck in a chain You can't control those timescales or really plan for it, so just stick it on the market. You can always nominate yourself when you want completion to be, but to hold the deal together you may have to budge on that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Our story, if it helps. We put our house (in Surrey) on the market in February 2015 with a stipulated completion date in July. Got an offer after 2 weeks. The buyers wanted the house so much that they were prepared to move in with relatives to meet our date. They were also selling a house but their buyer had problems with selling a shared-ownership home and kept getting hold-ups. It got a little stressful in the end as we only got the signed contracts about 10 days before flying out. The reality is that it is normally impossible to manage this precisely as there are always factors beyond your control. We were always (reasonably) confident about our buyers but if they had been forced to pull out (because the chain collapses) we would have been left trying to sell the house while in Australia. Do'able but not ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamples Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hi CNC FABS - can you please share a little more info on the " wants to beat the stamp duty increase coming up" as we're contemplating selling soon and timing might be key - thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 DOH!!!Sorry for missing that out, we are moving from UK to Melbourne, final stages of our 189, should come anytime now We are in the same boat our house is on the market but we will leave it in estate agents hands if its not sold We plan to go back to Oz late April Must admit I find the UK way of selling houses worrisome experience has shown its around 16 weeks from start to finish if not longer as its handled by solicitors etc Contracts are normally only signed about a week before exchange so right up until that time things can go pear shape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hi CNC FABS - can you please share a little more info on the " wants to beat the stamp duty increase coming up" as we're contemplating selling soon and timing might be key - thanks in advance. I think the new stamp duty is only for people who own more than one house ie they are going to let one out or move into another then sell the original Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I'm not sure for the UK but for Australia you can usually choose a completion date that suits both you and the buyer. The only downside to keeping the buyer waiting to complete is that they can pull out. However, you could maybe ask for a larger deposit if this is possible that way if they do pull out you will have enough funds to continue with your plans. I don't think that makes sense does it ? The contract which is signed will specify completion/settlement date so the buyer will know the settlement date when they sign, and wouldn't sign if not happy. If you are suggesting the seller breach the contract and stay in longer then they may be liable for damages to the buyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 This was our scenario in 2006 -June we put the house on the market ,first viewing the couple loved it they put in an offer and we accepted We tried to get contracts to say exchange around late August Our buyers house had sold by the way and we were the end of the chain Said buyers were slow in sending things off to their solicitor ,said solicitor was half way down the country not local We arranged furniture and flights for end of August then buyers solicitor started to query rights of accsess etc Our solicitor couldnt reach him half the time Our buyers buyer was champing at the bit wanting their house and threatening to pull out We ended up leaving with everything a ???? very stressfull Contracts were exchanged 2 weeks after we left and we had the solicitor send the funds straight to Oz By passed our bank who wanted to know down to the last penny how much we would be sending We didn't know as we hadn't had it all finalised ! This time we have gone to an estate agent who has guaranteed he will show potential buyers around for us if its not sold before we leave So we are booking shippers ,pet transport and flights for end of April and we are prepared to wait it out on the house instead of fretting over it We have had an offer already but its only been on the market a week and the offer was way below our expectations I think the guy knowing we are keen to get back to Oz thought he could put a silly offer in -wrong we will wait it out Sorry if this is long winded but I do think selling in the UK is a minefield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I don't think that makes sense does it ? The contract which is signed will specify completion/settlement date so the buyer will know the settlement date when they sign, and wouldn't sign if not happy. If you are suggesting the seller breach the contract and stay in longer then they may be liable for damages to the buyer. In SA a contract is signed and you have 48 hours to change your mind -get a surveyor out to check property etc After 48 hours the contract is binding subject to finance and selling buyers house if that applies Normally a date for completion is put on at that time as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I don't think that makes sense does it ? The contract which is signed will specify completion/settlement date so the buyer will know the settlement date when they sign, and wouldn't sign if not happy. If you are suggesting the seller breach the contract and stay in longer then they may be liable for damages to the buyer. In the UK contracts are usually exchanged only 1 or 2 weeks out from completion The primary reason is because buying/selling in a chain is the norm. All contracts are executed simultaneously and there are usually multiple contracts involved in the deal. Getting all the planets to align to ensure they can execute at the same time takes a lot of work to arrange, and this is where the delays and risk always lie It's not perfect but no system is. The alternative is a system (as in Aus) where each transaction stands on its own. This makes it clearer and cleaner, but means there's more need for short term renting, bridging loans and the like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I think you are making a mistake if you are telling buyers that you are moving to Australia. If people know you have specific plans and are desperate to sell, all you will get are low offers. You should play it cool and not give away your private plans to everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Selling and buying is made unnecessarily more stressful in the UK than it ought to be as the system places no obligation on the buyers or sellers until virtually the end of the process. Much prefer the system over here. We put in an offer and once accepted you pay a deposit and enter inro a legally binding contract. Simple and sensible. Everyone knows where they stand. I understand tgat Scotland has something similar. Just the stupid English system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I think you are making a mistake if you are telling buyers that you are moving to Australia.If people know you have specific plans and are desperate to sell, all you will get are low offers. You should play it cool and not give away your private plans to everybody. Buyers almost always want to know why the seller is selling. Whether you are moving to Oz or another place in the UK the chances are you are going to be keen to sell. Lying is rarely a wise course. If someone did not have a good sounding reason for selling I would suspect that they had neighbours from hell or there was an issue with the house or neighbourhood. The key to getting a good pric is having at least 2 people wanting your house or a buyer thinking that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Selling and buying is made unnecessarily more stressful in the UK than it ought to be as the system places no obligation on the buyers or sellers until virtually the end of the process. Much prefer the system over here. We put in an offer and once accepted you pay a deposit and enter inro a legally binding contract. Simple and sensible. Everyone knows where they stand. I understand tgat Scotland has something similar. Just the stupid English system. Like I said, it is a function of executing all the contracts simultaneously I agree I prefer the simplicity of systems that avoid this. But they are not without downsides either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Buyers almost always want to know why the seller is selling. Whether you are moving to Oz or another place in the UK the chances are you are going to be keen to sell. Lying is rarely a wise course. If someone did not have a good sounding reason for selling I would suspect that they had neighbours from hell or there was an issue with the house or neighbourhood. The key to getting a good pric is having at least 2 people wanting your house or a buyer thinking that. I wouldn't give away that information. If a buyer knows I'm moving to Australia in 2 months, they will only give low ball offers. You don't want to give the impression you have to sell in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Sounds an odd system in the UK. The chains could be never ending. Most people are selling something to buy something new so where does it end ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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