Synchronising your property sale with the purchase of your home-to-be can feel like a serious balancing act. Many people worry that they’ll sell their home from underneath their feet and have nowhere to go to, while others find their dream home but lose out because they’re not on the market themselves yet.
It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but you can make the process easier by taking our advice. On balance, putting your property on the market as soon as possible is usually the way to go.
Being on the market means you’re in a stronger position from the start
House vendors are far less likely to accept an offer – no matter how attractive – from a buyer who hasn’t put their own place on the market yet (unless there’s a spare few hundred thousand floating around)… Having your own place on the market means that you’re serious and on the moving runway (it’s a thing) yourself.
Putting your property on the market usually leads to finding a buyer (it is, after all, the point), so when you have your great offer, you can let everyone know and give everyone in the chain a confidence boost.
You might be wondering about finding the right place to move to once you’re on the market yourself, but there doesn’t need to be a rush. The chances are you already have a postcode in mind, as well as a budget, so taking this important step signals to your estate agent and prospective buyers that you’re ready, willing and able to go.
Going to market helps to keep the rest of the market moving along
If no one went to market ever, then no one would ever go to market. Ahem.
Someone has to make the first move. Someone in the next town wants to move into your road, but if your house isn’t for sale, then these people might hesitate, which in turn prevents the person looking to move into their road from going to market… This gridlock can also have an effect on property prices – a bad effect.
The very first thing you need to do is to get an accurate valuation of your property (as well as a good idea of the lowest offer you’ll accept), which gives you a good idea of your moving budget.
Your next move is to find a good mortgage advisor (your estate agent will almost certainly know someone) so that you can find the best deal possible for your new home loan.
A few handy tips before you take the plunge
- Work out where you’d like to move to before you go to market and make sure you have a good idea about what you can afford and how far away your favourite supermarket is
- Check the property listings in this area as often as possible; setting alerts for postcodes and price bands could help you to steal a march on other hunters
- Get all of your paperwork in order, including finding and instructing solicitors and making sure you have your EPC ready
- If you need a mortgage, have one pre-approved and ready to go as this not only saves time but it instills confidence in buyers and agents.
