When selling your home and buying somewhere new, getting stuck in a chain can be a nightmare. Even if everything goes smoothly with your own sale and purchase, you could still end up and the mercy of someone else further up or down the chain’s issues. Here are our top five tips for how to avoid your move from turning into a chain-wreck.
Avoid chains wherever possible
The simplest way to avoid any problems with a chain is not to be in one in the first place. You are well within your rights to ask potential buyers whether they are in a chain and use this as a factor in deciding which offers to accept. It may even be worth accepting a slightly lower offer if it means avoiding the potential headaches a chain can bring with it.
Get your finances sorted early
Nobody wants to be the weak link in a chain, so it’s important to make sure you sort out your mortgage offer as soon as you possibly can. You should also be realistic about the kind of mortgage you are likely to get and talk to a mortgage advisor before placing an offer to give yourself the best chance of getting the finance you need in a timely fashion.
Be realistic about your asking price
Just as you need to be sensible about how big a mortgage you can get, you also want to make sure your asking price reflects the true value of your home, rather than simply the amount you would like to get. This will prevent you from taking a long time to find a buyer, potentially holding up everyone above you in a chain. It also means if your buyer falls through, it should be relatively easy for you to find a new one.
Consider a bridging loan
If you’ve found the home of your dreams at the right price, but still haven’t found a buyer for your old home it can be extremely frustrating. One option is to take out a short-term loan known as a bridging loan which will give you the money to buy a new home before you sell your old one. Then, once your old home is sold, you simply repay the bridging loan.
The problem here is that this usually involves borrowing a very large sum of money and the interest charges can quickly add up. You also have no guarantee of how quickly you will sell your own home, so you could be stuck with an expensive loan for far longer than you intended, costing you a lot of money.
Think about renting
On the other hand, selling your old home before you’ve found a new one can be equally problematic. You might feel pressured to quickly find somewhere, even if it’s not quite what you were looking for or the asking price is higher than you really wanted to pay.
Temporarily moving into rented accommodation can give you breathing space to avoid compromising and find your ideal home. Although it is an extra expense and will involve moving twice in quick succession, you can always place most of your possessions into storage allowing you to rent somewhere small and avoid having to pack and unpack twice.
With over 18 years in the business, the team here at Intransit have had more than their fair share of experience with property chains. We have some great deals on moving a whole chain at once, which can help things go smoothly on the day and prevent everyone getting held up by one person’s removals firm failing to deliver.
To find out more or to ask for a quote, call Intransit today on today on 01225 759200 or, if you prefer, you can fill out our contact form and we will get back to you.
