House prices falling is certainly one consideration, but yes we can afford it. In a way our situation is enviable but I'm concerned that buying at this point is taking on more than two older folk can cope with. On the other hand, the longer we leave it to find somewhere that suits us, the more difficult the move. It's a quandry.I recently had the same dilemma, but my issue was that the new property I was buying would not be ready for some time, and I had to decide whether to sell up and rent in the interim or stay put while I waited and sell after.
The question you need to ask yourself is one of timing - can you afford to buy the new place and hold onto the other taking into account the risk of house prices falling in the meantime? Basically are you comfortable with the risk of buying and selling in potentially two different markets. Sounds like the works on yours are already taking much longer than you anticipated.
That's a good plus point you make about the safety net of buying first. Whatever the stress from managing two houses for a while, having nowhere could be much worse. We should probably just be grateful we have the option instead of trying to predict the future. And even if we never find a suitable new home, staying here really isn't a terrible prospect.It's good to be in a position to Buy first as most people don't have the luxury to afford two places even for few months. In this market when finding a house for rent is extremely difficult, buying first makes sense. In case something wrong with purchase, your family is comfortable in current house. Plenty of examples where purchase gets delayed or worse cancelled while buyer puts pressure to move out. We did the same - it took three months to sell the house so we lost rent of three months in total.
there's the extra cost of utilities, insurance, LPT, anything else?
1. Yes mortgage free on both properties and comfortable. Starting to see the definite advantages of buying first.1) Will you be mortgage-free on both properties?
This is the first consideration. If you can buy a second property without first selling your own, then it's well worth doing. It dramatically reduces the stress of the move. Moving from one property into another is stressful. But moving from one property into a rented property for an unknown duration while you are looking to close on a new house, magnifies the stress.
Moving from your current home to your new home at a time that suits you, allows you to do up the new home without moving in.
2) Whatever you do is risky.
If you buy first, the housing market might cool, and you could find it difficult to sell your existing home. This is not a big risk for you as you appear to be mortgage-free on both.
If you sell first, house prices may rise before you buy, and you could well lose out.
As you are mortgage-free on both, take the risk of buying first.
3) Try to minimise the risk of owning two houses.
In your case, you won't be able to sell your house for, say, 6 months. The longer this period, the greater the risk. And the greater the expense of owning two houses.
Don't rush to buy the new house. You offered the asking price and they refused. Don't rush in with another offer. Wait until you see what happens.
If you do make an offer to buy it, ask the auctioneer what their timescale is. They might well want a long closing period. That would suit you perfectly. Or they might want a quick close and you would be in a good position as a cash buyer.
Put your own house on the market as soon as possible. I am surprised that you need to do groundworks before selling it. But can you put it on the market while the groundworks are underway?
4) Put the costs in perspective.
If the asking price for the new house is €400k, you might be paying anything from €400k to €450k.
If you think your current house is worth €700k, you might get anywhere from €650k to €750k
6 months of utilities insurance and LPT are immaterial. They are simply not a factor.
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