Parent trading down. Need to sell before buying?

Hi,

My mother (74) wants to sell her house in Dublin (worth about 500K) and trade down to an apartment also in Dublin (max 300K). Since the property crash happened, is it now more likely that she will be required to sell her house before putting in an offer on another property? (She doesn't want to do this, as she would need to rent somewhere in the interim). Is bridging still a possibility in the current climate?

I know it will probably depend on the bank, but I was hoping to get a general feel for what is expected in the current market. Any views welcome. Thanks.

Suzy.

Hi Suzy

I know at least 3 people who have purchased homes without selling their own. They are all very, very sad as a result. One had a home worth around €2m and bought a new home for €800k. That was two years ago and he still has not sold his old house. The asking price has been reduced to €1.1m and he all his equity is gone.

Your mother absolutely must sell her home first. That does not stop her looking, but it does stop her signing a contract to purchase a new home until she has signed a contract to sell her own home. Some would say that she should not sign a contract to buy until the cash is in the bank, but that might be going a bit far.

If she has the cash in the bank, she will be in a much better negotiating position when she is buying. Estate agents might not even take bids from her if they are conditional on selling her own home.

Brendan

Even if she sold her own house, while having an offer on the new apartment - the chances of both sales going through on the one day or the one week is fairly slim, in my opinion.
So many sales fall through, people get cold feet, she may change her mind herself on the apartment etc.
Having to suddenly be out of your own house, indeed makes you need to decide on buying something pretty quick, which makes people rush into decisions. And puts a huge amount of importance dependent on the timing of the sale, which causes huge stress.

She may have to face renting in between if she needs to.
I know it'd be a big stressor for a 74yr old lady used to her own house. Is there a relative she could stay with in between?

Using a storage facility to store the extra clutter and furniture while she is selling is a good idea. Then when she is moving to the rental place short term, get a furnished place and she can just put all her own furniture and house contents in the storage container.
The move to the rental place or the relative's house is not so bad then, as it's not a complete house-contents move.

Thanks Brendan and Sadie,

Your advice is really welcome. I will show her your replies.

Thanks a million.