Buying or selling a home at this current point in the market certainly comes with a large number of considerations, but the biggest one to ask yourself is if you should buy or sell your home first.
There is no straightforward answer to this complicated dilemma either. Both certainly have risks as well as significant advantages. It will all come down to you having the time, money and patience.
Buying and selling a home is typically a long and unpredictable process and it requires a lot of thinking ahead. The decision you make not only affects you but also your family if you have one. You have to look at your situation, your finances and how much time you have to make it work.
Where You Are At
There is no correct way of approaching the property market, which is why you need to keep options open to ensure you don’t miss out on the right situation.
Where you are currently situated will play the biggest influence on either buying or selling first. If you sell your house first, you will need to assure you have temporary housing whilst you wait on the new property to become available to move into or comes onto the market. Moving twice can certainly be a doubly stressful experience so you need to decide if this is something you want to put your family through.
Single people may not mind the wait in temporary accommodation and feel comfortable renting a property until the right home becomes available.
Your Finances
Finances play an even bigger role – especially following the era of uncertainty that the pandemic produced on employment. If you decide to sell before you buy, you will need to factor in rental costs for a temporary property.
If you buy before you sell, there are also financial implications as to do so you will need to qualify for two mortgages, and your debt-to-income ratio to make this work may be too much of a stretch. If you have the finances to make buying before selling work, it certainly can be beneficial – though far less common.
Your Time Permitting
The time you are working with is just as important as the above, as many people have a set timeframe before things get complicated. Selling your home first can ensure a quick sale, whereas buying a home before selling gives you more time to find the desired home.
Selling first certainly puts you in a powerful spot for negotiation on the asking price, and that not only puts you in a favourable position with buyers but also provides you with a price range from your sale that helps you find an affordable home.
Buying first affords you more opportunities to view more properties to hopefully secure your dream home, and as house prices rise you still have a home until things begin to calm down.
Contact the team at Joules Estate Agents Stockport for information on how to sell a house or if you are looking to buy property in Stockport.
