If you’re thinking of moving anytime soon, you may be wondering if you should sell your house first before buying another property.

It’s fairly common for people to sell their current home at the same time as buying a new one, forming a link in a property chain. While being part of a property chain isn’t necessarily a bad thing, sellers tend to gravitate towards buyers who are free from the shackles.

This can make selling on first seem like the better option, but there are a few downsides to going down this route.

To make things a little easier for you, we put this blog together, laying out all the pros and cons of selling your house before buying another.

The Advantages

No Property Chain

We might as well start with the biggest advantage of selling your house before buying, which is that you won’t end up as one of the links in a property chain. This means that you don’t have to wait for the purchase of your property to go through before you can buy the one you’re interested in.

Overall, this puts you in a stronger position when buying. By having cash in the bank, ready to go ahead with the purchase, your offer is more likely to be accepted than if you had to wait for the sale of your house to go through first.

Whilst the property chain is a common occurrence, it’s not ideal, as it’s impossible to say how long the chain will be, and buyers and sellers could be waiting for multiple deals to be finalised before they can go forward with their own sales. That’s why sellers tend to accept the offer that has the least amount of hassles and restrictions attached to it.

Time Is On Your Side

One problem that regularly occurs when house hunters buy at the same time as selling their current property is that they feel pressured into going through with a quick sale. This is because they end up falling in love with a house before they have the cash ready to buy. To make up for this, they’ll take a lower offer on their own property so they have the funds ready to go.

By selling your property before you start looking, you don’t have to settle on low-ball offers. Instead, you can hold out until someone puts in a bid that you’re happy to accept.

As an added extra, you’ll also have more funds of your own to take to the negotiation table, meaning you’ll have more to play with when looking for your ideal property.

If you want to make sure the offers you’ll receive are fair, invite a local estate agent around to view your property first. They’ll be able to give you the most accurate idea of how much your home is worth in today’s market.

Your Budget Is Set For You

It can be tempting to look further than your means when house hunting, but this can be a costly error to make. Many people end up falling in love with properties they can’t afford by doing this and then struggle to accept they have to look for a more modest home. The beauty of selling your house before buying is that you’ll know exactly how much money you’ve got to spend on a property because the figure is already in the bank.

By having a budget set for you, you can begin to work out which properties are worth looking into and focus on finding the best one of the bunch. You might even be able to buy your new property at a lower price and use some of your funds for renovations instead.

Ultimately, selling first gives you a set figure to work with. All you have to do from that point is to avoid looking at properties on the market that have a much higher asking price than you’re willing to pay.

The Disadvantages

Where Will You Live In The Meantime?

Selling your property first will put a huge sum of money in your bank account, but you’ll have to move out of your home pretty sharpish once it’s been sold. The question then arises as to where you’ll live until you’ve bought a new house.

There are a couple of options available, but neither are particularly appealing. The first one is to temporarily move in with family or friends, but there’s no guarantee there will be room for you and your partner and children. Plus, you may find living in such close quarters with others more irritating than you’d imagine.

The second option is to rent another property, but this can take a healthy chunk out of your budget. Not only will this affect you financially, but there are time factors you have to consider, too, as well as added contractual obligations to stay in and care for the rental property.

What Will Happen To Your Possessions?

After thinking about the roof overyour head, you’ll need to think about where all of your possessions are going to go. While you may be able to take most of them with you to a rental property, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to take everything.

The only feasible option you have here is to rent a storage unit. Again, this will cost you a fair amount for each month you have it rented, and then there’s the transport costs to add on top of that.

House Prices Could Rise

Nothing is guaranteed in this world (except death and taxes — shout-out to Benjamin Franklin for that observation on life). With that in mind, there’s no saying that house prices will stay at the same rate by the time you’ve sold your own home and sorted out temporary accommodation.

Theoretically, they could drop as opposed to rise, but that’s a big gamble to take either way if you’ve set your mind on a certain area or a specific property.

The property market is always changing, so talk to local estate agents often to stay on top of a fluctuating market.

Should You Sell Your House Before Buying?

Deciding to sell your house first has the advantage of making the buying process easier to deal with, but there are hidden costs to think about as well as the ever-changing market.

The best way to tackle the pros and cons is to think about how much money you think you’ll need to get you to the end goal of moving into a new property. To work this out, you’ll first need to know how much you could earn through the sale of your own home.

So if you’re looking to sell your property in Greater Manchester, get in touch with the best estate agents Manchester has to offer, and chat with a member of our team for a free property valuation.