Your two bedroom home has been perfect for you, your partner and baby number 1. But, now baby number 2 is on the way you need more space and, with the due date imminent, you need to make that move fast!
But, moving house isn’t fast is it? It is a long, drawn-out, expensive process. Did you know it can take estate agents anywhere from 65 to 113 days to sell your house? That is if everything goes smoothly and to plan once someone has even shown an interest in it.
The last thing you want to do is bring your new baby home and face the stress that comes with having little room to move, on top of those sleepless nights up with the baby and stressful days with your toddler who is currently going through the terrible twos. It is enough to send anyone mad!
So, how are you going to move up the property ladder quickly?
Well, firstly – good news! Moving up the property ladder has got easier as demand for first homes and better loan rates make the second step a little less painful, according to a study by Lloyds Banking Group. Second-steppers are also benefiting from changes to the stamp duty regime that will reduce costs when buying a more expensive property.
You will, of course, have been saving and hopefully will now also have enough equity in your home to make the next step – if only you could click your fingers and have the money that is in your house, in your hand, so you could buy a bigger home straight away. Well, it is not quite as fast as clicking your fingers, but sell your home to a cash buyer and you could have that money within a week!
Companies such as we buy any home can have the cash in your bank account within 7 days. Why don’t you fill out their online valuation form? They can have an offer to you within 24 hours and, of course, you aren’t under any obligation to go through with the sale if you aren’t happy with the offer.
But, if you do choose to sell your home in this way, you won’t be in a chain, as you will become a cash buyer yourself, effectively putting you in the advantageous position of a first time buyer, but with the money behind you of a second-time buyer. The process of buying your new, larger home, will become as easy (or almost as easy) as selling your old, smaller home.
If you aren’t tied to your current town or city and are happy to move anywhere in the country then location can play a bigger factor in the size of your second home, as well as the cost. You may want to avoid Edinburgh, if you can, as this tops the list for the widest gap between the two rungs of the property ladder – Dundee, Oxford, Brighton and London are all within the top 5 and Exeter, Portsmouth, Aberdeen, Cambridge and Bournemouth aren’t far behind.
Selling your current house and moving into your new home, can actually be done in such a short amount of time that, with some to spare before baby arrives, you might even get the nursery decorated too!
