Simultaneous sale and purchase of property in the UK

It so happens that sometimes people have a desire to change their environment and move to live somewhere else. Then the British can buy another house or flat, and foreigners can buy property in the UK. And in such situations it is not at all necessary to invest a lot of money in buying a new house or take out a mortgage. A huge number of people take the opportunity and make transactions on the principle of simultaneous sale and purchase of property, finding in this maximum benefit and convenience. And let you not confuse this combination – the order of actions and the mechanism itself has long been worked out. The key to the success of such transactions lies in the competent planning of the process, a clear understanding of the objectives and in co-operation with experienced realtors and lawyers.

Ability to negotiate and find compromises

The process of simultaneous purchase and sale of a house or flat is the cooperation of two, and sometimes several parties with a single goal: each participant should get the desired property option at the end of a series of transactions. And the final result of the transaction depends on how loyal they are to each other.

As well as negotiating the price, one of the most difficult partsof the negotiation is the timing. Since buying a house in England does not initially tolerate fuss and lightning-fast decisions, people start putting their property up for sale well in advance in order to sell it as favourably as possible. Very often there is a certain milestone – a date earlier than which the move for the selling party is impossible. For example, parents may be waiting for their children to finish the school year, or be waiting for a long business trip. There may be many reasons, it is important to respect them and at the same time clearly negotiate the terms, so that on the one hand to respect the interests of the seller, and on the other – not to stretch the wait to infinity. It is necessary to negotiate everything down to the smallest nuances, making sure that the preferences of all parties to the agreement are correctly understood.

Key points of buying and selling a property

It is possible to sell and buy a house in England by following a few important steps.

1. Determining your financial possibilities starts with an assessment of the value of your own property, which is carried out by competent realtors. Self-assignment of the price is not recommended, because without proper experience, without knowledge of the current situation on the market, it is possible:

• or assign an inflated value, which will discourage potential buyers and unreasonably increase the time to reach a deal;
• or underestimate the amount, which would result in a loss of money.

Only a professional valuer can name the value of the property, which will be the starting point for moving forward with the transaction.

2. Identify your own key factors. When choosing a new flat or house, you should think carefully about its future location and the accessibility of important infrastructure. It is necessary to assess how convenient it will be to get to work, whether there are schools and kindergartens nearby, if there is a need for them. It is also important whether there are shops with essential goods, medical aid stations, places for leisure: cinema, theatres, restaurants, sports grounds and much more. Of course, choosing the most important places for your life is individual and cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach.

3. When taking into account such parameters as the layout of the flat, the floor plan and so on, the list of requirements should be immediately divided into two parts:

• Criteria of principle on which no concessions can be made;
• desirable parameters, which or part of which can be sacrificed to fulfil the conditions from the first part of the list.

4. Concluding a contract with a lawyer. It is his or her responsibility to put all documents in order, including checking key papers. In addition, there are many small points in the contract, the work with which requires the participation of an experienced lawyer. These processes can take some time, because any redevelopment, additional construction on the site must be authorised. Independently assess the state of affairs is extremely difficult, if you do not have the appropriate education and experience. It is important to settle all issues before buyers are found and the time comes to transfer ownership directly.

5. Carry out a building survey to identify possible hidden defects in advance.

6. If the property to be sold is to be rented out, the necessary documentation package should be requested from the management company. This must be in order and prepared in advance.

Determine the amount of mandatory payments in the transaction:

• stamp duty;
• the cost of the move;
• payment for the work of hired specialists.

Importance of deadlines

In addition to the need to meet the needs of the people who will be selling their home, it is important to be realistic about your time constraints. Events that you and your family depend on can put a strain on the timing of the transaction itself.

The next question is to objectively assess how long it will take to pack all your belongings and transport them to your new home. These are important deadlines, without which the conclusion of the contract may take you by surprise. Only a clear formulation of all the conditions will help to avoid misunderstandings and fulfil the chain of transactions in a timely manner.

Bridge loan to buy a house in the UK

Not so long ago, banks began to offer such a service as a bridge loan to buy property. It is issued for a short period of time (up to a year maximum) at a high interest rate. The implication is that this is not a real mortgage, but only a temporary manoeuvre to get money quickly to buy a new home while your house is not sold. On the one hand, this is convenient if the perfect property suddenly appears on the market and meets all your needs: you want to be able to buy it before it is sold to someone else.

However, in fact, often such a loan brings additional costs: the term of the loan is limited, the interest is not small, so often people at some point agree to sell their property in a not quite favourable way: make concessions on the price for the sake of urgency of the transaction and closing the loan. Therefore, if there is an opportunity not to open an interim loan in the bank, andwait for the systematic conduct of all procedures and the closing of the chain of sale and purchase transactions, it is better not to start a credit history.

Renting out a property to buy a new home

A favourable offer on the market of banking services is a let-to-buy deal. It implies mortgage lending, but the amount of the monthly payment is formed mainly at the expense of the tenant. This option will help to keep the existing housing and at the same time buy a new one. The existing property is rented out to third parties, they pay the rent, which under the agreement with the bank is immediately credited to the mortgage repayment for the new flat. It is possible that the monthly rent is lower than the regular loan instalment, in which case the difference must be paid by the owner of the property. A mortgage broker can provide good advice and practical assistance in making such a favourable deal.

Buying a house in the UK on a buy-to-let basis is more favourable and easier than taking out a mortgage on a new home. The property market in England does not stand still, every day there are new objects – you can always find a great option, which will be a pleasure to live in. And professional lawyers and realtors will help you to correctly draw up the necessary documents.