Date Published 25 May 2017
DOWNSIZING - THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY
When the kids have flown the nest and you're hardly ever going above the first floor and rattling around like peas in a tin can, downsizing is a great option which releases stacks of cash and still gives you a great house to live in.
The trick of it
Finding the right house to buy while you have the right buyer in tow is a neat trick. Here's how to pull it off…
• In order to be favoured as a buyer, you really want to have the purchase price in cash and be completely ready to go at the drop of a hat
• It's always a game of chicken and egg – should you start looking before you've got a buyer for your house, or do you get the buyer first and then find the dream home to move to?
• If you find the right house to move to, but lose it because your buyer isn't quite ready, you then run the risk of losing them if you can't find another dream house fast enough and end up having to start all over again
• Selling your house for top dollar without any pressure to move is the ideal, and is more likely to happen if you can rent somewhere for up to 6 months while you wait for the perfect house - with all the cash from your sale working hard for you in the market
• When the right house appears, you can then trump any ‘normal' buyers with a pure cash offer and the ability to move really fast. This is especially true when stock levels are low, and the right house may also be the right house for many buyers
• Property deals go at the speed of the money, and while most buyers will need a mortgage, you really can exchange contracts in 10 working days and complete when the seller would like
Other Options
One favoured solution is the Sale & Leaseback
• You sell your house and then rent it from the new owner for up to a year
• This gets you all the money from the sale on your side of the table while you look or a new house to buy - and you haven't even had to move out of your old one
PERFECT
