It’s a classic question: should I sell my current home before buying my next home?

There’s no straightforward answer to this complex dilemma.

A great deal of your decision depends on your situation and how quickly you need to move.

Many sellers who receive a good offer for their home turn it down because they have not yet found ’the right property’ and worry that they will in effect become homeless should they sell first (although we have never known this to happen!).

Of course, the problem would become a self-fulfilling prophecy if everyone were to take this stance, and the entire market would grind to a halt.

In an ideal world, you’d sell your home the minute you put it on the market and then have all the time you need to find your next dream home while your buyers wait patiently until you’re ready to move.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world and in most cases you’ll find yourself in a chain.

While not uncommon, property chains can cause significant headaches, so if you’re planning to buy and sell at the same time, make sure you’re prepared and take advice from your agent.

In reality it isn’t that bad and, whilst we don’t have a magic wand, the closest thing we have to a miracle cure is to encourage sellers to have a little faith.

Because as soon as you find a buyer, amazing things can happen!

Most people have three main goals when buying and selling a home at the same time:

â?¢ To get the highest price possible for their current house

â?¢ To buy a new house as cheaply as possible

â?¢ To get through the process with as little pain as possible

By selling first, you have the advantage of time and, therefore, you shouldn’t have to lower your asking price in order to sell quickly.

More importantly, the fact that you have a buyer in place positions you as a ’red hot buyer’ with estate agents.

This means you will be offered new properties as soon as they come onto the market, often ahead of public marketing or portal exposure.

Secondly, you are in a much stronger negotiating position when you do find a property you like, meaning that you are preferred to other buyers who may be in a weaker position.

Thirdly, you may well find that once you are psychologically committed to your sale, you’ll have a clearer focus on which property will actually suit you best and know how much you can afford to spend on your next property, making your search much more practical and straightforward.

It’s easy to ’umm’ and ’ah’ when there’s no pressure.

Get organised! Get your mortgage pre-approved - this will make you even more attractive to a seller.

So, in essence, if you need help making a decision, find a buyer for your place first. And of course, we’d be happy to help on that front as well! Indeed, we pride ourselves on our ability to create and manage linked transactions.

Why not call us on (01624) 645555 to find out how we might be able to help you move - enjoyably!