Just because you've been there before, it doesn't make moving house any easier the next time around. Here are some tips to help you make your next move hassle-free.
Before you decide to buy a new home, there are a few things you may need to consider.
Selling my property before I buy
If you sell before you buy you avoid having to cover two mortgages at once, and you'll know exactly how much money you have to spend.
You may be in position of having large sum of cash as deposit for your next home. It will put you to a stronger position when applying for the next home loan.
Some lenders offer mortgage portability, which allows you to sell your old home while holding existing mortgage for a period between 6 to 12 months. You may avoid the trouble of applying for a new home loan with this feature.
The downside of selling before buying again is that you may have to rent a place while you look for a new home. It means you'll also have to move twice and you'll incur double your moving expenses, not just transport but also double the utility connections.
To help avoid this, it may be possible to negotiate a long settlement when buying your new home - you might be able to avoid doubling your moving costs.
Add this tip to your property buying action checklist.
Buying & selling homes simultaneously
There's plenty to consider when buying and selling at the same time. Obviously your aim is to get the highest selling price for your home while making sure you don't pay too much for your new one.
Timing is important because ideally you want the buying and selling processes to be as close together as possible. In a perfect world you'd settle on your new home on or just a few days before settlement on your old one.
You may be able to benefit the advantage of mortgage portability to take the mortgage with you to the next home.
Buying new home first and then sell
This option is probably the most favorable choice if you want to minimise disruption to your family. It also gives you enough room to negotiate with buyers to achieve the best possible price for the old home.
The good news that finance options like brdiging loans are available for you to secure the new home while still holding the mortgage on your existing home.
Read more about Bridging Loans
Buying new home and keeping old one as investment
It is also possible that you can keep the old home and convert it to investment, rather than selling it. You may have to borrow a new loan to secure the new home, but you may be able to use the equity in your old home as deposit of new home. You can top up the current mortgage or get a finance from another lender.
