How Soon Can You Sell a House After Buying It?
Firstly, you will be please to know there are no legal restrictions on how quickly you can sell your house after buying it in England. You can sell the property as soon as you have completed the purchase and are the legal owner.
However, there are a number of things to consider:
- Before deciding to sell your house, you may want to consider the housing market and the demand for properties in your area.
- If you are selling your property very soon after buying it many potential buyers may wonder why you are selling a property quickly after buying it and assume something is wrong with it.
- Do you have a mortgage on the property? If so you will need to check the terms of your mortgage agreement to see if there are any provisions that would prevent you from selling the property within a certain timeframe. As it may cost you to exit your current mortgage. If you signed up for a fixed rate or discounted rate mortgage it will likely cost you money to leave before the end of that period. However, in some cases that may still be your best option.
- Speak to a property professional, an agent and or solicitor as they will be assist and be in the strongest position to answer any questions you may have about how to sell a property and selling a property quickly. They are in the best position to provide you with more information and advice on the process of selling a house in England. See our guide do I need a solicitor to sell my house.
Why might you want to sell your house quickly after buying it?
Personal circumstances: A change in personal circumstances, such as a job transfer, a change in family size, or the need to move closer to family or amenities, could lead someone to sell their house soon after buying it.
Market conditions: If the housing market is particularly favourable at the time of purchase, an individual may decide to sell their house soon after buying it in order to take advantage of the high demand and potentially earn a profit.
Financial considerations: If someone purchases a property with the intention of flipping it, they may sell the house soon after buying it in order to make a profit. Similarly, if someone buys a property and later finds that they cannot afford the mortgage payments, they may decide to sell the house in order to avoid defaulting on their loan.
Unforeseen issues with the property: If an individual discovers major problems with the property after purchasing it, they may decide to sell the house in order to avoid the costs of repairing or addressing these issues.
House sellers: what you need to know about selling a house before 6 months?
Whilst it is possible for a mortgage lender to approve a loan for a house that has been owned for less than six months from the date the property was registered with the Land registry, it is very likely that any potential buyer will likely find it very difficult to obtain financing. A large number of UK mortgage lenders have a minimum ownership requirement, typically six months to one year, before they will consider lending on a property.
It is the lending guidance issued by the CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders) with the intention of stopping you from re-mortgaging a property within six months from the date the property was registered with the Land Registry, note this date is different from the purchase date. Basically, this means the current vendor must have the registered property for at least six months before the mortgage company can accept an application to purchase that property. If you are selling your property, check when the property was registered with the Land registry as selling house after 1 year uk and/or selling house after 2 year uk could still be a problem if the registration has not gone through six months prior to you agreeing a sale.
WARNING - If you have take out a mortgage to buy a property with a view to refurbishing and selling your house in under six months, prospective buyers will not be able to secure a mortgage against your newly renovated property. Remember to take this into consideration before putting it on the market as you will also still have to continue paying the mortgage up until the date that you can sell the property.
EXCEPTIONS when I can sell my property within this timeframe?
Some mortgage companies will provide you with a criteria list that is acceptable for a sale within six months of purchase. Below is the Halifax’s
- A personal representative of the registered proprietor.
- An institutional mortgagee exercising its power of sale.
- A receiver, trustee-in-bankruptcy or liquidator.
- A developer or builder selling a property acquired under a part-exchange scheme.
- A registered Housing Provider (Housing Association) exercising a power of sale.
- They will also accept inherited properties where the applicant is a beneficiary but has not owned the property for 6 months.
ALWAYS speak with your lender prior to putting your property on the market if you need to sell it within six months of buying it.
IF you are a buyer looking to purchase a property that has not been registered with the Land Registry for at least six months and your mortgage company will not lend on the property then you should seek financial advice from a specialist who may be able to find you funding from an alternative source.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: You will always be able to sell your property to a cash buyer no matter how long you have owned it for. If you have owned your property for less than six months and want to sell then send your property details to Gaffsy for a cash offer today. Gaffsy makes buying a house in cash vs mortgage uk the easy option in such a circumstance.
Interested to know why mortgage lenders have a minimum ownership requirement?
Mortgage lenders have a minimum ownership requirement because they typically want to avoid back-to-back transactions, whereby a mortgagee is selling and buying a house at the same time and they also want to avoid day one re-mortgages. The reasons the lenders implement the guidance issued by the Council of Mortgage Lenders is to prevent back-to-back transactions, avoid day one re-mortgages that allowed homebuyers and property investors to increase their borrowing to 100%, prevent money laundering and any other financial irregularities.
Therefore, if you do want or need to sell your house before six months of ownership talk to your lender or a professional who can advise. Alternatively sell to a cash house buyer as they do not face these same restrictions as they do not require funding for the purchase.
Gaffsy says ….
It is saddening to learn that the Financial Conduct Authority predicts with the on-going cost of living crisis the number of households that risk defaulting on their mortgages in the next two years is more than 750,000. They also estimate a further 570,000 are at risk of “mortgage payment” shortfall over the same time frame. Note 1.4million households fixed rate mortgages end this year and they will have to remortgage to a more expensive loan that will see their mortgage payments increase further.
If you are worried about your outgoings and have been selling your flat, selling your house with the best online estate agents and your property isn’t selling check to see how soon you can sell your flat, how soon can you sell your house to a buyer who needs a mortgage as if the property was not registered with the land registry at least six months prior then that may be the problem. In which case it is time to consider selling to a company that buy houses for cash. Gaffsy is one of those companies so call us today, we can help you. Similarly check our guide 5 ways to sell a house fast.
Please don’t become one of these statistics take action now.
We can help if you are thinking:
“Can you sell a house with a mortgage?” “Should I be selling house on mortgage?”
Stop hesitating contact us today, about selling a house with a mortgage as our team are on hand to talk you through the process of selling to a cash buyer. Not only will we make you a free unconditional offer with no time delays and no chains we will even pay your legal fees.
There is no obligation on your part to accept the offer and we will never put you under pressure, we will buy your property for cash in a time frame to suit you. Never be worried that your home wouldn’t be of interest to us as we buy property in any condition for cash, get an offer now.
