How Soon Can I Sell My House After Purchase?

It’s entirely possible to sell your house straight after you buy it. However, actually getting your money back from the sale often takes longer than you may expect.

This is because the UK house sales market is not “liquid” like the stock market, for example. You will effectively need to find another buyer and go through the various legal and finance-related processes involved.

From using an estate agency through to a home buying firm – let’s run through your main options based on how quickly you need to get your money back from the sale.

Selling a House Immediately (After Buying) with an Estate Agent

You can put your property back on the open market with an estate agency pretty much straight away.

Indeed, much will be already prepared in terms of the listing content, Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and the other essential processes.

It may be difficult, however, to use the same photos as they may have been from the previous owner.  Most decent estate agents should, nonetheless, be able to get updated images sorted reasonably quickly.

Assuming that nothing drastic has happened to the market, the agent can price the property at the same level as what you bought it for.

However, it’s worth checking where things currently stand.  Say, for example, there was not a huge volume of buyers or the property took longer than expected to sell – it may be worth adjusting the asking price slightly in order to attract interest.

One of the major downsides of using an estate agent is the amount of time it will take to complete the sale.  Even if you’re able to find a buyer for the property quickly, you still may end up waiting some months for the various sales processes to transpire.

Check the speed of property sales in your local area (by postcode search) here.

Much here would depend on how proactive the buyer is.  For example, cash buyers are preferable as they will effectively bypass many of the hassles that come with taking out a mortgage against a property.

Remember also that you will have to pay back any mortgage you have taken out. Here, as you are exiting the mortgage early, the lender will also charge an Early Redemption Charge (ERC).

At the same time, provided there are no serious issues, the conveyancing process should not be too complex.

Indeed, much of the work is already complete. Solicitors can also use the same searches provided they are not more than a few months old. This is a particular advantage when it comes to the local authority search – which can take months and regularly delays many house sales.

Similarly, the buyer may be able to use the same surveyor’s report.  However, he/she will need to visit the property to confirm things.

Note that buyers may wonder why you’re selling so quickly after buying.  Here, it’s a case of explaining the situation to the estate agent who, in turn, can appease any concerns. As long as there’s nothing wrong with the property, most buyers would understand why you have had a change of heart.

If this all seems like too much hassle, you may want to think about keeping the property and/or releasing equity.  Some sellers we speak to, for example, transfer ownership to a son or daughter.

Selling a House Straight After Buying with an Auction House

It remains a fact that 1 in 3 open market house sales fall through. If you’re looking for more security, auctioning your property is often a better idea.

Although you sometimes have to take a slight hit on the price, the key difference comes down to the contractual agreements that essentially commit the buyer to the sale.

With traditional 28-day sales, once the buyer wins an auction bid (i.e. the hammer falls), contracts are effectively exchanged. At this point, the buyer must pay 10% of the property’s value as a deposit.  The buyer then has 4 working weeks to complete. Failure to meet these deadlines can result in heavy penalties.

For this reason, these types of auctions usually attract cash buyers or those that use fast-access (but high interest) auction finance.

Modern Property Auctions

There are several auctioneers (including ourselves), that offer longer timeframes.

Here, the “modern” auction contract effectively provides buyers with an extra 1-month time period to exchange contracts (and then another month to complete). This often means that they can organise mortgage finance and you’ll end up with a better price.

Selling a House Right After Buying to a Quick Home Buyer

This is, by far, the quickest way to sell immediately after buying a house or flat.

The professional firms in this space – such as ourselves – have cash reserves ready to buy property.  This means that there is no reliance on mortgage finance and all the associated hurdles that open market buyers have to face.

Indeed, we would have no objection to exchanging contracts within 24 hours with completion in the following 7 days – particularly as much of the key paperwork is already complete.  It will simply be a case of our solicitor spending a couple of hours reviewing the documentation.

Here at Property Solvers, our underwriting team requires one viewing which can usually be combined with a professional (RICS) survey.

Sell house fast companies will rarely raise any questions regarding your motives.  Most will also cover all your legal fees.  Plus, as it’s a direct sale to the company or investment fund, you’ll also save £1,000s in estate agency fees.

Contact Property Solvers

Property Solvers are a unique home sales company offering all three of the services described above.

We’re also one of the only fast house sale agencies that are regulated by all of the following bodies:

• The Property Ombudsman (TPOS)
• The National Property Buyers Association (NAPB)
• Trading Standards
• Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Regulations
• The Information Commissioner’s Office
• National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) PropertyMark

If you’ve just bought a property and thinking about selling up, please get in touch and we can help you weigh up your options.