Just want to see your views from your experience on when to complete a property is better around Christmas time.
In short, at the moment we are at the cross road of choosing a completion date, if is completed before Christmas I fear there will be a period wasted as i was told people viewing or renting are exceptionally low before Christmas which may end up paying for a month of interest and costs for this void period into January.
Is this statement true? or is it best under any circumstances to complete as soon as possible regardless of this cooled period?
you can exchange and complete same day. I have done it several times It avoids anyone offering more and beating you. Have you never bought a place before? So if you exchange now and complete later,all will be o k… If seller pulls out or you pull out after exchange it is a breach of contract and there are financial penalties
i understand the buyer will lose 10% deposit or something but what about the seller in general? I don’t think they need to pay 10% as well other than to cover my legal cost?
I have no idea of sellers penalties . That will likely depend on how much the buyer loses out. It sounds as if you have doubts about this deal Best ask these questions to your solicitor
In 2019 one of my tenants was due to move out on 24th Dec.
I advertised the property as available from 3rd January and we were overwhelmed by the response, with most of the applicants wanting to move in ASAP.
The lovely couple (who are still with me and have been brilliant tenants) begged to move in on 27th Dec and we actually managed to achieve this with some compromises (such as carpets cleaned after they had moved in, and them putting up with the smell of paint).
Obviously I don’t know the situation in your area but hopefully you will have done your homework to look at demand for your type of property in your area.
I hope all goes well with your purchase and renting out and urge you to be kind and generous to your tenants and to keep communications open, but without hassling them.
I have tenants moving out next week and I’m not going to market it until January because I’m going to get my kids to redecorate it over their Christmas holidays (they don’t know it yet ).
Carry out an advert on Openrent, do not run photographs, just state the area and type of property and ask for potential clients to reply through openrent this will give you an idea of activity in your area, each time we have advertised coming upto Christmas the response has been excellent. (north west)
respectfully i suggest you try and exchange before xmas and complete in the new year. 28 days is good 14 minimum. very few rent new over xmas but many seek in new year. people who want somewhere at xmas may be a bit desperate and havent planned ahead. i rented to a guy who had run off with his lover once on xmas eve but they moved on in 3 months they just abandoned it -which was nice!
I have rented since 1996 and I always find November and December worst months for renting with December being the worst. I would say complete anytime after 1st January 2021.
Besides November and December, I would not say there is a best time as it all depends on demand at different times of the year however, in saying that demand seems to be quite high at the beginning of the year. I guess this is because all those wishing to move put it off until the Christmas Season and New Year is over.
If you’ve exchanged, I would leave it till the New Year, especially if you’re dependent upon an agent to let the property.I purchased a piece of land once at an auction which had 28 days completion which fell between Christmas and new year. It was only because the solicitor was a friend and was willing to work that it happened as the mortgage people, estate agents and solicitors normally shut for a long break.
If you haven’t exchanged or you’re letting it yourself, then complete as soon as possible. I’ve never had to let a property over Christmas, but in most areas at the moment there are considerably more people wanting to rent than there are properties and a lot of people are off over the Christmas period and available to view.
Also depends on whether you want to do stuff on the house, and whether you want a free Christmas period.
But whatever you choose, don’t rush to rent. Make sure you get the best tenant, and when purchasing, a void period is more or less inevitable as you can’t advertise officially until it’s yours.
Dave7
The answer can only really reflect on the property you have. I closed on the 17th Dec and received the house keys in the same day. Having advertised prior to this via this site I had, I think 7 prospective tenants waiting to view the property on the 17th December and several over the following few days.
Having said that my properties are in the heart of a city and very much in demand because of the location. I decided to wait until the 1st Jan to start the rental purely for ease of contract. These factors will possibly help answer your questions.
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