How long does a house sale take? If you’re the seller, it’s one of the most important questions you’re going to be asking yourself as soon as you put your house on the market. After all, your end goal is to get your home on and off the market as quickly as possible, right? So, how quickly can a house sale go through? It depends a bit on how you decide to sell your home and the type of buyer who decides to make that purchase.
The Quickest House Sale
If you’re looking for the answer to “How quickly can you sell a house,” it’s a fairly cut and dried equation. If you’re working with a cash buyer – no chain – how long to complete a UK house sale is just a matter of days. Most UK cash buyers can have your home completely purchased in fourteen days or less, if they have some experience with the market.
How long for a house sale to go through with a cash buyer who doesn’t have experience? That could take a bit of additional time. You’ll want to plan at least a month for a house sale if you’re working with a cash buyer who is chain free but hasn’t purchased a home in that manner before. The reason is fairly simple. It can take cash buyers, particularly new investors, a bit of time to get their team in place, and that means extra time for the seller.
Why do cash buyers tend to be the fastest house sales? It’s fairly simple. A cash buyer has no searches! How long to complete with the average cash buyer is a bit dependent upon them. Typically you can expect the sale to happen between fourteen days and a month after the two of you have made the agreement.
How Long Does it Take to Buy a House in the UK with an Estate Agent?
If you’re wondering what that sales time might look like with an estate agent, you’re not alone. You may still find some speed if you’re working with an estate agent, but the reality is that you’re not going to find the quick, smooth process you will with a cash buyer. Most house sales that work through an estate agent have a chain and a mortgage attached, and that’s what tends to take the extra time. A buyer with a chain has to wait for someone to come along and actually buy their house before they can buy yours. A buyer with a mortgage has to wait on the mortgage company to approve their paperwork and the valuation on your house. All of that means it could take as long as four months to actually complete the sale, but it’s probably going to be something like two months to move that sale through.
How long does a house sale take with no chain if you’re working with an estate agent? You can typically have it done in just over thirty days if the mortgage paperwork proceeds as it should and the solicitors move fairly quickly.
The Bottom Line
How long does a house sale take for UK sellers and buyers alike? The reality is that it depends entirely on who is selling and buying a house. A cash sale can go through faster than you ever imagined possible, even with an inexperienced buyer. A home auction can go through almost as quickly. A more traditional sale, though, can take quite some time. Often it takes the seller a bit of time to get the paperwork to his or her solicitor, and it can take the buyer a bit of time to arrange for financing and handle all of the paperwork on their end. If you’re in a hurry to sell your home and you simply don’t have time to wait on a traditional method of sale, you’re going to want to work with a fast cash buyer like a home investment company. You may not make quite as much money off of the sale as you’d like to, but you’ll be able to sell your home within a matter of days, and that can mean a lot to some sellers.
