Q. I’m in the process of upscaling to a larger property and had my offer accepted about eight weeks ago so the sale is fairly advanced but I have still not sold my property as the market seems to have gone off the boil with all the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. I’m not really sure what to do now as I have bought this at the top of the market and it looks like I now won’t get what I was expecting for my current property as prices seem to be slipping.
A. When it comes to trading bricks for bricks I always advise that as long as you are doing so in the same market you will never lose, if you buy and sell at the top of the market or at the bottom of the market it really makes no difference at all, sell low, buy low, sell high buy high its very simple. However given your situation now it looks like you could end up losing money if you continue as is. I’m afraid the Brexit vote has of course given the green light to the opportunist investors that are ready to swoop in like piranhas when and as expected the market takes a dip, thus many buyers are now holding off to see what the market does, so ultimately I think you will sell but at less than you hoped for. The solution is clear, you basically have two options. The first is to go back the seller of the property you are buying and explain your situation and ask them if they would be willing to accept a counter offer for the property that is in line with the reduction you have to take on your sale. You have to understand this may not go down well with the seller at all and there is a risk that they may just pull out of the sale altogether. The other alternative is that you pull out of the sale and wait until the market settles. Once it does, then simply start the whole process again at least that way you will not lose money. Unfortunately though you will stand to lose some money given your purchase is this advanced, you will lose the survey fee and any conveyancing fees due, solicitors will still charge regardless of whether you complete or not. Of course if the property you are buying is your dream home and you can afford the loss then go for it, in five years’ time it will not really make that much difference on the grander scheme of things to get you to where you ultimately want to be.