Selling Our House Shortly After Buying

One that can be easily explained away by the estate agent as a change in family circumstances. It shouldn't put off any serious purchasers.

If you sell within 1 year you might have a capital gains issue. It will only arise if you make a profit above your outlay and expenses but it is something to watch.

You'll probably make a loss if you sell within a year, but then if personal circumstances have change, one doesn't have much of a choice. I don't think that it would be a major red-flag to any buyer, though prices certainly have stabilised a little in the last year.

I hope it works out for you, regardless of what you do.

you have to be living there at least two years I think

I really don’t see this as an issue on the buyers side beyond the fact that the purchase of your house may be delayed by you both not wanting to move out until you buy a new house. Ideally what you should do is try to cover your outlay with the sale, and sell it as soon as possible. You may not get all your money back, and may take a hit, but you have to accept that the mistake was yours and suck it up. If you wait to long for a higher price, there is a risk that prices will drop and more money will be lost.

That may necessitate moving in with family for a time as trying to line up the sale of one home with the purchase of another will be nigh on impossible. I suspect any buyer who learns that you will not move out until you have bought a new home, would be put off.

If a house has major problems then they would be highlighted in a survey. If it has major social issues around it then a visit to the property outside hours - which everyone should do anyway if they're plonking down a small fortune - will highlight those.

What did their survey show up before they moved in?

Might be worth checking if you can port your existing mortgage to a new house if you manage to find a place suitable. That way you'd get to stay on a lower rate.

From switcher.ie :

Mortgage porting: If your mortgage is portable, you can transfer it to your new property in a process known as porting. You can apply to ‘top up’ if you need to borrow more or redeem part of your mortgage if needing less.

That changed on 01/01/2023.

Second-time and subsequent buyers or 'movers' can still only borrow 3.5 times their gross income. However the deposit requirement is being reduced to 10% from 20%. 

Ah ok, that's a pity. I'm not sure what AIB's policy on it is generally, but might be worth double checking or speaking with somebody else just in case. Could potentially save you a lot if you could keep your current rate, so might be worth pushing it with them a bit.

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