Can we agree to a sale before our buyers sell their house?

Q My wife and I are in the process of selling our house, which we own outright. We have a buyer who is keen and have agreed a sale price. The problem is they cannot sell their house, are expecting a baby in June, and are getting desperate to move into ours, which they are describing as a "dream home", well before then. We will not be purchasing another house soon and are keen to move things along.

Is there a way for our buyers to purchase our house before selling theirs and to pay us later, once they have found a buyer? Could we rent the house to them for the short term? DF

A Handing over the keys to your property before you have been paid for it would be a very bad idea indeed. And you are unlikely to find a professional conveyancer who would be prepared to let you do such a thing. Letting the property to your potential buyers could also pose problems, so would also be inadvisable.

You could tie your buyers into the sale by getting them to put down a deposit and exchange contracts – although this would mean setting a date for completing the sale. If your buyers haven't sold their house by then they might be able to get a bridging loan to pay you the balance of the sale price, but that would be a very expensive option for them.