Moving- How did you time it??

We are finally ready to put our house on the market. We are very interested in a few houses but need the money from this house to make a good offer on a new house. We did get pre approved for a mortgage but still need the cash from our current house to make a good offer. We have already missed out on a great options. This is the first time we are doing this so I feel overwhelmed with how to time this whole thing. How did you time it so you sell but buy in time to not have to rent something in between? What are your experiences?

Message edited 2/5/2017 2:31:06 PM.

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

We kept two homes for almost a full year. Honestly, it was a very tight year. I knew the district we wanted to move into had very few homes on the market and so we bought when something we liked in our price range became available. This is a planned community. So for us, in our range, and the style of home I wanted has 200 homes. That is it. So when one comes on the market at a good price range, it is time to act. I don't think other areas have that kind of issue. So we purchased, and then sold.

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

If you're staying on the island, I'd be more inclined to sell first since there is no way of knowing for sure how much you'll sell for or how long it will take. You really want to avoid a situation where you're stuck paying for 2 homes.

It's so tricky trying to sell AND buy. Another option is to do both concurrently, list and start looking at the same time and maybe you'll luck out and the buying and selling will work out timing wise.

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

Do you need the money from selling your house to put a down payment on the new house? Or just to close on a new house? If it's the latter, then you should probably list your house and try to concurrently look. Hopefully you can buy something right after your house sells, which solves your issue.

Moving- How did you time it??

My agent told us to sell them when we were in a contract to start looking for a new house. We decided instead to move out of state and not buy immediately so that changed our game plan.

Moving- How did you time it??

We got very lucky with our timing and closed on our apartment 2 weeks before closing on our house. We had negotiated with the buyer of our apartment to rent back our apartment from them for up to one month after closing. This allowed us to do some minor repairs in our home and continue to stay in our apartment and not move twice.
For us, we had a very desirable apartment in a very desirable neighborhood so we knew it would sell fast. Knowing that, we are able to put an offer on our home at the same time we listed our apartment, but I imagine that wouldn't be the case if there is a chance your home wouldn't sell quickly.

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

We had crappy luck - took us almost 2 yrs to sell our house because of flood zone location and it being in a so so SD (Baldwin) so we had to pass on a # of houses we both liked. Ultimately, we were in contract to sell by Thanksgiving so had to spend all Christmas and New Years searching for a house and finally found one in February, a week after we closed on our old house.

We had to rent storage for 3 months until we could close on our new house and it cost a lot of $$ (its by weight, and we had multiple generators, lawnmowers, landscaping items, large antique furniture, etc). It was not easy because the sellers of our current house pushed back closing because they had tenants who had their own closing date pushed back due to missing C/Os. The whole process took a good 6 months.

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

People's experiences will vary based on the market in which they bought and sold, the area (whether it's more of a starter home or middle class area, versus a very upscale area).

Right now, it's a seller's market on LI. In most desirable areas, inventory is very low, demand is high, and therefore prices are rising (as houses get multiple offers and often go for more than ask price).

It's very unusual for a seller (or his/her attorney) to be willing to enter into a contract that is contingent on the buyer's sale of another property. In cases where they are willing, at the very least, the seller wants to know that the buyer's current home is under contract (and then the further along, the better... they often want to know that the buyer has a mortgage commitment).

Even still, there is so much competition for homes that most sellers don't have to worry about it; they have plenty of good offers from renters or those first-time buyers who live with family.

If you NEED to sell your home in order to be able to buy your next house (i.e., you can't qualify for a mortgage unless your current home is sold), then you really need to get things rolling on the sale of your home (and perhaps look for a buyer who will be ok with a more extended time frame for closing, in order to give you time to find a new home). I know some sellers don't want to feel "rushed" into their next home, and in that case, they often will look for a short-term or month-to-month rental, or stay with family/put things in storage for awhile.

If you don't HAVE to sell your home to purchase your next, then you are in a much stronger position. I was just working on a deal where the buyer for one of my listings was selling their house, but there was no contingency. If the house sold according to plan, the buyer would put 20% down. If the house sale fell through, then the buyer would still move forward and just put 5% down (they qualified for a conventional loan with 5% down).

I would talk to your mortgage lender and figure out whether you have the option of purchasing a new home before selling your existing one. Whether you want to do that is another story, but knowing all of your options and doing your homework first is a must in this very competitive market.

Let me know if you have further questions or if I might be able to help you!

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

Thanks so much everyone! Yes, that's my problem. We need to sell the house I am currently in in order to have cash to make a solid offer. The problem is we need a few mote weeks to prep the house and get it on the market. Sadly I am absolutely in love with a house I found online and now I'm sad that it may pass us by.

Moving- How did you time it??

I was in this EXACT situation. We found a house we loved and decided to list our house. The house we wanted had multiple offers within days, we lost it. We kept our house on the market anyway and a week later we had three offers and the agent from our "dream" home called and told us their deal fell through. We accepted an offer on our home and made one on the home we want. Contracts should be going out this week. Needless to say, its been a crazy few weeks. I actually got a call from another agent today about another home we saw and loved but was heading to contract, their deal fell through too. So you really never know!

If you want to move just list it and think no further. It really is step one.

Message edited 2/6/2017 9:00:04 PM.

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

Timing was one part luck and one part strategy.

DH and I had been scoping neighborhoods, home styles, and figured out our price range before all this; we knew we'd need to move fast. We listed our house on a Weds., had an Open House on Saturday, got an offer on Monday, negotiated a sale price by Weds.

We saw a few houses that we liked, and within a week or two, made an offer. It was negotiated, accepted, and signed.

There were some other speed bumps, but we ultimately wound up closing on our sale on June 2 and our purchase on June 3. Moved on June 6.

And we are never moving again!

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

We just went through this and unfortunately could could not make the timing work. We closed on the sale of our house on 1/6 and closed on our new house yesterday 2/6. The seller of our new house kept holding things up unfortunately.

A few suggestions:

1. Once your house is on the market, start looking to see what inventory is out there that you might be interested in. Your house could sell quickly. You never know. We had 5 full price offers after 3 days on the market.

2. Keep in mind some sellers are very specific about the buyers they will deal with. When we were selling we obviously wanted someone that was prequalified, but we also wanted someone that was further along in the selling process if they needed to sell. Some potential buyers still hadn't sold their houses. We didn't even entertain those offers.

3. If you need extra time to stay in your house ask for it. The worst they could say is no. We asked for an additional week and it was granted. We would've loved more time but we knew the buyer's rate lock was expiring.

4. The whole process is stressful but it can definitely be done. The people that bought our house closed on our house at 10am and closed on their house at 2pm. It can be done!

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

Thanks for the advice everyone! Lots to think about.

Re: Moving- How did you time it??

We took time to lock down an area and once we did, it took time to find a house we truly loved.

Once we were in contract for the house we bought, we put our home on the market. It ended up working out perfectly. The very FIRST people who came to see our house made a strong offer the same day. We closed on our new house a month before closing on our previous one so we had one month where we owned both. It gave us time to paint and do some home improvements (stuff like refinish the wood floors, paint..) and just made it so much easier to move in with these things already taken care of.

Message edited 2/7/2017 9:36:08 PM.