Do You Have a Home to Sell Before You Purchase a New One?
This is always one of the most difficult real estate transactions--unless you are well prepared!
First, we must fully recognize that we are in a seller’s market and have been for years. Why is that? Well, there just isn’t enough (affordable) home inventory out there. It is simple supply and demand. Yes, the low interest rates are contributing to the demand, even since they’ve ticked up a bit!
Second, sellers will nearly always take a cash offer over one with a contingency for you to sell your home--even if your offer was higher! They do not want to take their home off the market and wait while yours sells because one never knows how long that will take. Most sellers will not consider a contingent offer; that is a bitter pill to swallow for those of us who have easily done this in the past.
How can you overcome this?
Make a cash offer, if you have available cash in the bank.
Sell your home first and rent or live with family/friends until you find just the right home. You can put your things in a storage unit or portable storage unit (like a POD, which is less expensive) until you are ready for the new home.
Apply for a mortgage for the new home. Deb works with good lenders who can recast your loan once your current home sells. That will bring your payment way down. You can also pay off the mortgage, of course. All you will be out are the costs to obtain the mortgage, which is several thousand dollars. Yes, you can do this if you have a mortgage on your current home; you just have to be able to qualify for both mortgages.
Occasionally, you will find a seller who is willing to take a contingent offer on the home you wish to purchase; however, most of the time they expect your home to be listed for sale (at the very least) or under contract.
Sequential real estate closings are often called a domino. You know what happens when you stack those dominoes and one is pulled out… Deb Staley of Deb Dot House will be with you throughout your real estate transaction. You will not be pawned off on a lower-level staff member to deal with any problems that can and do crop up.
