Need to buy your next at the same time you sell your current home? We have a few tips that will help you find the best approach for your situation.
If you need to buy and sell a house at the same time, it can be a tricky situation. We've put together a five-part tip sheet for you to use if you find yourself in this situation and today, I wanted to go into detail about two of these important tips.
If you're living in a house you need to sell and you need to buy a new home, one option—if you can swing it financially—is to carry two mortgages. You would keep paying for the house you currently live in while looking for your next house, and tell your lender that you want to carry two mortgages temporarily to make the moving process a little easier. You would then buy the new house and get moved in at your own pace. Once your old house is empty, you would list it for sale. You might carry a second mortgage for a few months; it all depends on how the market's doing.
This is a great way to pace yourself and avoid feeling like you're in such a rush. If you time it well, you can buy the new house in a good market and sell your previous house in a good market as well.
Another option is the blitzkrieg approach, or trying to buy and sell at the same time. This is for those of you who just want to rip off the Band-Aid, so to speak, and it can be done.
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With this approach, you'll search for new houses at the same time that you put your house on the market. It comes with a little added stress as you'll have to keep your house clean and orderly all the time and be prepared to leave on a couple hours of notice for showings. One advantage is that you'll probably start packing for your new home early.
Carrying two mortgages is a lower stress approach.
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If you're in a hot market, you'll want to look at houses on a regular basis so you can time it out to buy that house right around the time your current home sells. You should also price your house aggressively so that once you buy you new home, you can be ready to sell your old home in order to close simultaneously. They don't have to necessarily have to close on the same day, but it will be helpful. Ideally, you would close on the house you're selling in the morning, get the proceeds, and go into your home purchase later in the day with the funds ready to go.
This process comes with more stress, but it will also be a lot shorter and compact, and if you have a sense of adventure, this may be the way to go.
If you're interested in our tip sheet or you're thinking of buying and selling a home at the same time, don't hesitate to email or call me. I'm here to help.
