Say you’ve decided you want a bigger home, something closer to work or you want to live in a different school district. No matter what your motivation, buying a home when you need to sell can be an overwhelming proposition for even the savviest homeowner. Fortunately, we work with clients in these situations all the time and can help you navigate these waters.
If you’re buying a home and selling a home at the same time, you have several options, and you really do need an experienced real estate professional’s guidance. One option is to make your purchase contingent upon the successful sale of your existing home. There are a number of ways to word this “contingency” in a purchase contract. And whether it will be accepted by the seller depends on the the location of the home you’re buying, the market conditions there, how likely your home will sell, etc. It certainly helps if you can demonstrate you’re already listed your home for sale. Or you have an offer in hand. If you can’t demonstrate this the seller may decline your offer or attach what’s known as a “kick-out” clause to your offer in case a better one comes along.
Another option is to go ahead and sell your home and rent while you look for a replacement home. This option gives you more breathing room to find the right home and present an offer free of the sale contingency above. On the other hand, finding short-term rentals may be challenging in a robust rental market where landlords have multiple potential renters for long-term leases. Should you decide to rent short-term be sure to allow enough time in your lease to include finding the home, negotiating a contract (plus potential delays) and moving time.
Sometimes you can negotiate with the buyer of your home to extend the closing date or even “lease back” the home to you for a long enough period to find your new home. This option is not used as frequently as it used to be because most buyers either have a home they’ve just sold and must vacate. Or are ready to stop paying rent themselves as soon as possible for tax or other reasons. But it’s still a viable option to consider if the other two options don’t work out for you.
This doesn’t have to be a complicated predicament if you have the right agent helping and advising you. Call us for more information and recommendations tailored to your specific situation.