Top 10 Tips For Selling Your Home And Buying A New One
If you already own a house, buying a new home can become a more complicated process since you likely will have to sell your existing house before you can move into your new residence. Read on for the top 10 tips for selling your home and buying a new one.
- Stage your home for a quick sale: You want to have your home looking as nice as possible so you will be able to find a buyer more quickly and get on to your new home. Paint and replace carpeting if necessary, clean up clutter and arrange the furniture to highlight the best features of the house.
- Begin looking at homes when you list your house: You should be shopping for a new house as early as possible to increase the chance of you finding one. That way, when you get a buyer on your home, you will have a good idea of where you want to live and be ready to act.
- Work with a realtor: A realtor can help you find a new home and can help you find a buyer. He can also help you work out the timing of the transactions.
- Make offers contingent: If you find a home you love, make an offer on it – but make that offer contingent on selling your home so you aren’t obligated to buy and so you don’t get stuck with two mortgage payments if you can’t sell your existing house. Likewise, if you find a buyer, you may want to make the sale contingent on you finding a new place to live so you don’t end up homeless.
- Explore the idea of a long closing- If your buyer or seller won’t agree to a contingent offer, ask for the closing to be as far into the future as possible so you will have time to find a house or sell your existing one before you are set to move.
- Research temporary living arrangements: If you don’t want to lose the buyer for your home but haven’t found a new one yet, look into places where you can live temporarily. A month to month lease may provide the answer, or you may have a willing family member that will provide you with lodging for a little while.
- Ask your buyer’s if you can rent: If you have a buyer for your house but no new home to move into, your buyer may be willing to let you rent back your house for a brief period of time. That can buy you more time to find a new home, without you having to move all your belongings into temporary housing and then just move them again.
- Look into bridge financing: If you need to sell your home to come up with the down payment on your new house, a bridge loan may be the answer you are looking for. This short term financing will allow you to buy the new house and pay back the loan when the sale goes through.
- Be flexible: If you are more open to looking at all different houses for your new house, you may be able to find one more quickly after you have a buyer for your home.
- Know your budget: You don’t want to waste time looking at houses you can’t afford, especially when you have a time clock to sell your house. Likewise, you should also have a reasonable idea of what your home will sell for so you can price it in line with the market- otherwise it could sit on the market forever waiting for a buyer.