While House is Being Built (Houston, Katy: for sale, apartments, rental) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

jtothemak · 10-02-2015, 08:07 AM

My wife and I just listed our home for sale but our new home being built will not be done till April. We listed our 1700sqft home at the top of the market for this reason. However we noticed the prime houses(good lots, water view, lots of upgrades) in our neighborhood Westheimer Lakes South are moving fairly quickly. On top of that we have noticed homes under 250k market are moving well also in our general area plus we are zoned for the new Fulshear high school and middle school making the north side of Richmond just south of Katy even more attractive.

The challenge is if we do get a reasonable offer quickly we do not want to pass it up but what do people typically do for the time till their new home is built? A leaseback would be ideal but not everyone is willing to do that. We also have 2 small dogs and at the end of the day we don't want to be breaking the bank for a place to live short term.

hendersj31 · 10-02-2015, 08:15 AM

We had a similar situation. The first person to view our home put an attractive offer in and we closed in about 45 days. We sold our home and moved into a furnished condo. We put everything we didn't need at the condo into PODS while we shopped for homes. This is typically going to be expensive since furnished\short lease places will cost more and PODS are not cheap (we needed a few). But we had so much agility when we found the house we wanted it was well worth it.
Best of luck I know how difficult and disruptive this can become.

lane_change · 10-02-2015, 08:22 AM

We went through a similar situation and were lucky enough to find a 6 month lease in the same neighborhood that our new construction is being built so our children are zoned to the same schools and we are able to monitor the construction activities of our house as often as we want to.

Houston321 · 10-02-2015, 09:11 AM

If you can sell it, sell it and pocket the cash. Trying to time these things perfectly is very hard. I have customers who try to do this against my advice and it almost always ends badly. I know it is inconvenient, but having the home sold and money in the bank is a huge hurdle to overcome.

hendersj31 · 10-02-2015, 09:24 AM

So true. This is how we awere able to snag the house we wanted despite there being several other interested parties.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Houston321

If you can sell it, sell it and pocket the cash. Trying to time these things perfectly is very hard. I have customers who try to do this against my advice and it almost always ends badly. I know it is inconvenient, but having the home sold and money in the bank is a huge hurdle to overcome.

Failed Engineer · 10-02-2015, 09:40 AM

The above is correct. Just sell it, take the money and figure it out.

AndreaJ200 · 10-03-2015, 01:08 AM

We tried to time it too....it doesn't look like it's going to work out. We put the contract on our new construction in early May, with a scheduled completion timeframe of mid-October, but it's looking now like it might not be done until late November, and maybe even later than that.

That said, we put our house on the market in mid July and were willing to sell right away but wanted a leaseback if possible and were willing to negotiate the price if need be to get the leaseback. In August we got a full price offer with lease back, but only until mid-November. We closed a couple weeks ago and it sure is nice to have that cash in hand and not have to worry about whether or not the house will sell.

However, we think the new house isn't going to be ready on time, and we aren't sure what we are going to do. I really hate the idea of moving twice, so I think if we have to, we are going to bring only the necessities to a furnished rental and store everything in pods. But that's only if the new home will be ready relatively quickly. If it will be more than a couple weeks, I don't know what we are going to do....

So, I'm sharing my experience and plans, but also looking for suggestions.

Wish you the best!

ethanw · 10-03-2015, 06:58 AM

We sold ours in 2 weeks hoping we can rent it back from them. Didn't worked that way. Take the money and move in apartments. We stay in a 2 bedrooms for 7 months and move in our new house after that. We used our 2 appartment garages to store our stuff. Worked really well. Movers are cheap so no worries about moving twice.

texasroots77 · 10-03-2015, 10:01 AM

Yes put your money in the bank and suck it up for a few 6 months. Always better to know the money is in the bank and you are ready to close when your new home is complete.

Lbjen · 10-04-2015, 08:56 AM

Put your stuff in storage and find an apartment that will do a 6 month lease. You don't have to get the biggest place, just somewhere that will take your dogs and be convenient. It's a small sacrifice compared to what two mortgages will cost you if you don't sell your current home. Also, they are about to start rezoning Westheimer Lakes South for the new elementary school (opening fall 2016) so that may also impact you.