Winter Move (real estate, renting, condo)

[serendipity418]

My husband and I currently live in a small condo in JP, and we're thinking about putting it on the market sooner rather than later and buying a home on the South Shore.

My husband is chomping at the bit to get us on the market and moving. (Tired of city/condo life.) We are currently in the process of decluttering/staging, etc., but have not reached out to a realtor yet.

I'm concerned about the usual pitfalls of selling in the winter (weather, lack of light, etc.).

I think the lack of inventory might put us at an advantage selling, but disadvantage buying, and I'm worried we won't be able to find a new home we both like if/when we accept an offer on our condo. We can't swing two mortgages and need our equity for part of the down payment on the new place, so finding a home to buy first is not an option.

I'm also hesitant because I feel that we will have so many more options in the spring from sellers who are currently holding off for better weather. At the same time, I'm also tired of our tiny condo and ready to move on to bigger and better things. I'm so conflicted!

I'd be interested to hear what others think re: the pros and cons.

TIA!

[495neighbor]

JP and West Rox (yes I window shop on all the real estate sites) have such low inventories and JP is in so much demand right now, I don't think you'll have any problem getting a buyer right away whether you list now or wait a few weeks.

[Cape Cod Todd]

I say there is no better time than NOW. Get your place in order, clean it, repair anything that need attention and stage it and put it on the market. If you contact a realtor now he or she might be able save you some money and time by going through your condo and offering their expert opinion. Of course your property would look better in the Spring but Buyers are looking now and so should you. You can look at sites like Trulia and Zillow to get an idea of what is available and prices but remember the prices are estimates not written in stone. There are options and clauses you can write into a contract that will assure that you sell your condo before buying a new place but not all sellers would agree to that in a hot market.
I say contact a realtor, clean and stage, look for a new home, price yours right and get ready to move.

[MikePRU]

Selling in JP will be a lot shorter process than finding your new home. Most of my clients after weighing the pros & cons of which to do first have decided to buy first and then sell. Even if they need the equity from their current home they know they're going to be on the market for such a short time (if they do it right) that it won't be an issue. If you need the equity in your home to make the 5% deposit typically made at the signing of the P&S, you can look into what used to be called a "bridge" loan. Some banks still offer them although they have a different name for them now. I know Santander (formerly Sovereign) offers such a product. It allows you to make use of the equity in your home before you sell it. Theoretically, it's an extremely short term loan because you don't get any funds until you need them for the down payment on your next home. The nice thing about the loan (as I understand it) is that you do all the paperwork up front so you're ready to go and they just give you the funds once you actually need them.

[serendipity418]

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback.

When we bought our condo we were renting, so we didn't have to worry about selling and buying at the same time.

I'm feeling a bit better about moving forward with this. Fingers crossed!