selling house/buying new (Realtor, home loan, lender, lender)

[therewego]

Okay, I did a search and did not find a specific question addressing my question...I will be putting our house on the market in the next month or so. We will probably be wanting to build a new home in a new city.
1)Once I put the house on the market, do we then try to get approved for a new home loan or does the old house have to be sold first?
2)Once the house is on the market and we find a great floor plan for new house we like but our old house is not sold, what do we do then to keep the lot, etc? Is that when a "contingency" comes into play?

Thank you everyone, you have been a WEALTH of information!

[Bidney Turner]

That depends... are you in a financial position to pay two mortgages? If you are, then good for you, and a loan officer will be able to tell you whether you will be able to be approved for a loan without having to sell your current home. If you do have to sell your current home in order to buy or build, and if you are in a tough market, it's possible that a lender will give you a loan for the new home provided that you have leased out your current home. What are the market conditions where your current home is? What's the urgency to move? Are you being transferred or taking a new job? Those are all things to take into consideration. I would certainly recommend talking to a loan officer or two to help you to better determine what you need to do financially. I would also recommend talking with a local Realtor about current market conditions in your area. Ask lots of questions, and be sure to ask for details. Good luck!