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When we were in this situation, luckily the buyer let us rent our house month to month until we closed on our new home, which had a sales contingency in the contract. It was only for 1 month. I won't lie, though, it was stressful!
I looked around a little for a thread on this - and didnt find one.
If there is one - feel free to point me that way.
I live in NJ, and I'm getting ready to list my house in a few months, and want to buy a house or condo in Maine.
My house is paid off, all but a small amount on a homeowners loan.
I'm on a disability retirement, so i dont think i'd qualify for any kind of mortgage; I will be using the proceeds from selling my house to buy my next one (i'm downsizing).
How the **** do you go thru the process of trying to sell your home, and hoping to buy another that you love, and have the timing work out??
I actually dread it all... even tho i want to move SO BAD.
You can try to write a contingency offer. That is, an offer to purchase the new home that is contingent upon the sale of the currrent one being completed. Sellers don't love those, but if it's a good price, if the other terms of the offer are what th seller wants, and if yo can demonstrate that the house you have to sell is being marketed aggressively - or better is already under contract -then some sellers may accept such an offer. The tough part is that most of them will want to see some sort of cash deposit, so you have something to lose if the deal never gets done.
When we were in this situation, luckily the buyer let us rent our house month to month until we closed on our new home, which had a sales contingency in the contract. It was only for 1 month. I won't lie, though, it was stressful!
^^^^^^ This.
I have done this twice. No, its not easy but can be done. The first time we weren't sure our house would sell so when we got a buyer we had 4 weeks to find another house and we did. We closed on both houses the same day. We got up early, packed up the uhaul, drove to closing at noon and signed the sale of our house. An hour later we closed on the house we were moving into.
The second time, we found another house first and it was contingent that we sold our first place. We did. We closed on our first house but paid a month of rent to our buyer while we closed on the second house and moved.
Our last home purchase we relocated out of state. We rented a house first and then bought. I hated moving twice but so glad we went that route because after living here 9 months, I realized I didn't know the area as well as I had thought I did.
Where in Maine are you looking? In the Portland area (and, I'm sure, in others), there are short-term furnished rentals. You could keep your stuff in storage for a month or two while you look for a place to buy. That way you wouldn't have to unpack twice.
JB. I am a real estate agent on Long Island. I work with many seniors and get asked this question very frequently. Rule of thumb for seniors, Never ever buy anything until you have the money in the bank. Never, ever sign a lease to rent until the buyers of your home have received a commitment letter from their lender. The time from commitment to closing can be short. So in your contact of sale ask for a 3 week delay after commitment until closing. This will give you enough time to set up the move without driving yourself crazy. The only thing I would add, is find yourself a good Realtor to buffer the stress of selling. Because their is always stress in selling or purchasing a home. Good Luck and God Bess. Arthur
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