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Our place is currently listed on the market (has been for about a month now). In the meantime, we've been looking at some properties. We're interested in one that's a short sale, but I don't know if the timing would work out. We're not in the position to make an offer without selling first. And even if we were to sell and make an offer, who knows when the bank might approve our decline our offer? Our agent suggested that while we're waiting for the bank to respond, we could rent someplace else... seems like a hassle (especially with a 1 year old). I do love everything about the short sale house, but it seems like an impossible situation. Thoughts and suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
Selling your home is tough in today's market. Buying a short sale is tough in any market. I would strongly suggest you sell your home first, and if you can't work out a "rent back" situation with the new owners as part of the contract, then rent someplace month to month, even if it means putting your stuff in storage. Then deal with the short sale purchase.
The stress of moving twice will be less than the stress of trying to time a sale with a short sale closing. And as Silverfall said, it is extremely unlikely that the bank would take an offer with a contingency on selling your home, which means if you can't sell by the time the bank is ready to close, you will be in default on your purchase, and lose your earnest money. And short sales take an undetermined amount of time to process, so if you get an offer on your house, and they want to close on March 30th, and the bank doesn't approve your offer by then, you have to move into a rental anyway, or default as the seller, in which case, the buyer can sue you to force you to follow the signed contract and close.
Too many headaches involved. Just sell, and either rent back, or move to a rental, while you deal with the purchase. If the timing ends up that it is going to be close by fortuitous coincidence, you can always just stay in a hotel for a week or two and keep your stuff on the truck.
Selling your home is tough in today's market. Buying a short sale is tough in any market. I would strongly suggest you sell your home first, and if you can't work out a "rent back" situation with the new owners as part of the contract, then rent someplace month to month, even if it means putting your stuff in storage. Then deal with the short sale purchase.
I like the "rent back" idea. I think no matter which house we end up buying, we'll probably have to do something like that (unless we can somehow close on the new house in 30-45 days).
Absolutely. A rent back would be ideal, but if you insist on it, you will lose buyers in what is already a tough market. I would just cross your fingers that you get an investor to make an offer, or someone who is flexible on move in.
Is it unrealistic to hope that we might be able to close on our new home in 30-45 days?
It's unrealistic if the home you are buying is a short sale, from the standpoint of your first offer -closing.
The reason why shorts tend to close for less than a traditional sale ( all else being equal which it never is) is because the process is protracted and there rarely is certainty of closing.
Is the cost and hassle of an interim rental and double move worth the potential difference between a traditional and short sale?
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