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That may sound like a silly question, but my husband and I really would like to sell our home - and get into a bigger one, with a new baby on the way. But we're dragging our heels because we don't want to be paying 2 mortgages (and I know there are ways to handle that too - bridge loans, variety of HELOC-type loans, delaying close of other property, contingency, etc.)
What I'm worried about is having my existing home sit for 75 days and then have to start the drop game, or drop my pants at the beginning and get less than we'd like.
Ours is a fantastic starter home, or home for a family of 4.
Yup. But we chose to build our first house a few months ago, because builders were offering all kinds of deals. I'm sure your house is lovely, but ultimately we chose getting everything from scratch and having everything set up just so (unique things, like in-wall surround wiring, sound dampening walls in an extra bedroom for a music studio - stuff that's waaay easier and cheaper to get done during construction as opposed to after) for not much more than an existing similar house.
I would say that there are plenty of people looking for their first home. Just reading these boards, there are people coming down and renting an apartment, getting a feel of the land, prior to purchasing their first place. There are graduates ready to take on the real world (I guess that is more like May though).
I definitely would not recommend paying 2 mortgages in this economy, but I would say put the house on the market and hope for the best. What is the worst that can happen?
I'm not seeing the connection between selling your home and first time home buyers, unless you're thinking only first time buyers would want your "starter home".
Regardless, get your house ready to sell - get 75% of your crap into storage, repaint if needed, minor landscaping, etc. Then price it to sell. Price it 5% under the comps, and it will sell.
Once you get your offer, look at homes with your buyers agent (I'm assuming you've already narrowed down the area), and make an offer. Close on your new house a few days before you close on your current home, and you're set.
You really can do this. I just did this 5 months ago (selling in SC, buying in NC, with 3 kids under 4) and in a span of 30 days, listed the house, sold it, bought one, and moved. It was a lot of work, especially getting the house ready to sell, but it's worth it in the end.
The key is pricing your home to sell. Not priced at what you think it's worth, what you want to get for it, or what you need to get for it - buyers don't care, because they'll only pay what they think it's worth to them. Don't play the price drop game. It's a lose-win-win situation (for all you Office fans).
I'm not seeing the connection between selling your home and first time home buyers, unless you're thinking only first time buyers would want your "starter home".
Regardless, get your house ready to sell - get 75% of your crap into storage, repaint if needed, minor landscaping, etc. Then price it to sell. Price it 5% under the comps, and it will sell.
Once you get your offer, look at homes with your buyers agent (I'm assuming you've already narrowed down the area), and make an offer. Close on your new house a few days before you close on your current home, and you're set.
You really can do this. I just did this 5 months ago (selling in SC, buying in NC, with 3 kids under 4) and in a span of 30 days, listed the house, sold it, bought one, and moved. It was a lot of work, especially getting the house ready to sell, but it's worth it in the end.
The key is pricing your home to sell. Not priced at what you think it's worth, what you want to get for it, or what you need to get for it - buyers don't care, because they'll only pay what they think it's worth to them. Don't play the price drop game. It's a lose-win-win situation (for all you Office fans).
Good luck!
Good post, although it might be smart to begin the home search earlier than receiving the offer. At least to the point of thoroughly knowing the area and market you wish to buy in.
I'm not seeing the connection between selling your home and first time home buyers, unless you're thinking only first time buyers would want your "starter home".
Regardless, get your house ready to sell - get 75% of your crap into storage, repaint if needed, minor landscaping, etc. Then price it to sell. Price it 5% under the comps, and it will sell.
Once you get your offer, look at homes with your buyers agent (I'm assuming you've already narrowed down the area), and make an offer. Close on your new house a few days before you close on your current home, and you're set.
You really can do this. I just did this 5 months ago (selling in SC, buying in NC, with 3 kids under 4) and in a span of 30 days, listed the house, sold it, bought one, and moved. It was a lot of work, especially getting the house ready to sell, but it's worth it in the end.
The key is pricing your home to sell. Not priced at what you think it's worth, what you want to get for it, or what you need to get for it - buyers don't care, because they'll only pay what they think it's worth to them. Don't play the price drop game. It's a lose-win-win situation (for all you Office fans).
Good luck!
I may have failed to mention that my husband works out of state, which complicates matters, since I need him to do all the lifting of boxes (particularly the ones filled with the crap en route to storage) He's only home on weekends.
I may have failed to mention that my husband works out of state, which complicates matters, since I need him to do all the lifting of boxes (particularly the ones filled with the crap en route to storage) He's only home on weekends.
If it's important to you, you'll find a way.
Are there any high-school aged boys it the neighborhood? If they have access to a truck, even better. $20 and lunch should cover it.
A lot of colleges have job boards/departments. Contact those and you could find some young, strapping college guys to help move stuff. $20, lunch, and a case of beer should cover it.
Go to the CityData meetup on Feb 8th and meet people there. Perhaps you can entice a few of your new friends to lend a hand on a weekend. Lunch should cover it.
What I'm worried about is having my existing home sit for 75 days and then have to start the drop game, or drop my pants at the beginning and get less than we'd like.
Funny, we sold our starter home FSBO back in March after owning it for 2 years. It sat on the market for about 73 days. We priced the house enough to pay for the buyers Real Estate agent of 3% and enough to pay for our closing for a new home. We weren't in a rush to sell considering we didn't have a home picked out yet to buy. The biggest pain was cleaning before each and every potential buyers visit. 2 Dogs added to the clean up...
Although our home didn't sell for a little over 2 months, we were out and about looking at potential homes to buy all throughout that time. We gained invaluable insight into what we liked and disliked in homes. I would definitely suggest doing the same.
I would also suggest to stage your home properly, remove clutter and de-personalize it. Paint any drab walls and/or walls with colors that can be categorized as 'personal taste'.
I just bought my first house, 3 years old and the previous owner took a bath on the deal.
One of the main reason we bought the house was it was priced 20% under the competition and on the market for almost 1 year. When shopping we ranked everything by price/sqft.
Last edited by zinner; 02-03-2009 at 08:09 AM..
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He's only home on weekends.
