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Old 03-13-2011, 12:06 AM
Status: "Hate is too easy, Love takes courage." (set 4 days ago)
 
Location: Washington County, ME
1,964 posts, read 3,298,174 times
Reputation: 3077

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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.
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Old 03-13-2011, 12:23 AM
 
Location: Tempe, Arizona
4,511 posts, read 13,530,939 times
Reputation: 2201
Unfortunately, if you can't afford or qualify to buy the next home before selling the first, you will likely have to look for temporary housing after selling the first and then buying the next one.

If you get lucky, you may be able to put an offer in on the next contingent on the sale of your current home. That has become a lot more difficult in todays market. At the least, the seller will likely want you to have a contract on your home before they consider that type of contingent offer.
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Old 03-13-2011, 08:15 AM
 
Location: NJ
17,574 posts, read 45,986,338 times
Reputation: 16271
You can rent for a short time before you buy. I did that and it just made life so much easier.
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Old 03-13-2011, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Simmering in DFW
6,952 posts, read 22,606,647 times
Reputation: 7295
Once you have a contract on the place you are selling, then go on your serious buying trips.....if you have a contract in hand (especially if inspection has passed) you may be able to negotiate another contract contingent on the sale of your home. I do think in this buyers' market that buyers are more flexible about accepting this kind of contingency. But for everyone's sake you should have a really good contract with pre-approved buyers who are going to be putting at least 20% down on their mortgage loan before you try making a contingency offer on the new place.
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Old 03-13-2011, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,043 posts, read 76,558,928 times
Reputation: 45353
Quote:
Originally Posted by manderly6 View Post
You can rent for a short time before you buy. I did that and it just made life so much easier.
Yes. And it may help the OP learn more about the area and find a great place with less pressure to buy fast.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
Once you have a contract on the place you are selling, then go on your serious buying trips.....if you have a contract in hand (especially if inspection has passed) you may be able to negotiate another contract contingent on the sale of your home. I do think in this buyers' market that buyers are more flexible about accepting this kind of contingency. But for everyone's sake you should have a really good contract with pre-approved buyers who are going to be putting at least 20% down on their mortgage loan before you try making a contingency offer on the new place.
This can work. Contingent on closing a contract is much stronger than Contingent on finding a buyer.
It can also be nerve-wracking if the sale develops any hiccups...
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Old 03-13-2011, 09:08 AM
 
Location: MID ATLANTIC
8,643 posts, read 22,797,866 times
Reputation: 10461
In a perfect world, you leave one house to move into another. But when you don't make enough to qualify carrying the two payments, this process gets complicated. In years past, if there was a delay on one end or the other, a buyer could do a pre-occupancy rent or a seller could do a post closing rent back. But the problem with that in today's tough lending environment, the wrong move could put someone in a home that is hard to get out when financing runs out on either side of the transaction.

The most fool-proof sequence is to find a short term rental, sell and settle, and then go buy as a very strong buyer. You're offers, even if low, will be taken seriously, affording you strong negotiating terms. And quite likely you will come out ahead financially.
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Old 03-13-2011, 06:29 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
2,150 posts, read 5,140,187 times
Reputation: 3303
I sounds like a hassle, moving twice. But think of it this way. If you sell your existing home first, then you will know exactly how much you have for the new home. No worrying that you have to sell for a certain amount in order to pay for the new home.

Once you have your money, you can shop. Secure in the comfort that you will have the cash to buy the new place, without any hassle.
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Old 03-14-2011, 01:12 AM
Status: "Hate is too easy, Love takes courage." (set 4 days ago)
 
Location: Washington County, ME
1,964 posts, read 3,298,174 times
Reputation: 3077
Yeah, it sounds like a BIG hassle.

And i dont like hassles. I try to live my life as stress-free as possible (for medical reasons). Man this sounds like it's gonna suck.

I'll crunch my numbers and see what comes up and an amount i would qualify for for a mortgage... i'm not buying an expensive house anyway. And i'd have a large downpayment. At least MAYBR i could pre-qualify and make the buying part easier.

I know the areas i like, and i've traveled to them many times. I'm making a trip up in the near future, just to see what a few of the condo complexes look like. Then i'll know if i hate or love them.

Thanx for the advice.
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Old 03-14-2011, 09:33 AM
 
10,876 posts, read 13,761,681 times
Reputation: 4896
It is a huge pain, but could be done. Make sure you do a ton of looking once your house in on the market to find the places you are seriously interested in. Houses that are vacant or foreclosures could likely be able to do a quick close. Once you get the earnest money from the buyers, you can put that down right away on the other place with the condition you close on the same day as your current place to make it a seamless sell/buy at the same time. Otherwise you can ask the current buyers for a few weeks or a month "rent back" to stay in the place until the other closes, but in a worst case scenario, you can have you things put into a POD where they can store it while you live temporarily with friends/family or a hotel until the new place closes, then have it sent there.
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Old 03-16-2011, 10:00 PM
Status: "Hate is too easy, Love takes courage." (set 4 days ago)
 
Location: Washington County, ME
1,964 posts, read 3,298,174 times
Reputation: 3077
Some crazy stuff - I went onto an online site for qualifying for a mortgage, and after filling out all the info (inlcuding what i thought i'd get for my house - and i put a lowww number) - it said i'd qualify for a $254,000 house, with $74,000 down! Unreal.

It didnt say that i'd have to have a contract saying my house was sold first, but obv i'm sure i would. It's amazing how much house they want you to THINK you can afford. There is NO WAY i would buy a house that cost that much. I'm trying to stay below like $175,000!
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