Moving on up? To the east side? Maybe? Dated references are my specialty. Well, regardless of which part of town you're moving to, you could be looking to sell and buy at the same time. In Realtor jargon, we call you "move-up buyers" when really you could be moving up, downsizing, or moving sideways...however you want to slice it, you've got a lot of things happening at the same time. Here are four tips for making the buy 'n sell scenario far less painful and stressful than it needs to be.
1) Get a Realtor on board early
Ok, I have to say, I am a little biased on this tip, obviously. Getting connected with a Realtor is typically the first step in anything I mention on this blog because I want to stress the importance of having a professional help you through the transaction and be a resource to you every step of the way. A good Realtor will help you establish a marketing strategy, pricing strategy and more than anything, they will handle all of the transactional details so you don't have to take 2 months off of work to digest all the intricacies of the transaction. Your real estate professional should give you ideas for any last minute improvements to help your home show its best and sell for top dollar. They'll also be able to get you in tune with the local market and set up home tours to maximize your searching time together.
2) Get Connected with a Lender or Mortgage Broker
A mortgage professional is a very important resource when starting your buy/sell transaction. First, they will qualify and approve you for a loan, so you'll know exactly how much home you can afford. This will help narrow your home search, and keep your expectations in line with your finances. Your lender will also be able to run all the scenarios and let you know exactly how much you will "net" from the sale of your old home or how much you might need to bring to the closing table. Just having a good estimate of all the costs involved will help put you at ease and help you move forward.
3) Expect The Unexpected
Expecting your old home to get sold in coordination with buying your new home could leave you missing out on a great opportunity. Typically, if you have a home to sell your contract to buy will have a contingency in it that you need to sell a home to execute the buyer contract. This clause is useful but can also tie up your transaction waiting for your home to sell, and who knows, maybe the person buying your old home will also have a home to sell as well. Do you see where you can really get bogged down? If you have the financial means to buy a home and take advantage of a great deal, then do it, don't wait for your old home to sell, or better yet, price it to get it sold quickly so you don't have to worry about it. Chances are, pricing your home to sell quickly will be your best shot at making the transaction run smoothly and you'll make up on the buying side, and you won't have to pay two mortgages at the same time for months and months...
With these tips you should be set for any move up, down or sideways. Make it easy on yourself and let your realtor sweat the details. I'd be happy to help. By the way, I'm never to busy for your referrals.
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