5 Questions you need to ask before selling
and buying a home

If you own a home and are looking to buy a new one, you’re probably wondering, “how the heck is this all going to come together?” You’ve got to find a home. You’ve got to sell a home. You may be looking to leverage the equity in your current home to buy the new one. And at the end of it all, you have to make all that happen without leaving yourself homeless in between. The good news is selling and buying a home can be done, and in fact, it happens all the time. The trick to it all is being prepared and asking the right questions. Here are a few questions to get you started:

How long is it going to take to sell my home?

This is an obvious questions but one that can be overlooked when you get that new home bug. You can start by checking out the days on market averages that we report monthly in your Houston neighborhood pages. However that’s probably not going to be specific enough. There are a lot of factors that can effect the time it will take to sell your particular home, specifically price, location, and condition. Have a Realtor develop a comparative market analysis and provide you with an estimated days on market for your home. Oh wait! I know a good Realtor! Click here if you’d like to interview and ask questions to me.

Is it possible to buy and sell simultaneously?

The answer is, “yes”. You most certainly can. However, there are a lots of ins and outs and a lot of what have yous. Bottom line, it simply takes a lot of coordination. Coordination among all parties will need to happen, including the buyers of your home, you, the sellers of your new home, the various title companies, everyone’s bank, and everyone’s Realtor. Despite all the parties involved, simultaneous closings happen all the time and it most certainly can be done, if needed.

What is a Seller’s Temporary lease?

Rather than trying to achieve the Herculean task of a simultaneous close, a better option might be for you to leaseback your home for a time after you close. This extra time in your old home will allow you access to the money from your closing for your new house, pack your stuff, and move. These kind of structures are pretty common and buyers are typically amendable to them.

Can I afford to buy a home before selling?

This is probably the most important question that you can ask and the answer is very specific to you and your financial position. Buying before selling probably isn’t feasible for buyers who don’t have enough money to make a down payment before closing on their old home or don’t earn enough to qualify for two simultaneous mortgages. The best place to help you answer this question is with your mortgage lender or financial adviser. Click here if you are interested in talking to one of our preferred mortgage lenders.

After I get my house under contract, how many days until I have to turn over the keys?

If your buyer is getting a mortgage, they are going to need at least 30 to 45 days before they can close with 45 days being most common. If you need more time than that, you can typically negotiate more time. 60 days is more than likely do able. Whether you can get more time than 60 days will depend primarily on the circumstances of the buyer and there current living situation. For example, if the buyers are relocating to Houston within the next 30 to 45 days, their window for closing might be much shorter than someone leasing on a month to month basis.

Like most things in real estate, the answers to many of the questions and the buy/sell strategy you decide to take will be very specific to your circumstances. With the main factors being your financial position, your overall expectations, and the marketability of your home. Whether you are thinking of moving next month or next year, I would be happy to assist with answering these questions. Click here to get matched with me. Or call 713-869-5700 to talk with someone immediately.

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