If you have moved to another state...

steenbean18

If you have moved to another state and are a homeowner, how did it all go down?  We're struggling with the whole process.  What order did you sell/buy/get a job in?  

We were planning on listing our home first, then starting the house/job hunt when under contract (we have no comps in the area, and therefore no idea how long it'll take to sell and for how much).  DH suggested tonight that we look for jobs first instead, then find a month-to-month rental in the other state while we list and sell our home.  Once under contract or once we close, we would look for a new home in our new state.  I don't anticipate having a hard time finding work where we are going just due to my field, but the thought of having to pay rent + mortgage for an unknown period of time makes me kind of nervous.  The good thing about moving before selling is that we wouldn't have to keep our house "show ready" with 2 babies + a million pets and we could spend more time looking at houses before we buy.  The good thing about selling first is that it buys us more time to save money and wouldn't put us at risk of paying for 2 homes. Also, some employers cover relocation and that would be helpful since we are looking at a 1500 mile move.

What worked for you?  Would love input!

MeatballEsq

@cheeseandrice is going through this right now! She could give you some advice. Good luck!

AKB090609

We are a job first family. I will not move unless the job is in place. I think that your DH has the right idea about doing a short term rental if you move before your house sells.

willy_gert

cheeseandrice said:

Toni's right. I am  H and I knew we wanted to move back to Wisconsin 'at some point'  but I found the perfect job in the right area so we couldn't pass it up.  I start in a few weeks, and our house went on the market yesterday. I'm planning on moving back with Lo and staying with family (my mom and dad both live there) until H comes with the dogs.  H has a few jobs he's waiting to hear on. He'll stay in MN until either the house sells or he lands a new job.  

We ran the numbers, and if the house sells we can make do on my salary alone (barely) until H gets a new job.  Likewise, if H lands a new job, we can afford the mortgage on the current house and rent on a new place. 

Personally, I could never move without having at least a job lined up.  How is the job market where you're going? 

House-wise. Figure out your absolutely bottom line (what would it have to sell for that would break even for you, after commission, closing costs, etc.)  For us that was about 10% more than what we currently owe.  (We owe $135k, and our break even is a sale of $149k) Obviously we want more than that, but it was helpful to know what the absolute lowest we can take is- I refuse to bring money to the table when we sell.

Have you met with Realtors yet for an estimate on sale price? 

@cheeseandrice Can I ask how you came up with this?  Was it just to get out even and not have to bring anything to the table or to recoup your payments as well?  DH and I have been discussing this and I want a number like that before we list.

willy_gert

We are also looking at moving, potentially states, potentially not.  (border town)  We have committed to looking for jobs first and getting our house ready to list.  We got comps from a friend that is a realtor so we know what our house could go for and the approximate time that it *could spend on the market.  

We have discussed potentially similar situations to what cheese talked about where she is moving with LO before her DH comes.  We aren't really interested in doing that, but we can if needed.  We are also planning to rent for at least a year after moving and we are going to downsize significantly to only have what we need and not necessarily what we want.  That is more a situational decision though.  So we are hopeful that our new jobs would be able to cover our mortgage if necessary and our rent.

Good luck lady!  

hmp1

We moved from TX to TN 2 years ago when James was 9 months old.

A company was trying to hire DH and about 6 months of talk, they finally agreed on an offer. DH flew back and forth every other week (on the company's dime) for about 3 months. I was able to stay with my company and work from home. We could have moved sooner but we wanted to take our time savoring every minute with our friends and family.

We knew we wanted to rent a home for a year in TN because neither of us knew the area at all. We wanted to take our time getting to know the different cities before we decided where to build or buy. Rental homes like what we were looking for are not very common so when they come up, they fly off the market. I saw our house online the morning it was listed. DH was in TN so he went at lunch to look at the house and we Skyped while he walked through it. We had a rental contract that evening. I never actually saw our house until I moved to TN.

We listed our TX home for sale or for rent a few days before finding our TN rental home. I wasn't expecting to be able to sell our house in that market so we were looking at renting it for our mortgage payment and having to pay out of pocket for the property management fee (about $100 a month). Luckily, we got an offer to buy our house right away so we were able to sell the house. 

We hired movers to move us about 2 weeks prior to our scheduled closing. The closing was delayed 2 weeks so we had one month of paying both rent and mortgage. The moving itself was expensive but DH's company paid for it (I think it was like $8k). It took 5 days from the time they picked up our stuff in TX until it was delivered in TN.

The house we rented was listed for sale or for rent. It turned out that we loved the neighborhood and our neighbors. The floorplan works really really well for us and the land is perfect. So we ended up buying the house. Because we were already living in the home, we just used an attorney to write the contract so we got a good discount on the home since no realtor fees were involved.

GL! I think we lucked into a few things so my moving experience was a breeze.

hmp1

Also, when we agreed that DH should accept the job offer we did so thinking I might not be able to find a job. We agreed to move prior to me talking to my company. I went to my boss to tell her we were going to move out of state in about 3 months. I knew my company had wfh positions so I asked with assistance getting into one of those jobs. I got a call later that day from my now boss to talk about working for her. It really could not have worked out any better.

mrsbhk22

When DH and I moved to FL, we already had job offers. They offered a relocation package so we took it and immediately listed the house. It sold in less than 2 months (which was unheard of back in 2008). They would have bought it from us after 6 months if the sale didn't go through.

We rented for the 1st year. We were unfamiliar with the area and wanted to get a better feel before we bought.

I'd HIGHLY recommend starting your job search now and also immediately listing your house. You can always rent month to month in an apartment if it sells crazy fast.

Cheenomae

Cheese, that sounds very promising!!!