NBR- Moving. WWJ13 do?

tiffletons518

We had to leave our old house pretty suddenly as it was being sold. My H asked his friend if he knew of any houses for rent in his area. The friend told him he was going to rent out his house as he was moving into his in laws place. We never paid a security deposit, never signed any kind of contract (dangerous I know), and they let us pick when we wanted to have rent be due. They knew we would actually take care of the place, and honestly we have done a lot. We knew we'd be here for a few years before we were ready to buy. So, we painted every room, fixed up the upstairs (it's a bungalow), added ceiling fans in every room. Fixed the place up a little. They have been wonderful if something has broken about being on top of taking care of it. So, here's the debacle. We are probably going to start house hunting within the next month or two. They know that we plan on doing it soon. Do we tell them when we get approved and start looking? The housing market in Michigan is.. well something else to say the least. Obviously foreclosures have pretty much taken over, which is great for getting a house for a good deal. But, not because often once you do an inspection you find that the person totally let the house go to hell once they knew they were losing it. We don't want them to list the house right away once we start looking because it could take us a while to find something. But, we don't want to necessarily wait until we find something because it might take time for the house to sell. And, obviously we don't want to screw them. I don't know much about buying or selling. Is it something that we could tell them and if it sells they could stipulate a later closing date if we haven't found something? I know they don't want to screw us either, but obviously we both have our own sets of needs here. So yah. All of that ^

Junemom2013

I would just talk to them....if they knew you were planning on looking for a home it shouldn't come as a shock. I would tell them when your approved and starting to look. Like you said it may take some time to find anything.

Is you friend going to sell his house or just rent it again? Since you put so much work into it have you considered buying that house?

LiLi23

Ill tell you my experience since we just bought a house last year.

We got preapproved in April and started looking right away. Found something in early June (after going back and forth bc who knew that just bc they accept your offer doesn't mean it's yours, at least not in NJ). It was a bank approved short sale, so while we didn't have to wait for the bank to approve our offer, the seller's atty was less than stellar and dragged his feet with everything. Inspections took the better part of a month and a half (mixed in with having a baby, lol) so we didn't close until mid August.
So I guess I'd tell him once you got preapproved that you're looking, but maybe see if he won't list the house as available until you get a closing date? Ours was pushed back so many times though, so that's not even a guarantee. Do you have some place you could stay if the dates overlapped?

tiffletons518

Well, this place is already smaller than the one we were previously living in. And, when we moved in we only had the 2 kids. In reality, we are bursting at the seams here. This place is so small and we hate the layout. It's awful. I mean I'm thankful that we had somewhere to live on such short notice, but I'm over this place. Lol. That's basically the reason that we did what we did here. We knew if we were going to be here a few years, we needed to make it tolerable for us. @LiLi23 I know that it can take forever. I had a friend that bought a short sale and it took 6 months for them. They don't plan on renting the place back out. They are a little afraid of someone coming in and messing the place up and them being stuck. I'm sure once we tell them, they will have someone walk through and tell them what it's worth and go from there. I know his wife is just as worried about being stuck between a rock and a hard place as we are. And, we really don't have anywhere to stay if there's a layover. We have 10 years and 3 kids worth of stuff. We'd be hurting. Lol.

cafecreme

If it were me, I'd tell them once you get approved for a loan to put the house up. Slowly move your unnecessary items into a storage unit, so once you do find your house and get a contract, it's easier and quicker to move out. Plus, it's better for your friend because people hate clutter when they look for a house. 

If they end up selling before you move into your new house, just move into a temporary apartment. Some will let you rent month-to-month

I went through something similar when we sold our townhouse in February. Hope this helps

tiffletons518

I like the idea of packing some stuff up now. We seriously have so much and the house absolutely looks cluttered. I hate the idea of having to try and shove us and 3 kids into an apartment for any period of time. We step all over each other now. Physical violence may erupt there. Lol.

cafecreme

tiffletons518 said:

I like the idea of packing some stuff up now. We seriously have so much and the house absolutely looks cluttered. I hate the idea of having to try and shove us and 3 kids into an apartment for any period of time. We step all over each other now. Physical violence may erupt there. Lol.

Definitely start packing then! A storage unit is totally worth it. Or maybe your friend can store the stuff for you? If he has a un-used storage shed or closet, use it! 

ASmallWonder

Ugh this is hard because it's friends.  When we bought our house we were in an apartment with no lease.  Our road to closing was bumpy, to say the least and I wasn't sure the house was going to be ours until we actually had the keys in hand.  I was so afraid of our landlord arranging to rent it and our place falling through that we didn't tell her until closing day and we moved out two days later.  Of course, we ended up paying another month's rent because of how we chose to do it  And how we did it isn't something you want to do to a friend :-/

tiffletons518

elmoali said:

Ugh this is hard because it's friends.  When we bought our house we were in an apartment with no lease.  Our road to closing was bumpy, to say the least and I wasn't sure the house was going to be ours until we actually had the keys in hand.  I was so afraid of our landlord arranging to rent it and our place falling through that we didn't tell her until closing day and we moved out two days later.  Of course, we ended up paying another month's rent because of how we chose to do it  And how we did it isn't something you want to do to a friend :-/

Exactly! It's such a tough situation from both sides really. Because we could find a place quickly or it could take forever to find or close on a place. And, they could either sell the house right away or it could sit for a while. It's like, we don't want to get kicked out with no place to go, and they don't want to do that to us. But, they can't carry 2 mortgages either. In a perfect world, we will find something right away, be able to move quickly, and they will sell the house at the same time. But, I have a feeling with how wonky the housing market is around here that at least one of us is going to end up with the short end of the stick.

LiLi23

I'm sorry I went all mia on you! Busy busy day! Anyway, I also second the idea of putting things slowly into a storage unit. That way if you do need to move in a hurry you have less stuff on hand, you know? It totally stinks though that there really isn't anywhere for you to stay should everything not work in your favor. I really hope everything goes smoothly for you! Our experience was awesome, except for the sellers atty. I honestly don't know how he's a lawyer with his lack of communication skills Best of luck in your search! It's exhilarating and nauseating at the same time lol