Selling and buying houses

Linnea503 · July 2014

Tell me how it works when you are simultaneously selling a house and looking to buy another. When we bought our current place we were renting so we just gave our 30 day notice and moved. We had the down payment in savings.

If you sell and buy at the same time, is it better to sell your house first before putting offers on other houses, or vice versa? How do you get the timing right? What about the money? If we wanted to buy a bigger house we'd need the equity we have in our current house to put down on a new one. How does this all work?!

MomIn2013 · July 2014

I think a lot depends on where you are. If you hire an agent to sell your home they should be able to advise you - around here it's very common to put an offer on a new house conditional upon selling your old one. I'd also talk to your bank about the possibility of a bridge loan. As far as how to decide what to look for in terms of price, your realtor should be able to give you an idea of what your house should reasonably sell for so you know how much equity you'll have to work with.

spring_time · July 2014

Every single person I know bought a house recently had lost all their equity in their old house, so weren't counting on it for their new house. Everyone purchased their new house while still owning their old house. As a result, I have friends who had up to 3 mortgages and were renting two of their houses. This is when the market was really bad, though. How is the housing market near you? Will you be able to sell your house quickly, I think that is a big consideration. Are there multiple bids on houses, that would also affect how you proceed. My sister was outbid on 8 houses before she found one. Could you borrow money from a family member during the transition? Only you know your family. My sister and I have borrowed money from my parents, but we each signed a contract with a payment schedule and interest.

jesselayne8 · July 2014

We are buying and selling the same day. Closing on the sale of our current house at 9am and then buying the new house at 10am. We waited until our house was under contract to put an offer on a new house.

Linnea503 · July 2014

Thanks ladies. Lots to think about. We're not ready quite yet. We would likely buy here again (Portland OR) but we're also playing with the idea of moving back east near family. Obviously we have some bigger decisions to make before we think about selling.

The housing market in Portland is really competitive right now which is good from a selling perspective but tough for buying. We know lots of people getting out bid on dozens of houses. Even finding a good rental in inner Portland is apparently very challenging right now. The whole thing just feels stressful!

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