First time home buyers have it easier than most sellers. Sellers need to decide if they should find a home and then put theirs on the market or if they should get an offer on their home first. The common wisdom is that they should put their home on the market first.
In the last week two of my listings sold. Each had been on the market for less than a week. Not all that common in today’s market, but there is a down side, in both cases the sellers have not found another home, and have not been aggressively looking either. We did not anticipate such quick sales.
We try our best to determine how long it will take to sell a property. I use some statistics based on how long it has taken similar homes to sell and based on absorption rates. Honestly though it is just my best guess. Some of it does boil down to timing. In both cases the buyers had been looking for a long time and were ready to make an offer and both had recently made offers on other properties.
Homes that are in good shape and priced well can sell quickly. It is spring and things always kind of pick up this time of year.
If your home is on the market and you have not found another home, at least start looking. It all comes down to timing and since you don’t know when your home will sell or how long the home you want to buy will be on the market it is hard to know what to do.
I suggest sellers keep an eye on what is on the market and go out and see some homes. There are ways to own two homes, by using a bridge loan. I can’t say it is something I would feel comfortable doing but people do it all the time. The loan makes it possible to make two mortgage payments. It works best for people with a lot of equity.
When writing an offer on a home even if your home has an offer on it, the offer should still be contingent on the sale of your existing home. That makes the seller of the home nervous but it protects you if the buyer from getting in over their heads if the sale of their home falls through.
People sell and buy all the time and it does work out. I guess my point with this post is if your home is on the market it is possible that you will get an offer today. Do you have some place to go? It is hard to negotiate an offer when we have to tell the buyer they need to wait a couple of months before we can close. The buyers may also have a deadline and may not have a place to live.
It helps in any real estate transaction if both parties have a little compassion. Yes it is a business transactions but it is also personal when it involves where people will live and when they get to move in or out.
this is a tough call. I’m not sure I like the idea of sellers going out to view homes as if they are ready to buy until their home is under contract. I tend to have seller/buyers fall in love with a home and are in no place to buy it until they sell. The last time this happened to me my seller/buyer never found another home they liked as much making them feel that they settled.
Jonathan – I totally agree they may fall in love with it and it may not be there when they are ready to buy. That is why this is such a hard situation.
Compassion is the key for both parties when you are putting your home on the market and buying another. You could not have said it better; timing IS everything in these kinds of situations.
I am constantly amazed at how well it usually all works out though. The key word being usually.
I am shopping in a market away from my current home (Duluth – Twin Cities) and am finding it hard to see a house in my price range before it is sold. This has happened with four homes over 3 weeks. I just have to have faith that it will all come together at the end.
Who would have thought in today’s market that both would be sold that quickly? Kind of a big feather in your cap Teresa! It will work out. YOu must have good karma.
Prepare for the bowling metaphor:
It just goes to show you that the housing market is not in the gutter… it has simply thrown us a curve ball.
If we all re-adjust our position in the lane, it is still possible to score strikes. Being a listing agent may not be an easy “300 game” like it was a few years ago, but the game is still played the same way as before… it just takes a little more practice to get used to the new court.
Sorry about the bowling metaphor but it just came so naturally 🙂
Congratulations, Teresa. Sounds like you have a great connection with your clients – and with your market.
I’ve found that when seller’s look at homes while theirs is on the market they get to double check their motivation. Thumbs up, they go forward with great commitment and resolve. Thumbs down, they may very well change their minds.
Most of the time it works out well. If the client has not been real open with their motivation, this will sometimes help clear things up so they can go forward or, in some cases, change their mind and take the home off the market.