In the good old days (2000-2007), ‘What if my house doesn’t sell’ was not overly concerning. For the most part, if the house was in decent shape and even close to a decent price, it would sell shortly with multiple offers and with terms that were very seller friendly. Typically, the most stressful part of the transaction for the seller was the speed at which the transaction was transpiring.
This is no longer the case.
It is not a secret that it takes longer to sell a home and the buying of today largely act with little urgency and great caution. Negotiations that used to take hours now takes days and the every point along the way is much more contentious and tenuous than in the pre-crash world. This lack of certainty and fluidity in the marketplace meaning that the ability to move up (or down) is much more challenging.
As Realtors, we are asked constantly how to sequence the transaction. Do we put the house on the market now? Do we try to buy a house first? Do we use a Right of First Refusal?
The short and long answer is ‘perhaps.’
The best way to go about any housing change in the market is to ask one simple question – ‘Which side of the transaction is dominant?’ If you MUST sell in order to purchase, then put your home on the market. If you PREFER to sell first, but are seeking to upgrade significantly, then the purchase decision is the dominant one and act accordingly. Conversely, if you are downsizing, then the selling first still may be the correct decision.
It all depends.
With pricing and interest rates as low as they are, money is cheap and losing the perfect home (especially with the rapidly diminishing inventory) because you are afraid of making a few more mortgage payments on the one you already own may not be the wisest decision. Stated differently, the best result usually occurs when both sides of the decision (buying AND selling) are viewed as one.
