Which Comes first: selling or buying?

Should the Seller Buy a New Home or Sell the Old Home First?

You do not want to end up finding your dream home and end up carrying two mortgages because you haven't sold the first house. You also do not want to have conflicting closing dates either; you could end up living out of your suit cases for a short period of time.

The best way to avoid these hazards is to do a little homework. Determine your family’s needs and desires in a home. Evaluate your budget to asses your spending capability.

Ginger Grand will advise you to start to search for a new home as soon as you put your current home on the market.

If your current house has not sold yet and you put an offer on your next house, you can make the sale of your existing home a contingency of your offer on the new home. This contingency will allow you to withdraw your offer if the current home is not sold with in a determined amount of time. You should be aware that this contingency may make your offer less attractive if the seller needs to close on the home quickly. Also, there is the possibility you will lose the new house to someone else who doesn’t have to sell their house first.

If you are counting on the money from the sale of your existing home to purchase a home, you may have trouble meeting the financial obligations for closing on the new home if you have not closed on the old one.

If you have an offer on your current home before you find another than you can add a contingency to the agreement, stating that terms of the sale are agreed upon, but is contingent on the purchase of a new home with in a predetermined amount of time. Bridge loans will help carry you through selling and buying if they do overlap a month or two.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have closed on the existing home but have not found another yet do not panic. With the proceeds of the sale you will have greater negotiating power.

Remember Ginger Grand will be available to guide and advise you through out the entire process.