Thinking of selling your home? Housing inventory is extremely low and this is a problem in many markets throughout the country. In a typically healthy market any neighborhood would have about six months worth of inventory. What we are seeing in many neighborhoods is actually inventory that is as low as one or two months.
What this means is that buys are not able to find homes to buy. This also means that when seller’s are listing their homes they are getting multiple offers and homes are selling over list price. That is in cases where the homes were listed in line with the high end of market values of the most comparable homes. If you start your list price higher it will stay on the market longer, how long depends on how high you start.
One concern of people looking to sell is that they may not be able to find another home to move to if they sell. One way to deal with this is to make the sales contingent upon you finding another home. This will need to have a timeline after you accept a buyer’s offer. It can’t be open ended, but a reasonable time that both parties can agree to should be added to the contract.
If you don’t find a home there will be a release of the contract. One thing to keep in mind with this is that the buyer will not proceed with their inspection or financing until you have found another home. They will not want to spend money moving forward if you are just going to back out.
One more thing to consider is what happens if you find a home. The buyer will move forward to purchase your home and you will move forward to purchase your new home. But, what happens if your purchase doesn’t move forward for example if your potential home doesn’t pass inspection or your mortgage doesn’t get approval. You will still have a contract to move forward to sell your house. If you back out the buyer could sue you to perform on the contract. You need to consider all possible scenarios before you decide to sell like this.
Another option could be to pay the buyer to stay in your house after closing. This would become part of the contract and there would be an agreed upon amount that you would pay to the buyers. It would be held in escrow to pay the buyers. This could buy you time to find the new home you want. But this wouldn’t be like a typical rental, you wouldn’t likely be able to extend your time if you don’t find a home.
One last option would be to rent an apartment. There are short term leases that could range from a month to month basis to 12 months. There are some places that will only go as low as 6 months leases. Either way there are options that could help you sell and find the right new home for you. Another benefit of this is that you will no longer have a mortgage payment and it will help you qualify for your mortgage a little easier.
If you are considering a move and aren’t sure what the market holds for you feel free to contact us. We can give you a current value for your home and more information about the market that will help you make the right decision. The market information is the most important part of selling your home. It is more important than the agent that you choose.
What to talk about selling your home? Make a home appointment.