Homebuying Tip: Buy or Sell - Which Comes First?

Homebuying Tip: Buy or Sell - Which Comes First?

In our continuing effort to help you be as informed and knowledgable as possible about the home buying process, we offer this important advice.

Buy or Sell… Which Comes First?

If you're looking to move up or down in the real estate market, this is a major concern.  Do you try to sell your current home before you purchase, or should you buy a new home and then sell your current one?  After all, you don't want to be without a place to live, should your present home sell before you find a replacement house.

Research short-term rental and storage options (family, friends, storage facilities, containers).  Talk to school officials in your new neighborhood.  They may allow your children to start the next semester in what will be their new school, if you have an offer pending in the neighborhood.

Finding a new home while you still own your present home could also present some financing issues.  One of those issues could be helped with the use of what is know as "Bridge Financing."

Bridge financing is a loan for the down payment on a new home backed by the equity in your old house, typically at prime plus two percentage points.  While helpful in certain circumstances, bridge financing can be expensive.  If you have good credit but your income isn't high enough for you to qualify to carry a bridge loan plus both mortgage payments, consider a no-ratio mortgage, which doesn't take into account your debt-to-income ratio.  Rates are higher but you can refinance later.

Another alternative would be to draw on a home equity line of credit on your old home.  Rates are often more than a point lower than on bridge loans.  But be careful, you might have to pay a penalty fee if you sell the house less than a year after taking out the line of credit.

If there is any area of the home buying process that you have a question about and would like for us to post a tip about it here, leave us a comment or question below and we'll cover that for you in a future post.