@cantur Not always, but it depends. If possible I make sure my client has a back up plan (stay with family, hotel etc.) lined up in the rare case we have to close separately from an issue with another property, but I've yet to have anyone actually have to go with plan B. There can be a lot of parties involved but on average it's only 1 or 2. The most I've had is 4 or 5 properties I think with 5-6 parties involved and it wasn't too complicated. There's a higher likelihood of a few days delay here or there to ensure they all line up at the same time but as long as all parties understand it's a complicated string and they're willing to be patient (and nobody is a dick) it's no problem.
@rachelcgv My dad did it. He had one closing at 9am, the second one at noon. Used the money from the first house to buy the second. I was young at the time so I didn't realize how insane it was. I look back in awe now.
@banky I commend you on your post. Unfortunately I am in a hot market where sellers will not even look at a contingent offer, period. If your offer is contingent on you selling your house to close on the new one, your offer is automatically rejected. This, amazingly, has not dampened the market at all- most houses are under contract within a week at most.
@resjudicata I think, in general, purchasing without an inspection is crazy. In our case, we knew that most sellers in our area won't consider an offer that requires an inspection. Additionally, our real estate agent had a background in home construction, so was able to do a visual inspection when we toured, and we knew that the house had been renovated six years earlier, so most work was recent. It was an educated risk.
@banky Very insightful! Even having been through the process, this is helpful on many levels. Many people think that “realtors rip you off”, and some may, but this shows how much work/how many days of work really goes into making a big move like this. Also, your water off a ducks back approach to obstacles(seller leaving trash/junk, etc), illustrates that your attitude going into a sell/buy can and will affect the process...you can have a positive experience or a negative one, and often, your attitude is the only difference in which direction your encounter may go! Congrats on the new home OP!
@marknc Ironically FSBOs are probably the worst people in the industry.
Yeah agents carry the salesman stigma but there’s a lot of value listing agents bring to the table. There’s a lot of legal and financial headaches on the backend.
if you don't have the latest and greatest stuff as far as furniture, move it all to storage and go to something like Rent-a-Center. People like to see the nicest things (that you can also enjoy when they leave). Bonus: if people come into your place and see your nice stuff, it'll make the place look more "expensive" so they'll think the price is more fair than if you walk into a place and see old furniture.
There's nothing wrong with temporarily moving your stuff to storage. A lot of places offer $1 for the first month and it'll often cost you more to actually move the stuff (especially if you don't have a huge truck) than to store it. That said, get something away from any big cities and if you know the area where you'll be buying, get something between your current and new location.
ask for wiggle room either on the buyers or sellers side to either move in early or stay in your house a bit late to make sure you have enough time to move everything. Be prepared to pay reasonable "rent" which could be $100/day or so.
when the transaction is done, have the movers get the rest of your stuff then go with them to the storage unit, have them load up, and them drop everything off at your new place. You'll pay a bit more but it'll be a much easier move. They don't have to get everything but they should get everything big. You're paying by the hour and don't forget that you'll have that storage unit for the rest of the month to pick up the small things.
Biggest tip: get the same agent to do both the buying and the selling and include this contingency. You'll get a ton of benefits, such as:
not worrying about having two mortgages
having the agent fight for both the sale AND the purchase and work with both parties on the timeline
since they agent is getting a lot more money, you can negotiate for a fee discount. For instance, if the fee is 3%/agent/side they're now getting a 6% fee on the transactions (3% to sell your place, 3% to buy your new place). Negotiate this to 4% or 5% - you'll save thousands.
huge bonus: if you can swing it, try to find a house first without an agent. If you put in an offer that's accepted, ask for the sellers agent to be your agent to sell your place. Now they're getting a 9% commission which you can further negotiate and the money will resolve any conflict of interest since they're now going to be interested in selling your place and making sure this transaction works out. This is rare to get and the agent has to be solid but worth looking into if you already have experience in real estate
EDIT: regarding last point: just to clarify... you negotiate to buy the other house first and then, once the offer is accepted, you ask the sellers agent to sell your own house. That's the motivation they need.
@cheerchick Really great advice - thanks for sharing it!
Not sure I agree with you on your last point, though I know people frequently do it. I just don't like the idea that someone in the process who is working for me is also looking out for someone else. I don't want them managing that conflict of interest - it just increases my risk in the transaction.
@banky Yes it's a conflict of interest but it's resolved with the financial incentive. I've done this myself - which is the only reason why I wrote it. I wanted the house but I had trouble selling mine so the agent worked hard for me to sell my place ASAP for the price I wanted.
@cheerchick That's an interesting perspective. I'd argue the opposite - the financial incentive (paid as a percentage of sale price) is itself a major conflict of interest for an agent, not a risk mitigating factor.
@banky They get paid more to help you. That's incentive for them to help you. If they don't help you, their income goes down significantly and they lose thousands.
@cheerchick That makes more sense. I was reading your comment - and I think others did, too - as you wanting to purchase House A, and asking the seller's agent to represent you in the purchase and the sellers in the sale. Instead you're saying their seller's agent on House A becomes your seller's agent on House B. That's a completely fine way to find an agent.
