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July 29, 2008
Sell to buy?
Does anyone have experience with needing to sell in order to buy? Are sellers open to waiting or do you have to sell first and hope you will then find something? I would not have the $$$ to front without selling first but I'd like to find something I want before selling my place.
Comments
I was looking to sell a place and the buyers wanted a sell contingency in their contract. My attorney and broker strongly advised against it. In this market, if I were your seller, I would put a fixed time within which you have to sell and I would keep some percentage of your downpayment. This is not a market where you want to hold out on a single buyer to have dibs on your property. Who's to say you won't have issues selling? Why should I hold out? Just my two cents...
Posted by: cmontgom at July 29, 2008 2:06 PM
I would say that is a very typical scenario. That's how we did it 3 years ago. It can be a little stressful, trying to coordinate finding a buyer, finding a new home, scheduling the closings for both, making sure your buyer's are sound, planning for alternative financing if there are any delays. Our only problem was we had to live with family in between closings.
I think you need to aggressively search for a home and a buyer, and hire a good real estate attorney so you don't get screwed if either deal is delayed or cancelled.
Posted by: cornetor at July 29, 2008 2:07 PM
I know when we were selling we would not take a contingent offer. In those scenarios, the risk is all with the seller and none with the buyer as the buyer can back out at any time and the seller is left holding the bag.
Maybe in a slower market, more buyers are willing to accept this deal but I can't see why they would.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at July 29, 2008 2:16 PM
I tried to do something similar once, but the seller would not agree. My attorney had crafted an agreement that seemed amazingly fair for both the buyer (me) and the seller. I don't remember the exact details, but the agreement gave the seller the option to enter into contract with us, but if they found another suitable buyer (with no sell contingency), they would give us the right to drop the contingency and continue with the purchase, or they could break the contract and go with the other buyer. It basically allowed them to continue showing the apartment, but gave them a fall-back. It also gave us the time to try to sell our apartment.
Perhaps your attorney could suggest something like this, to make the transaction less risky for both parties.
Posted by: seahag21 at July 29, 2008 10:38 PM
Leela, another option would be taking out a HELOC (might be tough in this economy, but I don't know your situation) and using that money as your down payment. You could then pay back the HELOC when you close on your sale.
Posted by: seahag21 at July 29, 2008 10:40 PM
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