What If You Sell Your Current Home Before You’ve Found a New One?

Raleigh Real Estate Podcast with Chris Gorman

What happens if you sell your home and you haven’t found another home to buy? With the market moving as fast as it is today, this is one of the questions I get asked quite often. I understand wanting the security of knowing where you’re moving to next before selling your current home. The problem is, most people can’t qualify for a new mortgage on their next home without selling the one they have. Assuming that’s the case, let’s say you do sell your home and there’s nothing out there that you want to buy. There are a few different options in how you can proceed. The first is through contract negotiations. If you have a house that’s in demand and sells quickly, you can negotiate an extended closing timeline to allow yourself more time to shop for a new home. Most of the time, you’ll be able to find a new one during this period. This is usually the best thing to do because it allows both closings to be lined up on the same day. “We’ve never had a client go homeless.” If you can’t find a home during that extra closing period, another option is temporarily renting an apartment. There are a lot of firms that offer short-term rentals with furnished apartments, so it’s similar to living in a hotel. You would pay a little bit more money, but this option allows you to not have to sign a six-month lease with an apartment complex. Lastly, you can do a rent-back agreement. This is an agreement between you and the buyer that allows you to rent the home and stay in it a little while after closing. I know it’s uncomfortable because you don’t know where you’re going next, but if you want to sell your home, you have to take a leap of faith and put it on the market. In all our years of doing business, we’ve never had someone go homeless. If you have any questions about this topic or are thinking of buying or selling in our market, feel free to give me a call or send us an email. We’d love to help you.