Selling While Buying in Today's Market: The Sell-Buy
It has not escaped anyone's attention that lack of inventory is creating a waterfall of challenges within the current housing market. It is the perfect time to maximize your profits if you have a home to sell, but where will you go? There are a few methods during the listing and offer process that sellers can utilize to safeguard themselves from being de-homed before their new property is ready.
Contingent Upon...
When you list your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), disclose that your home's sale is contingent upon your finding suitable housing, closing on a certain property you have under offer, or any matter of specific language you need to ensure your next residence is acceptable and available for when you need to move.
Define Your Closing Window
You may identify a preferred closing week that is farther out than the usual 6-8 weeks for a mortgage transaction. Perhaps you have personal or family events you do not wish to be disrupted, or the seller of your new home needs extra time to also close on their next move. Sellers can ask for anything from a couple of extra weeks to three months of time or more to complete the transaction, if need be.
The Seller Rent-Back
I've mentioned this scenario a couple of times in past issues. Although less common than the two above, sellers can ask to "rent back" their property from the new buyers after closing for a pre-determined amount and timeframe. This is more commonly negotiated by the sellers' and buyers' attorneys to be included in the Purchase and Sale Agreement, but it may also be stipulated within the listing's disclosures that the sellers require a "rent back", thus indicating buyers to include their amenability to this stipulation when writing their offers.
In today's market, the seller is in the position to define the parameters of their sale. Take the time before you list to consider what you need to make your sell-buy go as smoothly as possible, and make sure to stipulate your requirements in your listing's disclosure.