There are various ways to acquire real estate, and some tend to be more complex than others. If you’re interested in buying a condo in downtown San Diego and selling your existing home at the same time, your situation will fall into the “more complex” category.
You’ll need to plan strategically because you’ll have to sit at two closing tables, but not necessarily before moving into your new property. Depending on your financial situation and the conditions of the housing market, here are some strategies you may want to follow.
1. Buy a Home Before Selling
Few prospective buyers fall into this category, which is the most desirable. This is the ideal situation in a seller’s market such as the one for real estate in downtown San Diego, where you can expect to get into a bidding war with other buyers. The strategy is to avoid having to move into an interim property and waiting for the purchase to finalize. Your debt-to-income ratio may be too high if you’re still carrying a mortgage on your existing house, and the lender may not give you a break on cash reserves unless the loan-to-value ratio is under 80 percent, which means your down payment would have to be substantial.
2. Sell Before Buying
Your listing agent’s estimate will give you an idea of how much cash you’ll have on hand to make an offer, and you can also hope the market cools down to your advantage. However, you’ll have to make interim living arrangements. With the high cost of living in Southern California, one option is to move in with relatives, eliminating or reducing rent payments. Otherwise, you may need to downgrade your living arrangements and pay for storage. Moving twice is a downside of this strategy, and it can result in unexpected costs if market conditions heat up.
3. List Your Property & Negotiate a Contingency
A seller’s market can cool down suddenly, giving you the opportunity to make an offer right after listing your home and push for a contingency to wait on the sale to complete by a certain date. Some sellers like the idea of a settlement contingency because it gives them a chance to increase the price before signing the contract, but it’s always up to you to accept it.
4. Rent from the New Owners
If a real estate investor is interested in your home, you can propose staying in the property and making rent payments to the buyer while you wait for the second closing. With this strategy, you can even propose selling your property at a lower price that reflects a few rent payments, which could entice prospective buyers who don’t mind becoming landlords.
5. Sell Before Relocating to a New City
If you aren’t familiar with San Diego and are relocating for career or family purposes, you shouldn’t attempt to buy and sell at the same time because it would make things even more complicated and increase the risk of making mistakes. When relocating, the best move is to sell first.
It’s never easy to sell or buy a home, much less do both at the same time. The experienced professionals at 92101 Urban Living can make the process much easier and less costly for you. Call one of our friendly representatives at 619-649-0368 and schedule an appointment today.