I have two clients in this dilemma: one is down-sizing from a midtown Tulsa 3-story condo to a one-level home, and the other couple needs to leave their midtown Tulsa starter home for something larger to accommodate their growing family. Both are nervous about how it is possible to buy/sell at the same time, so I thought I would address the steps.
First, you have to put your midtown Tulsa home for sale on the market. Unless you can afford two mortgage payments at the same time, you have to shop while you sell. Your Listing Realtor should be able to estimate the amount of time your home will be on the market, but because we don't have crystal balls - the best laid plans will sometimes surprise us. The custom searches Realtors are able to set up now allow you to view prospective midtown Tulsa homes for sale comfortably from your home so that you can rule out what you don't like and identify homes that meet your needs.
Ideally, you and your Realtor will be out shopping for midtown Tulsa homes for sale on Saturday and Sunday while cooperating Realtors are showing the home you wish to sell. Yes, it's entirely possible that you will find a home that you fall in love with before your home sells, but that usually works out. Every Buyer I've worked with in that situation wound up finding a home later that they loved more, so I remind my Buyers that if it wasn't meant to be, there's probably a good reason.
Once you receive an offer on your midtown Tulsa home for sale, you hopefully have your choices of homes you would consider purchasing narrowed down to a few. Now, shop fast! As you negotiate the details of the home you are selling, you will be preparing an offer on the home you'd like to buy.
In a perfect world, you will wind up at the closing table selling your home at 10:00 am and be back at the closing table at 1:00 to purchase your new home. You may have your household belongings in a moving truck while all the paperwork is being signed, but it CAN be a smooth transition.
Remember that Buyers and Sellers don't have to be adversaries - and a GOOD Realtor will do all he/she can to keep a transaction together. I am remembering a transaction where the Seller needed two additional days to close on the home they were purchasing - my Buyers were moving from a rental, so in trade for extending the closing date two days, we asked the Sellers to pitch in additional monies on repairs. There is always a solution and a possible" win-win" for all.
So, yes, you can shop and sell at the same time. Jump in and start the process!
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Lori is a residential Realtor with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors serving the greater Tulsa area and specializing in downtown Tulsa and midtown Tulsa real estate.
Lori, you have explained this in a methodical way that should have a calming effect on buyers and sellers in these situations. Very nice, thanks for sharing!
Nice perspective. I have also found that once the seller finds the next place, they become much more motivated to sell the old.
Thank you, Silvia. Now, if I can get my CLIENTS to read this!
You're right Michael, Sellers will be more motivated when they find their dream home!
Lori
Everyone has a little bit different of a situation and its sometimes hard to get over the hurdles.
You explained it really well.
Sometimes my sellers prefer to close on their new home a couple of weeks before they have to leave their home. This allows them a couple of weeks to move everything to the new place, and clean the home they're leaving behind for the new owners. The bank gives them a bridge loan for those couple of weeks, which costs very little (interest), for the convenience of not having to rush with two closings at the same time. Less stressful.
Lori,
This could not be any clearer for folks. Great first post - and welcome to AR!
Thank you Sylvie and Irene. I'm not sure I would feel comfortable with a bridge loan unless the home being sold was under contract and the Buyer's financing was solid. I think approximately 20% of transactions in our market fail, and I would hate to be responsible for a client making two mortgage payments. But, I'll definitely keep that option in mind!
Lori, here you can only get the bridge loan, if the house is already sold - it's just that the closing dates are not the same, to allow more flexibility and ease of moving.