[braingonebad]

I've never sold before, and it was 20 yrs since I bought this place. How the heck does that work?


What do I do with all my junk if I do sell this place, while I'm trying to buy another house?




I think I'm more concerned because of the slow house market. Used to be, if your asking price was reasonable you didn't have to worry you'd be stuck with your house if you bought the new place. Now, that's a big consideration.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Plus it's a big move, across country. It's not like I can bounce back and forth where I'm needed (From OH to FL).


Financially, we could probably swing the purchase and payments of the new place even if we do have to wait for a few months (however long it takes ) for this one to sell. But who wants to take care of the place and pay the taxes?

Waht do ya think? Thanks!

[SandyC]

I've thought about this before when we were going to sell our house. If it were me I would put everything in storage when your ready to leave for Florida and stay at a good extended stay hotel until the sale goes through. Why? Because in an extended stay you have no utilities to worry over and they can give you a good monthly rate until your house sells and they do housekeeping! In the meantime that gives you plenty of time to look for your new digs and not possibly pay for two houses and upkeep.

Are you using a realtor to sell your house? You may want to consider using one if your not and they can keep an eye on your place while you leave for Florida.

PS: When I say extended stay I don't mean the actual brand Extended Stay. There are many hotels now offering extended stay options.

[braingonebad]

That's not a bad idea. I'll run that past dh. I think we will have to use a realtor - probably one associated with the one we'll work with to buy.

[SandyC]

The realtor may also be able to get you hooked up with a place to rent until you can sell your house. They know places that business people use when they are out of town. Ask them, I bet they know some places. I hope everything works out for you!

[hollym]

I was thinking about PODS. Here's a link:

http://www.pods.com/about-pods.aspx

They deliver the pods to you and you fill them up, then they move them and store them until you are ready to unload them at the new place.

Sandy had a great idea about the extended stay hotel, too.

[Twinkletoes]

Brain, we just helped our daughter and family get into a "new" house in Gilbert, AZ. The price had originally been $350,000, but they were able to get it for less than $200,000 because the bank foreclosed on it.

Apparently the guy who built it 25 years ago, jumped the gun on getting into a new place.

DD's new neighbor says her son would love to move into that neighborhood, but he can't take advantage of the lower prices b/c he can't sell his old house. Such a Catch-22 situation for many. But it sure worked out good for our daughter who was renting.

I'm just sayin "Be Careful!"

[SandyC]

When we sold out condo we opened up a new bank account in the new area too. We waited until all the bills went through before closing it out. Just thought I'd throw that out.

Also on show days, we stayed at a hotel so the house stayed clean. And we painted every room white and laid laminate flooring to make it look bigger. It sold on the first day! So keep that in mind too that the more you can do to get it move in ready, the faster it will sell and you'll get the best return. Otherwise, sell it for less with the stipulation that you lowered the price for updating if it needs it.

[braingonebad]

Well, the house is 125 yrs old, so it's always gonna need something.

But we fixed up the kitchen a bit, we're putting in a whole new bathroom, and hope to have time to paint the entire inside, maybe the outside too. It already has a newer roof and gutters, newer windows, garage doors and fence.

We're still going to price it low so it sells, we don't have illusions - as some people seem to - that their place is still worth what it was a few years ago. And at least it's paid off, so if we really have to move in on the other property, we can. We won't be making two payments.

[kicker]

When we sold ( years ago - a very different realty time) we rented s storage place and filled it but still filled a 15 yard dumpster with stuff after giving away what we could. Luckily with the MS messing up my memory, anything we thew out wasn't that important, I don't miss anything. Be ruthless. DH company paid for the haul, thank goodness. Even after the "cleaning" we had 17 years worth of stuff!!

[Bobbi]

What Sandy and Kicker mentioned re: storage is also what I've done (when I sold my condo).

Before listing is when I opted for storage.

When I thought I may have to relocate (past couple of years), I worked with an agent who also "networked" with agents in other areas - to assist with making the transition flow easier.

Good luck to you, and the best, in whatever you decide.