Why I recommend buying your next home before selling your current home
I know for many people outside of the Silicon Valley buying before selling sounds like a very dumb and unnecessarily stressful thing to do. I have several reasons for making this suggestion; the first one is the lack of inventory to buy and second, the lack of rental options.
Unless you have a relative or friend that is willing to let you move in with them why you look for your next home you could be out of luck finding a rental. I had a conversation in the parking lot with a gentleman at my gym that had recently sold his house. He was very frustrated because he could not find a short term rental, especially since he had pets. He was starting worry that he was going to be living in a hotel or his car for the next few months until he found another home he liked.
I know the downside to this strategy is that you have to qualify to pay both mortgages and getting a pre-approval under those circumstances can be a challenge. But I recommend looking into this option if possible.
The other huge benefit of buying first and then selling your house second is that you lose your emotional attachment to the house. Once you move out all your stuff and into your new home the old one is just a house. You can start thinking of selling as a financial transaction it is. You will take the negotiations less personally when you have two mortgages to pay and live somewhere else.
It also makes it easier to stage, the stager can bring in all their stuff and you don't need to worry about where you are going to store half the furniture the stager told you that you needed to get rid of. You also don't have to worry about people snooping in your closets or any of your things going missing.
Plus if you have pets they are not traumatized by having strangers coming in and out of their space. Pet lovers sometimes do not know what a big turnoff their pets are to a potential buyer. Here in Silicon Valley you have people from all around the world and many come from a culture that does not have pets in the home. Seeing Fido’s and his food bowl can be all that that they remember about your house and can be the reason they won’t buy it.
Another option is to ask for a generous rent back until you find another home as part of the closing. I think even the most generous buyer is not going to want you to stay for more than 60 days after the close of escrow. This will mean that you still need to be very aggressive in looking for your next home.
However, no matter what you do have a strategy in place before selling your property. The Silicon Valley is not an easy market to find a new home or a temporary home. I get at least 3 or 4 calls a week from people moving to the area desperate to find a rental property and you will be competing with them for the few rentals available right now.
I would be happy to provide a no obligation selling strategy for your home, just give me a call.
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