Have you sold your house to buy another?

[a3quit4s | 4,096]

Wife and I are thinking of buying a house and putting our current house on the market. Houses in my area (Zillow 20879) have increased significantly in price and have been selling in less than two weeks even with the pandemic. I paid $380k for this house five years ago and could sell it tomorrow for $420k. Interest rates have also declined which is another reason to sell or at least refinance. Obviously this means I’ll also be paying higher for my next house, but I was curious if anyone here had done it and what was the process. Lessons learned? Advice? 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

Yes, we just did.  Our sale closes on Friday in fact.

Lessons learned?  I guess because it is such a seller's market that we were able to be very aggressive in selling negotiations.

But we're also in a pretty crazy market.  Possibly the hottest in the country.  Our house jumped 150K in a few years.  With the rates the way they were it just seemed like the best time.

Keep in mind that a lot of things are taking longer because of COVID.  Inspecters, roof guys, etc.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

Yeah I did it. We bought a condo In 2008 for 200,000. We sold it in 2015 for 600,000. Rolled that money into our current house. 
 

I had to have my dad cosign with us because we chose to keep the condo until after we moved in to the house so I had to float two mortgages for a while. I could afford both but because of the debt to income ratio I had to have a cosigner. 

[a3quit4s | 4,096]

1 minute ago, MrWunderful said:

Yeah I did it. We bought a condo In 2008 for 200,000. We sold it in 2015 for 600,000. Rolled that money into our current house. 
 

I had to have my dad cosign with us because we chose to keep the condo until after we moved in to the house so I had to float two mortgages for a while. I could afford both but because of the debt to income ratio I had to have a cosigner. 

Yeah the guidance from the all knowing internet is to sell first and then buy but we found a house we may like and will have to look into a bridge loan or heloc for the down payment. 
 

6 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Yes, we just did.  Our sale closes on Friday in fact.

Lessons learned?  I guess because it is such a seller's market that we were able to be very aggressive in selling.

But we're also in a pretty crazy market.  Possibly the hottest in the country.  Our house jumped 150K in a few years.  With the rates the way they were it just seemed like the best time.

Crazy market indeed

[Gloves | 11,776]

God I wish I was rich.

[RH | 4,903]

We are trying to sell our home to buy my wife's grand father's home. Looks like we will need about $60k to cover the difference. But, the good news is that my lack of employment means we can pull that money out of our IRA, and so long as we pay ourselves back, we will be making a sizable upgrade debt free, and without tax penalty.

[a3quit4s | 4,096]

26 minutes ago, Gloves said:

God I wish I was rich.

I was lead to believe Canada just hands out money lol

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

27 minutes ago, Gloves said:

God I wish I was rich.

Then make it happen Baby!

“Whether you say you CAN or you CAN’T, you are right”

-Stewie Griffin

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

35 minutes ago, Gloves said:

God I wish I was rich.

Just sell your Metal Gear dolls, the VGS domain, that CIB EVO, and a feww other things, and you'll have enough to buy a 10,000 square foot mansion in West Virginia or North Dakota.

[Gloves | 11,776]

1 minute ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Just sell your Metal Gear dolls, the VGS domain, that CIB EVO, and a feww other things, and you'll have enough to buy a 10,000 square foot mansion in West Virginia or North Dakota.

ACTION FIGURES!

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

38 minutes ago, Gloves said:

God I wish I was rich.

That's what lottery tickets are for! 

[Richardhead | 2,813]

I sold my condo a year and a half ago, all while buying a new one. Most stressful thing I have ever done. My advise is to get people you really trust to do the “work” for you. I was very fortunate to have a person that was able to set me up with great people to get me through it all. 

[jonebone | 1,307]

Is there even any money to be made from 380 to 420? After 6% in real estate fees it eats away a lot of that. I wouldnt move just for the money. I'd only move if you outgrew the house or wanted to get into a certain community somewhere.

[Magus | 169]

I am in the process of doing the same. Selling the condo i bought 7 years ago, taking the equity it gained since then and using it for a 20% downpayment on a house. Paid $70k, and it's worth around $170 now. So we will have 20% for a down payment and then some. In your case, i am not sure you will have enough equity after fees and everything to make it worthwhile, so move only if you absolutely want a new house. 

Things near us are selling within 48 hours and getting 10-15 offers, most above asking price. MA/NH area. 

We were essentially told you NEED to have your house sold first, with a contingency in the paperwork stating you have to find suitable housing first so you don't get stuck not finding something. The market is very dry right now, many people are afraid to list their homes because of COVID and the economy. Nobody will even look at your offer if you haven't sold your house yet and have it under agreement. Obviously preapproval is a must as well. 

Many realtors told us the fall is going to get hammered with listings. But right now it is a sellers market. 


My main concern is showing the condo with 3 cats and my collection. I am thinking of just packing it all up. The cats unfortunately are a more difficult problem, mainly because one of them is terrified of the car and crates. 

 

[a3quit4s | 4,096]

1 hour ago, Magus said:

I am in the process of doing the same. Selling the condo i bought 7 years ago, taking the equity it gained since then and using it for a 20% downpayment on a house. Paid $70k, and it's worth around $170 now. So we will have 20% for a down payment and then some. In your case, i am not sure you will have enough equity after fees and everything to make it worthwhile, so move only if you absolutely want a new house. 

Things near us are selling within 48 hours and getting 10-15 offers, most above asking price. MA/NH area. 

We were essentially told you NEED to have your house sold first, with a contingency in the paperwork stating you have to find suitable housing first so you don't get stuck not finding something. The market is very dry right now, many people are afraid to list their homes because of COVID and the economy. Nobody will even look at your offer if you haven't sold your house yet and have it under agreement. Obviously preapproval is a must as well. 

Many realtors told us the fall is going to get hammered with listings. But right now it is a sellers market. 


My main concern is showing the condo with 3 cats and my collection. I am thinking of just packing it all up. The cats unfortunately are a more difficult problem, mainly because one of them is terrified of the car and crates. 

 

I should say that my original mortgage was for 330k (50k down) and we are down to about 290k now. House value now around 420k so there is plenty for down payment after fees. Thank you for pointing out the 6% fees though! @jonebone as well. 420 may also be on the low side

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Obviously the most economic strategy is to sell your home first and transform your equity into liquid funds. Then you know exactly what you can afford. Unfortunately, this may mean temporary housing and storing your household goods, which is just painful.

I'm closing on a new house on July 1st, so we will be floating two mortgages for a bit. My wife and I have the funds to pay both mortgages until we sell the old house and really didn't want to have to deal with an additional move or storage. Also, we had a flood in the basement late last month which pretty much derailed our entire selling process. Obviously, what we've done is not the best strategy for most people, but sometimes comfort trumps economic gain.

[Magus | 169]

1 hour ago, a3quit4s said:

I should say that my original mortgage was for 330k (50k down) and we are down to about 290k now. House value now around 420k so there is plenty for down payment after fees. Thank you for pointing out the 6% fees though! @jonebone as well. 420 may also be on the low side

Yeah in that case you are in much better shape. Rates are insanely low, we have seen 2.75-3.00. 

If you can actually find a house and manage to get an offer accepted, it is a great time to sell. We were quoted 4% to sell/buy from multiple realtors. Which seemed reasonable. 

Good luck man. I am hoping to list our place over the next few days. 

 

[Tanooki | 4,932]

I'm looking to refi so I can get some free money basically to repair this place as it's one I hadn't intended to stay in as many years now and it's falling apart.  Roof, windows, part of back of the house is unsealed/damaged(mud room w/dryer), a bad back/front door too, and carpet inside, also a tub needs replacing in the house.  I'm going to be able to knock a few K off on the roof with insurance due to damage but still, this isn't going to be light.  I got in this place over 7yrs ago when rates were super low and they're down there again now, so I'm hoping with what I've paid off maybe I can take that value, keep or improve my monthly payment and get a lump sum to fix it all up.

[Estil | 1,264]

5 hours ago, Gloves said:

God I wish I was rich.

I know, I often like to sing that Mr. Limpet song to myself but replace the word fish with "rich"  

Then again, other than making a nice vintage 50s/60s/early 70s baseball card set collection and maybe trying to get near completion of all the NES/SNES cartridges...I quite honestly wouldn't even know what to do with most of say, at least a few million dollars.  Remember I don't drive, so a shiny black vintage Cadillac is out, for example  

[Gloves | 11,776]

3 minutes ago, Estil said:

I know, I often like to sing that Mr. Limpet song to myself but replace the word fish with "rich"  

Then again, other than making a nice vintage 50s/60s/early 70s baseball card set collection and maybe trying to get near completion of all the NES/SNES cartridges...I quite honestly wouldn't even know what to do with most of say, at least a few million dollars.  Remember I don't drive, so a shiny black vintage Cadillac is out, for example  

I don't drive, but an actual house would be fuckin niiiiiice. Hell I'd take a townhouse.

Gimme a basement I can furnish into my own little arcade and I'm over the goddamn moon.

[Estil | 1,264]

6 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I don't drive, but an actual house would be fuckin niiiiiice. Hell I'd take a townhouse.

Gimme a basement I can furnish into my own little arcade and I'm over the goddamn moon.

Yeah but I doubt I could make much use of anymore than say, five rooms.  Honestly I'm perfectly content in this apartment.  But...with an actual house I can more KITTIES!!!  

I wouldn't trust a basement for my important stuff though...way too easy to get flooded.  Then again I've only known the old fashioned "dungeon" basements.

Edited June 23, 2020 by Estil

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

I forgot about the best part of moving... getting Xmas shit out of a crawlspace with an impossible angle at 10pm.  Solo.  Damn my life!

[doner24 | 1,195]

We’ve thought about buying a new house.  We would want a bigger house, with land but still pretty close to our current suburb as I would like my eventual kids to go to this school district. Figure I have about $160K in equity in my current home which I bought in 2011. It would make for a solid down payment, but our area is all damn high priced, with very little inventory for what we are looking for. 
 

If I could convince her (not gonna happen) to move to my hometown (35 miles north) we would get a mansion on the river with 5-10 acres for the $500k we are gonna spend down here for a slight home upgrade on a quarter acre of land. 

[Estil | 1,264]

5 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I forgot about the best part of moving... getting Xmas shit out of a crawlspace with an impossible angle at 10pm.  Solo.  Damn my life!

You don't have to be such a Grinch about it  

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

We were gonna move this year until all the shit hit the fan.  Still want to try to move within the next year or so as we've sorely outgrown our current house.

It was great when it was just me, the wife, and 2 dogs (fenced yard and sliding back door were the two priorities).   Now that it's me, the wife, 2 boys, and 5 snakes we need to find somewhere a little bigger that at least has a second shitter.

Our plan is to buy something (I have down payment saved up), move, then clean out and repair our current house and sell it.   I've seen other smaller houses move on our street very quickly at close to what I wanted to get out of my house, so I'm not too worried about two mortgage payments for a large amount of time.