How do you go about buying a new home when you currently own a home?
My husband (25) and myself (27) had bought our first home (a nice townhouse) about three years ago. The townhouses in my area are already selling for about ,000 more than what we had bought ours for. We just found this really nice ranch home we love, right across the street from my hubby’s grandmother’s home and my hubby actually knows the man who is selling it pretty well. Anyway, we’re really interested in going ahead and purchasing this home. What are the steps to go about getting a new home. I remember how stressful it was to buy our first home – and that was half as bad, because we were just in an apartment before. So I’m really anxious and have no idea where to begin. Any advice? Thanks!
By the way, our townhouse is not yet on the market.
I’m scared of going ahead and planning on buying another home and then having my home end up not selling, etc.
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February 6th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
It is possible to acquire a loan to buy that ranch house even though you currently own a home. You can finance it as a second or vacation home as long as you qualify for the loan. If you have equity in your home and want to use it as a down payment, then a bridge loan might be the answer. A bridge loan allows you to pull equity out of your existing house for the purposes of buying another house. Usually, the payments are escrowed so there are no out of pocket payments for 6 to 9 months. After that period the loan is due in full. What I suggest you do is sell the townhouse first before entering into a purchase contract or at least have a qualified buyer commit to buy your townhouse. I have seen this dream turn into a nightmare for so many people. They find a house they want and buy it thinking that they will sell thier present property with no problem. Months later, they can’t sell the house no matter what they do, and they are stuck making two mortgage payments that is crippling them financially. Unfortuantley its a scenario I see alot. I have one client that owns 6 properties that he can’t sell. His wife left with the kids and she filed for divorce.
Talk with a real estate professional that is familiar with the buying trends in your area. There are many real estate agents but most of them are just salemen that are looking for a commission and aren’t worried about your financial future. If the real estate agent is honest, they will tell you how long it is taking for similar properties to sell in your area. I have seen properties stay on the market for over a year but that will depend on whats going on in your neck of the woods. I know you may want to jump on the house right away but having some emotional intelligence will be important. Think about what your current bills are and ask yourself if you could afford another mortgage payment and for how long. If you can’t afford the worse case sceanrio, then you may want to make sure your townhouse sells before you get into that ranch house.
Hope this helps.
Mortgage and Finance Professional 8 years.