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julz33
i run for bacon
Member since 5/05 20584 total posts
Name:
julz
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Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
DH and I have been casually looking at homes for the past 6 months. We already own a home (bought 5+ years ago) but have been seeing great deals on homes that are bigger, on bigger property, closer to our families, etc. We recently saw a home that we love (but not the perfect property for us) drop over $200K. We are only looking to move if we can get a great deal like this and we will not settle on any of our "wants" this time. So pretty much we are just looking for our dream home at a bargain price. For that reason we have not put our current house on the market. A few of the realtors we are working with said that no one will ever accept an offer from us if it is contingent on selling our house. I don't want to sell our house first though, because we aren't going to move unless we find that specific perfect house. Which may never happen. If it matters we are planning on putting 40-50% as a down payment. Has anyone been in this same position and how did it work out?
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Posted 1/31/10 8:54 PM  |
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luvsun27
Check out my cool glasses
Member since 5/05 8135 total posts
Name:
Kim
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
If you could afford 40-50% as a down payment, than I would not make your offer on your dream home contingent upon selling your current home. Save some of that money, and if you needed to, you could carry both mortgages if you wind up not being able to sell your house so quickly. You could take some of that down payment money and pay down your current mortgage...so you can price it lower to sell. I have seen pictures of your house...I don't think you would have a probably selling it if you priced it right! Good luck 
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:04 PM |
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julz33
i run for bacon
Member since 5/05 20584 total posts
Name:
julz
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
I should add we checked with the mortgage company (based on DH's salary alone, I work p/t now) how much more of a mortgage we could take. It would be possible in some cases to have both mortgages. But some houses we are looking at are above that amount, so we would have to sell our house.
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:11 PM |
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luvsun27
Check out my cool glasses
Member since 5/05 8135 total posts
Name:
Kim
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
I wasn't suggesting keeping both house long-term...but maybe you would qualify for a bridge loan, so you can carry both until you sell the first house. Or put down a smaller DP maybe 30% on the dream house and pay down your current mortgage with the 10% so you can sell it quicker. I think you have a few options and I would wait to see what happens when you find your dream house.
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:14 PM |
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julz33
i run for bacon
Member since 5/05 20584 total posts
Name:
julz
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
I am just afraid that if/when we will find this dream house, our offer will automatically be refused because we have to sell our house.
Maybe I am thinking too much. The realtor put this idea in my head that we HAVE to sell our house.
Message edited 1/31/2010 9:19:29 PM.
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:18 PM |
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luvsun27
Check out my cool glasses
Member since 5/05 8135 total posts
Name:
Kim
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
If you can afford to...don't put a contingency clause in your offer on the dream house...then it's nobody's business what you have to do before you go to closing on the new house. At that point...you will have to sell your house, but as long as you are not counting on your DP to come from the sale of your house, you should be ok. Is your 30-40% that you are planning on using, coming from the sale of your current house, or is that coming from your savings regardless of your current house?
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:25 PM |
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JandJ1224
Member since 6/06 5911 total posts
Name:
Jannette
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
Most people would not accept an offer contingent on you selling your home, you would most likely be able to get a second mortgage you can say that you will rent your first home. When you do find the right house, you should be very careful to price the house right so as to sell quickly. Good luck!
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:27 PM |
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julz33
i run for bacon
Member since 5/05 20584 total posts
Name:
julz
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
Posted by luvsun27
Is your 30-40% that you are planning on using, coming from the sale of your current house, or is that coming from your savings regardless of your current house?
Savings.
Whatever we get from selling our old house will just go back into our savings account.
Message edited 1/31/2010 9:33:27 PM.
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:33 PM |
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julz33
i run for bacon
Member since 5/05 20584 total posts
Name:
julz
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
Posted by JandJ1224
Most people would not accept an offer contingent on you selling your home, you would most likely be able to get a second mortgage you can say that you will rent your first home. When you do find the right house, you should be very careful to price the house right so as to sell quickly. Good luck!
Thats a good idea - to say we will rent the first house.
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:34 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
Posted by julz33
Posted by JandJ1224
Most people would not accept an offer contingent on you selling your home, you would most likely be able to get a second mortgage you can say that you will rent your first home. When you do find the right house, you should be very careful to price the house right so as to sell quickly. Good luck!
Thats a good idea - to say we will rent the first house.
You will need to have at least 20-30% equity in your existing home to qualify it as rental income, and you would also need to show the bank at least 4-6 months of emergency funds to cover both mortgages, PLUS your down payment. Not that big of a deal if you say you can put 40-50% down. However if your house depreciated in value, you may not have the 20-30% equity needed to qualify to report your rental income so that may affect your DTI ratios.
Anyways I would put your house on the market now and do what every other Long Island homeowner does. Try to get top dollar for your existing house without dropping your listing price. Doesn't hurt.
That's what I did and I got a sick offer on my old house. The offer was so good, it was WORTH it to sell it and move to a rental temporarially.
It sounds like you already made up your mind and want to move. I'd get your house on the market ASAP.
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:41 PM |
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HeatherRose
Life is Good :)
Member since 11/07 6605 total posts
Name:
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Re: Opinions - casually looking for 2nd home
I would do exactly what you are doing. IF you find that dream house, I would agree to rent yours until you can sell it. even its for a year.
Sometimes real estate agents tell you things like that just so you list your house, specifically with them.
don't let them push you into something you are not comfortable with.
and at the end of the day, if you find your dream house, and its meant to be, it will all work out. If you bought from a family with kids in a school district, they may not want to pull them out so you might have plenty of time to still sell.
The people we are buying from (are really old) and took their sweet time getting a closing date. we had an accepted offer Sept 29, and we won't be closing until the earliest, feb 25.
So I would totally keep looking, and figure out the sale/rental of your home when and if you find something.
GL hope you find what you are looking for
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| Posted 1/31/10 9:56 PM |
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