Nobody Wants to Be Homeless!

One of the most common concerns I hear from my clients is “Sara, I really want to sell my house. We’re ready to move but there’s nowhere for me to go.”

I get it. I really truly do. Nobody wants to be homeless and moving is stressful enough that adding in the unknown of having nowhere to go is a real fear! Let me start with telling you that I promise you, from the bottom of my heart, you’re not going to be homeless, I won’t let that happen! Did you know you can list your home contingent upon you finding your home of choice? It means that any offer you would accept, a contingency clause would be added stating that you have a mutually agreed upon time frame for you, as the seller, to find your home of choice. If you do not find one, you are not forced to sell.

The main risk in doing this, is that a buyer may not want to wait for you to find your next home. But if your home is perfect for someone and just what they’ve been looking for, then it’s a good chance they will be willing wait it out.

If sellers don’t find a home of choice within the agreed time frame, buyers can choose to either keep the purchase agreement in place and wait OR be able to cancel with all earnest money returned.

So what is the advantage to this strategy, versus putting in an offer on a home you fall in love with and THEN listing your current home? With that latter scenario your offer would have to be a Subject to Sale offer or STS. There are several drawbacks to a STS offer. One, is that we are in a HOT market and a STS offer is just not as strong. If it’s a multiple offer situation your STS will likely not win. Even if your offer is accepted, the sellers can accept another offer should one come in leaving you with 24 hours (or agreed upon time frame) to sell your home. That is a lot of pressure and if you don't sell, you lose the offer on the new home.

I know it’s nerve-wracking to consider selling your home before you have a place to go. But sometimes I have to remind clients to take a leap of faith and know that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. Of course, I am always here to talk through all of your options at any time.