Moving is stressful enough without having to worry about selling your house as well. Here in Colorado Springs we get calls or people submitting their house info on our website every week from people who need to sell their homes while also juggling a move to their new place. The good news is that we understand what you are going through and can help you de-stress and enjoy your new place while we handle the old one.
The last thing you want or need is to have to pay for your new home as well as your old one. This is an extremely costly situation and it is important that you get out of this payment plan as quickly as possible. As the market seems to fluctuate in the blink of an eye there are a lot of horror stories out there of people having to pay on two places for years while waiting for their old home to sell. Here are a few tips on how to handle selling your house quickly while also moving:
- Find out what your house is worth: Contact a reputable real estate agent or connect with us to get a no cost or obligation evaluation of your home to assess the value of your property. Once you know what the home is worth you can look at market trends and figure out an appropriate value to list your house for.
- Know how quickly you need to sell your house: It is important to know how long you can afford to keep your old house on the market as you will have to be financially stable enough to afford two mortgage payments a month. It can take years to sell your home and you may end up settling for much less than your listing price just to stop the double payments. Knowing how much it will cost every month to keep your house on the market while making the necessary payments on both of your places. If you won’t be able to afford both payments or just don’t want to deal with the hassle of owning two houses we frequently buy homes from people who don’t want the high payments.
- Find your real estate agent before you start moving: Before you even pack your boxes you should get the ball rolling and start looking for real estate agents. The last thing you want to have to do is wait until the last minute and have to settle for an agent that isn’t right for your needs. Research online, make phone calls and check reviews and credentials before hiring anyone. If you choose not to use a real estate agent you can contact a reputable home buyer like us. We provide solutions for all kinds of situation people looking to sell can get into. We do make fast-fair all cash offers too. Just fill out the form through this link to get started >>
- Is it better to sell fast or wait for a better price: You want to make as much as possible when selling your home but it is important to factor in the net loss you are dealing with when you have to pay double the expenses each month. The longer you hold onto the home, the more money you spend and it may end up that you make a lot less money off your home waiting for list price. So, let’s say you want to sell your house for $200,000… and your mortgage payment is $1,200/mo, taxes $200/mo, $100/mo for insurance, and $100/mo for maintenance (lawn maintenance, repairs while you’re gone, etc.).Those expenses add up to $1,600/mo in “non equity building” expenses.If it takes you 7 months to sell that house through a real estate agent for that $200,000… it cost you $11,200 in DIRECT “holding costs” + you had to pay $12,000 in real estate agent fees (assuming 3% for the buyers agent and 3% for the sellers agent).Totaling $23,200 in LOST money. That doesn’t even account for the value of your time, your stress in thinking about that property sitting on the market, the opportunity cost of what you could have been doing with that extra money during those 7 months, etc. So the real cost to you was likely closer to $30,000. Sometimes it is better to take offers early on and guarantee you make money than to hold onto the house and hope to break even in the end. Even if you get your full asking price you still may only make a few thousand dollars if you have been waiting years for the sale. Weigh the pros and cons and do the math. If you really want to hold out for a better offer that is fine, just keep track of the money you are putting in and know when it is time to give in and sell.
- Take action: Really weigh your options and figure out what is right for you, but don’t hold off on researching agents or getting an estimate. You should take control of as many free consultations and information as you can while you decide your course of action so when you do decide you can hit the ground running and get your house listed immediately. Waiting will only cost you more money so take action early on so you won’t waste more money than you have to, to sell your old home.
If you have time to spare it may be worth your while to list your house at a high price to test the waters of the real estate market. There is a slim but possible chance that someone will see the listing, fall in love with the home and overpay, but this should not be your primary plan as it is only a small chance this will happen. This is not a recommended plan for someone who is paying for two homes but instead only for the people who have some time still in their old home before the new one is moved into. This is because most houses are seen as just that, a house. While someone might see it and instantly feel like it is their home, the majority of the population is going to see an average, everyday building. So unless your home looks like something straight out of a magazine you should consider your listing price and what is reasonable to other buyers instead of pricing it at the highest point. Many home buyers are weary of homes that sit on the market too long or keep dropping in price as it makes the home look problematic.
If you are really struggling with the decision to sell fast or hold out there are some options to buy you some more time. One way of offsetting the cost of two homes is to list your home for both renting and buying. If someone is paying rent while you are waiting on a sale it can help cover the costs of the second house payment. While you probably won’t be making huge amounts of money off this it certainly means you are saving on the house payment and can hold off on selling to see if better offers come in. We can also offer assistance in setting up a rent to own deal for your home as well as conducting a short sale or loan with the bank if you choose not to rent it out.
Why should you consider us?
We’re investors. We support our families and beautify neighborhoods by buying houses from Colorado Springs homeowners who need to sell fast for one reason or another.
The types of sellers who tend to work with us include people who…
- Need to sell fast (we can close in as little as 7 days if you need us to)
- Don’t have time to put their house on the market
- Need money from their house, before they can move
- Don’t want to hassle with listing a property with an agent
- Don’t want to pay real estate agent fees
- Can’t sell their house for one reason or another (we buy houses in as-is condition)
- … or a variety of other reasons
We believe in honest and straightforward work and do not shy away from creative solutions. The Colorado Springs community is something we are a part of and want to support by sitting down with you and really listening to what you are looking for. We will quote you a fair price for your home or help you manage the property to sell to someone else. We believe in thinking outside the box and finding a way to make selling your home as easy for you as possible while still getting a fair deal.
We’ll quote you a fair price, and we can close fast with cash if that is what solves your problem.
We’re happy to help you find answers to your toughest questions about your Colorado Springs real estate, so please feel free to call us at (719) 882-2841 and chat with us anytime.