Monday, July 25, 2005

Movin' On Up?

Over the weekend, Jason and I once again revisited the idea of possibly selling our townhouse and looking for a "real" house here in Bartlett. We're looking at buying something closer to the downtown area where the houses are older, but have a bit more character than the litte boxes on the hillside over by us. (Ok, they are more like GIGANTIC boxes on the hillside but after a while they all start to look the same to me.) Anyway, we got into this conversation because we only have a 5-year mortgage on our condo, and I mentioned to him that we should probably refinance to a 30 year one before the rates go back up. He then said if we are going to get a 30 year mortgage, why not get one on a house that we want to stay in for a longer period of time?

Me= WHEEEEE!

I really like where I live right now. On the inside, at least. But I've always wanted to have a house that is not connected to someone else. A house with a private back yard and maybe a deck or patio for parties. Plus, an extra bedroom and a separate formal living/dining area would be really cool. I also think it would be fun to live within walking/biking distance of the library, community center and train station. We're going to have to pay more for it of course, but if we crunch the numbers and it looks do-able I will be insanely excited. Luckily, we are most likely going to come away with a decent profit from the place we're in now so we should have a hefty down payment on a new home.

Which brings me to my question: How does one deal with the down payment for their new house when they need to sell the place they already have in order to get it? Do we sell our townhouse and then live in an apartment for a while? (This is scary because I would be afraid of not being able to find a new place after saying goodbye my already good one.) Or do we find a house we like and say to the owners, 'Hey, could you put this on hold for us while we sell our old place?' How does it work? I've never done this before so I have no idea. I don't really know who I'm asking either. I'm basically just getting all my thoughts out about the situation. I need to do some more research.

7 comments:

  1. How exciting! I think it's a great idea at this point in your life. It's been a long time, but I think you can work things out with the current owner of a house you're interested in so that you can have time to sell your own place. It depends on how badly the homeowner wants to sell and/or what their own situation is in regard to moving. Talk to a realtor. Good luck. And keep us posted.

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  2. 1) Depending on your equity in your current house - use it as collateral for a second house. Rent out the first as a investment property.
    2) Sell your current house with a 6 month lease back. (you rent the house from the new owner while you look around)
    3) Plan upfront to sell the house and rent a place elswhere for six months.
    4) If you're in no rush - start saving slowly for a deposit.
    5) Parents

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  3. Awesome. Thanks for the tips guys. We talked a little bit more about it last night and our game plan is to spend six months fixing up the odds and ends around our house while also putting away some cash in the bank. Maybe we will be in the market for a new house in the spring?

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  4. Good luck! :) We're going to be doing this in the next year or so too, so I'm glad you asked for help. I thought I was just being clueless. ;)

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  5. Hi Tracey,
    The last house I bought we were able to set up the closing on the house we were selling in the morning & then took the money to the closing for the new house in the afternoon.
    We did need to stay @ Diana's parents hse while we moved into the new hse.
    Uncle Rich

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  6. Wow, it's lucky you were able to time that so perfectly. That would be pretty cool if we could do it that way.

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  7. Oh, how exciting!! I can't wait to have a house. Yes, I said it. I'm officially old. :)
    Best wishes, and keep us posted!

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