Planning to Sell? Where Will You Go?

Home Seller Tips and Advice

If you are Planning to Sell your home there’s a lot to know about the process. That’s true whether you are a first time seller or an experienced one.

SELLER RESOURCES

Here are several resources as you begin planning for your sale.

Spring 2022 Home Seller Guide (free easy download)

Home Selling Tips and Advice (video series on my YouTube Channel)

A pre-listing discussion with me about your concerns, plans and timing.

Planning to Sell

But let’s talk about a very important, and practical, question if you plan to sell. Where will you go?

WHERE WILL YOU GO?

Of course this has always been an important question for home sellers.

Do you plan to buy a replacement home?

Are you planning to rent?

Is your plan to relocate elsewhere (I can help you with this)?

Do you already own another home that you can move to?

Are you moving in with someone else, say a friend or family member?

Are you going to buy an RV and travel the country for a while?

Thinking about using an AirBNB or VRBO for a while after you sell?

However, today’s market conditions make this issue much more difficult, given how quickly homes are selling. In Carlsbad for February the average time on the market was only 13 days. Furthermore, 56% of the homes went pending in 1 week or less. In Oceanside it was 15 days and 63%, and in San Marcos it was only 9 days and 67%.

You can read more about the February 2022 North County community market reports and the market conditions on this blog.

WHAT SELLERS SHOULD KNOW

The bottom line is homes are selling very quickly, often over asking price…that’s good news for sellers. However, that also means you will need to vacate your home when the buyer wants to take possession after closing. And that could be 30 days after acceptance with many lenders, and potentially sooner for a cash buyer. That’s not long after your listing hits the market if it goes pending quickly. Are you prepared for this?

The solutions vary by personal situation, what can be negotiated with a buyer, and your financial circumstances.

If you can afford to buy another home without selling, or closing on your sale, that provides flexibility. However, most people cannot afford to do this. [check with your lender, or if you would like a lender recommendation let me know. I can provide several].

If you have another place to live that makes life easier – other than moving.

But if you have to close on your current home in order to buy a place it’s much more challenging.

Sellers often ask if they can make an offer contingent on selling their home.

Quite honestly that’s pretty tough to do because of the competition. It’s an “it depends” answer. An offer that is contingent is not nearly as competitive as an offer where the buyer doesn’t have to sell. Or already has done so. It’s POSSIBLE but you cannot count on it.

Timing the closing of your home and buying another, because of the competition can be pretty tricky. Especially in certain price points.

One possible solution we are seeing more often in the market is a rent-back. This is when the buyer and seller agree the seller can remain as a tenant after closing. The time frame can vary but typically is less than 60 days. Terms and conditions for the rental are negotiated between the parties. It can work for some buyers, but not all. It’s not unusual for sellers to request this upfront, in the listing.

If you would like to discuss selling, these issues, and your personal situation, let’s talk soon. Please reach out to me at (760) 840-1360 directly or by text.