Thinking of Renting an Apartment While We Sell Our House

[Anonymous]

We are in the 20878 zip code and moving into D.C. - our jobs and kids' private schools are in D.C. Although we have a cleaning person come in every two weeks, my family is very disorganized and I'm worried that they would not keep the house organized/decluttered enough for the home to show at its best. So I'd prefer to empty the house, have it staged and then, we could wait to see what it sells for and determine what our budget allows to purchase in D.C. within the next year. If anyone has done this, how did it work out?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in the 20878 zip code and moving into D.C. - our jobs and kids' private schools are in D.C. Although we have a cleaning person come in every two weeks, my family is very disorganized and I'm worried that they would not keep the house organized/decluttered enough for the home to show at its best. So I'd prefer to empty the house, have it staged and then, we could wait to see what it sells for and determine what our budget allows to purchase in D.C. within the next year. If anyone has done this, how did it work out?

Thanks.

Why not buy first and then move into new place and sell old place? I think your plan works too. The potential negatives:
- moving twice
- dealing with early termination of apartment if you find a place that doesn't match with end of lease.
- market moves during your rental. If interest rates go down and house prices spike for that or other reasons, you are kind of out of lucky. Buying and selling at the same time is a hedge against any market volatility.

[Anonymous]

You know your family best. Plus with the uncertainty of the market, you may want to wait and see where you land financially after the sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the 20878 zip code and moving into D.C. - our jobs and kids' private schools are in D.C. Although we have a cleaning person come in every two weeks, my family is very disorganized and I'm worried that they would not keep the house organized/decluttered enough for the home to show at its best. So I'd prefer to empty the house, have it staged and then, we could wait to see what it sells for and determine what our budget allows to purchase in D.C. within the next year. If anyone has done this, how did it work out?

Thanks.

Why not buy first and then move into new place and sell old place? I think your plan works too. The potential negatives:
- moving twice
- dealing with early termination of apartment if you find a place that doesn't match with end of lease.
- market moves during your rental. If interest rates go down and house prices spike for that or other reasons, you are kind of out of lucky. Buying and selling at the same time is a hedge against any market volatility.

This is OP. We would need proceeds from the sale to purchase anything new in D.C. and I worry that a contingency sale would put us at an advantage. Maybe I'm over thinking but my family is a hurricane - I'm the only organized one and I don't know how I would manage keeping everything in place while trying to sell.

[Anonymous]

*disadvantage

[Anonymous]

It might be a good idea to plan to rent for a while and search for a place in DC. May take longer than you expect.

[Anonymous]

We just sold a house in 22046 in Va. It was on the market for 3 days before it went under contract (it hit the mls as for sale and agents were able to make appointments on a Sunday, and our agent set an offer deadline of Tues at 5pm). If you could get the house cleaned and organized well enough for a few days, that might be enough? Ask your agent.

[Anonymous]

Sure! We moved into a short-term apartment, staged the house, got the best offer we could, closed, and then put in offers once we had cash in hand.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a great idea if you can afford it! I had to stage my place next rent a storage unit anyway, so this might be a good solution for your family. Maybe try to find a shorter lease with a month to month option in case you find something quickly.

[Anonymous]

You could also get cleaners to come more often until you sell it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could also get cleaners to come more often until you sell it.

DP but it sounds like daily life clutter would be a bigger problem than cleanliness, and most cleaners wouldn't be able to help with that?

[Anonymous]

You could also plan to have the first week on the market be one where you’re away - spring break or summer - so all the showings happen then. Things that are priced right often go in the first week still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could also plan to have the first week on the market be one where you’re away - spring break or summer - so all the showings happen then. Things that are priced right often go in the first week still.

This is what I'd do. Pack up as much as you can and move it to storage, then go out of town. This is way cheaper than moving twice. Price it to sell, and you'll get an offer.

I'd talk to your lender about your financing options if you want to purchase a new home first. I feel like there are gap options for purchasing a home and then selling your other one, that don't always involve a contingent offer (which definitely makes your offer less attractive).

[Anonymous]

I don't know how much this would be, but what about renting an AirBnB for a month. Clean up your house, then stay at the rental for a month and see how things go.

[Anonymous]

We have rented an air bnb once for a year while we waited for the perfect house. It was worth the wait! We stored all our furniture/plates/housewear and decor.