If you've thought about selling your house in the Greater Des Moines Area but worry that you won't be able to find a new home to move into - this is for you! 

Housing inventory in the greater Des Moines area is at an all time low. You're probably seeing real estate agents left and right on social media preach and beg you to sell your house because they have buyers willing to fight over the price of it.

But you might be wondering if you were to sell your house,
would you find somewhere to live? 

That is an excellent question.

A few weeks ago, I did a video on my three tips for buying a house in 2021. Those are definitely going to apply in this situation. You can watch that video HERE.

But when it comes to answering the question, "will I be able to find somewhere to live?" I'd really like to talk about the strategy around whether or not you should sell your house before you find a new one to live in.

So the first and easiest option would be to go buy a new house. 

Easy enough, right?

Well, it is easy if you're paying in cash. However, if you're like the majority of people and you need to get a loan or a mortgage for that new house, then the bank is going to have to agree that yes, you can have a mortgage on your new house and your old house. If you have a home already, that has a mortgage on it. So if the bank says you're okay having two houses and you're comfortable with it, there is a risk involved. Then this is a great option to alleviate the stress around that question, "Where will I live?"

Second option is a subject to sale contingency offer.

However, if you're planning on getting a mortgage and your lender has determined that you cannot have two mortgages, that you must sell your old house before you buy your new house, that's still no problem. We will base our strategy to help you get through this process based on your comfort level. 

For example, if you're the kind of person that must know beyond a shadow of a doubt, exactly where you're going to live once you sell your current house, then my suggestion is that we look at houses that are currently on the market. Find the one and write an offer contingent on your house selling. This is also known as a subject to sale contingency.

Now there's still stress involved in that because it's entirely possible that somebody else might come along and write an offer on that exact same house that you have a contingent offer on, and they might bump your offer if they don't have a contingency to sell their house. But that's how you do it. If you can only have one mortgage and you need to know exactly where you're going to live, then you want to use the subject to sale contingency. Perhaps try not to fall too far in love with the new house, just in case it doesn't work out.

Some people just need to know that there are options for them. So we'll go house hunting, look at the inventory on the market that would meet the criteria you're looking for in a new home. And maybe that will give you the confidence to list your house for sale. Perhaps you're the type of person that does not want to deal with the stress of buying and selling at the same exact time.

And let me tell you, no matter what any real estate agent says, there will be stress. Real estate agents are marketers, and we love to say things like, "I remove the stress in this process for you." "You'll have no stress." "It'll be a stress free experience."

The fact is you're going to be stressed out because it's a big deal.

You're doing two big things at one time, which is guaranteed stress. We'll do the best we can to minimize the stress. But I don't want to be the one to tell you that there's no stress involved.

Another option is to sell your current home
and live in temporary housing.

Let's say you're the type of person who can not deal with too much at once. And you don't want to deal with buying at the same time that you're selling. You just want to sell your house and be done with it. Live in temporary housing, which would be maybe renting a place or staying with friends and family for awhile, something that's temporary.

And then once your house is sold and you have your proceeds check in hand, then you can start the business of seriously looking for your new home.

There's always the home of choice contingency.

One of my favorite things to add on in almost every situation I've already described would be a home of choice contingency.

So that means you list your current house for sale. And we market it to buyers with the caveat that when they write an offer, they give you a certain period of time to find your home of choice. If you have a subject to sale contingency, a home of choice on your current house is still a good idea to keep in place until you get through the home inspection.

A home of choice contingency is especially good if you do not have your next home identified, and you want to take a little bit of time to get that done. If we're working together, we'll know about how much time you'll need, based on our experience of house hunting.

If you're working with another agent, then you'll want to have a very frank, strategic conversation about how much time do you think it will take to find your next house. THEN, do everything you can in that period of time to find it. This is not the time to sit on your laurels.

So the buyer gives you X amount of time for your home of choice contingency. And if you cannot find your home of choice, you could ask the buyer to extend that timeframe for you, or you can back out of the deal.

No matter the situation, you should never worry that you won't have anywhere to go once your house sells, because we'll have the right strategy in place to make sure you're protected.

And when it comes to house hunting for your new place to live, we have off market strategies that we can put into play depending on your situation that might help find the next place you'll call home.

The moral of this story that you shouldn't let the low housing inventory scare you into not moving. We can work with you no matter what your situation is.

So if you're wondering, should I sell my house? Let's talk! Click HERE to schedule a call with one of us or email me: heather@myrighthouse.com.