Sell now or wait?

9 years ago

Building a house - will be done by end of year.

Our market is hot - like very hot Our neighborhood has nothing for sale and is quite desirable. I am concerned about rising interest rates impacting the market - but expect our market to overall continue to do well.

Our house has some deferred maintenance. We've been sinking all our $ into the new build.

We don't have to sell before we close on new house and my plan was to close on new house permanent loan (we're currently carrying the construction loan), move and then freshen the existing house - paint in and out, refinish hardwoods, spruce up landscaping. Systems are all good, kitchen is good, master bath partially updated - I'd like to change out glass block to solid glass in the shower...

I'd LOVE to get to the equity I have in the house to make this less tight and avoid selling some investments to complete the build - but we have 3 dogs, a MASSIVE amount of stuff stored for a build in the daylight basement, work full time, are GC'ing our build...

Good Lord. never mind. We'll sell after we move. LOL It was therapeutic just to type that - as I realize how ridiculous that sounds.

Featured Answer

homechef59

9 years ago

It really doesn't sound that ridiculous. What many people don't realize is keeping the current house is riskier than trying to sell it. So what if you have to delay on the current build two weeks while you pack and move to storage? You have reduced your financial risk and exposure by eliminating one distraction. You've cleared the deck to finish the new build.

I realize you feel overwhelmed by the prospect, but you would be surprised what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it. Pack, store or throw away most of your stuff. Move to a simple, temporary rental. You will have a firm idea of what you can afford on the new build by eliminating the distraction of what the old home will ultimately be worth. That's a big unknown. How long will you have to carry two notes. I'd want to be rid of one of them. It would be worth the effort to me.

Will it be hard work? Are you afraid of hard work? Have I done this myself. Yes, I have. I was really glad to be in a rental. If I was my own GC, I would know where there were gaps in the build schedule and place my move it the middle of them. You can do it. You just have to commit and organize.

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Comments (7)

just_janni
Original Author
9 years ago
Honestly - we both work full time + with some demanding jobs that have hubby traveling and both of us on calls with Asia in the evenings, have 3 dogs, 2 race cars and can't be stored in unheated space if we move and one that isn't all that mobile right now, an entire kitchen stored in the basement (including appliances) for the new build and pretty much spend every weekend from morning until evening at the new house doing some of our own labor. I am not afraid of hard work.

Finding a rental that can accommodate the extra cars and the "stuff" isn't easy, and I've already looked at renting a container for the site - but there's not an easy place to drop one based on the requirements from the container folks.

I think my right answer is to simplify the mortgage on the existing house and refinance, which will make it easier to carry indefinitely - and perhaps even decide to rent it when we move.

I do agree that I can at least start packing and perhaps try to do some of the deferred maintenance - especially as it related to yard work - might take a week off this quarter to do just that. And then - maybe look at the rental market to see if by chance there would be something available that could meet our needs.
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homechef59
9 years ago
I bet you could find one of your racing buddies with some appropriate temporary storage. Maybe you can find a rental with a garage.

I just know from my experience that it took a huge burden off of us when were building to be free of the yolk of another home. It removed the pressure of the unknown closing price and we had xx in the bank ready for the new build. It also made us singularly energetic with the new build because we were ready to get out of the rental. We had three large dogs, too.
just_janni thanked homechef59
ncrealestateguy
9 years ago
Refinancing a home that you are going to sell in a few months? Doesn't make sense to me.
just_janni thanked ncrealestateguy
just_janni
Original Author
9 years ago
We should have done it a while ago - we're paying way too much on a first and a HELOC. we could easily free up $3K/month for 10 months with about $500 in closing costs. Seems like a decent ROI
alley2007
9 years ago
If your market is hot right now, I would sell. Who knows if it will still be hot when your new home is finished at the end of the year, especially if rates continue to increase. There are probably heated storage options for the cars and other items.
just_janni thanked alley2007
just_janni
Original Author
9 years ago
I am heading toward taking a week off and doing a bunch of work - I'll revisit my options then - thanks for the encouragement. I'll also see what my options are for temp housing and storage of all our stuff!