Going through this right now, and it is stressful as hell.

I took a loan against a 401(k) for some of my down payment, and I have a Home Equity Line on my current residence and decent equity(over 55%). We are moving into a very competitive market, and multiple lawyers have told me that selling contingencies are no longer common in NJ. I feel pretty comfortable that our place will sell quickly and we will be able to pay back the 401(k), the HELOC, and our mortgage with some left over.

All great advice in response posts. Don't you just love it when we stick to topic and this forum is really helpful?

A caution on #2: Being under contract and past the review period doesn't make it a slam dunk. I learned this back in 1986 when my (then girlfriend, still wife and I were in that position with a 3-family house DTJC we were under contract for. We were renting in lower Manhattan at the time and we were just about to give our landlord notice of non-renewal of our lease. Basically, the seller refused to admit the appraiser from the mortgage Co. I was using, claiming that she'd "changed her mind" and that "the house was worth more than the price we'd agreed". (Crazy Russian woman, FWIW). I had two choices; get my deposit back or take her to court for what is know as "contract frustration". I took the latter route but the courts were clogged with similar cases and it was going to take a year. Which it did, and cost me $1,000 for an attorney, but I got the house.

DanL's advice is excellent, and the sell first then rent is an option if you don't have too much stuff to squeeze into a presumably smaller space. If you have young children it gets a whole lot more complicated...

I may be facing the same dilemma in the next year, so I feel your pain!

We sold first and then move to a cheap rental in JSQ, We found several houses but lots of deals fell through for varies reasons oil tanks being the most common. It took two years to find the perfect house. Good Luck!

yes, selling and buying in the same time frame is very stressful and subject to misfires ....

even worse than your friends situation is trying to sell/buy, closing and moving all on the same day.

what has worked for us is:

when selling, try to get a rent back option for a month or two, so that you can close, then move and/or buy with some time cushion, or after selling and closing, move to a rental, then go through the purchase process.

all this is more expensive, but a whole lot less stressful, and worked well for us.



Quote:

If you need to sell your current house to pay the down payment on your new house, I would first look at a bunch of houses where you want to move to. That way you have an idea of what type of houses are out there and what you can afford.

Second, once you are an expert and identify a few houses you like, I would put the original house on the market. Once that gets out of review, you can immediately put an offer on a house you like with the home sale condition. Since you are already under contract, most sellers will be okay with it.

Schedule the close for the second house a few weeks after the first. Also, sell the house to someone who will be flexible on close and open to a leaseback. Some banks limit leasebacks to thirty days so it can be a little tight. But this way you don't have to put your stuff in storage and have a little time to renovate the new house.

If the house you want falls through you can always back out of your sale as a last measure.

Between the hassles of moving and transitioning between mortgages, what are my options? A friend sold their place, put all their stuff in storage, then rented a furnished apt, but their purchase fell through and they were stuck in real estate limbo longer than expected. Hoping to not have to do that.

I've heard of bridge loans, but they don't seem very common. Curious, what have others done and found useful?