OK, So now What?

You're thinking about a new home and you're putting your current home on the market, while trying to make a decision on the amount of possession time you should keep on your current home after closing. My recommendation has always been 30 to 45 days! Why? Because this allows you enough time to find your new home, without panicking into the "But Paul, if my house sells where am I going to live" question. You'd be surprised how many in this situation do panic. But that 30 to 45 day window will give you plenty of time to find your next home! Trust me, it will. It works!! You just have to be aware of what area you want to move into next and make sure you have several neighborhoods to choose from and become familiar with, so that you're ready to strike when you accept an offer on your current home.

In today's real estate market, it's not wise to go out there and find a new home, while your current home is "for sale" but has yet to recieve an acceptable offer. Homes placed on the market today, may sit unsold for months at a time and if you panic and put an offer in on a new home before you've gotten your old home sold, you would be trapped into paying 2 mortgages for months, putting a real strain on your family's economic structure. We're seeing THAT more and more, where people have panicked and gotten trapped into paying 2 mortgages and they wind up with one or possibly both homes in forclosure!! It's a sad reflection on our current local economy, so be careful how you handle it.

With the 30 to 45 days after closing plan for possession, you get an acceptable offer on your current home and you'll still have up to 2 1/2 months to find and close on your new home (the 30 days more or less that it will take the deal on your current home to close, plus those extra 30 to 45 days possession time.) I just had the home of a young family I had listed in Sterling Heights, sell after almost 4 months. Through those 4 months, they were chomping at the bit, wanting to buy that next home, but they followed my advice and waited until they had an acceptable offer on their Sterling Heights abode. Then we put a bid in on a beautiful new construction home in Macomb Township. Both homes will close about 5 days apart, with their current home closing first. The key, they pretty much knew the neighborhoods they wanted to live in and they were ready to strike, once they got that acceptable offer on their current home.

So you see IT DOES WORK!! Just another one of "Paul's Real Estate Pearls."