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You want to buy. You need to sell your home. How do you coordinate the process and not end up homeless? It can be a tricky timing situation, but it's possible to successfully do. Here are a couple of ideas.
Ask For A Long Escrow. In this hot seller market, finding a buyer for your home could be less of a challenge then finding a home to purchase. The good thing is sellers are in a good negotiation position and can ask for 45 - 60 day (or possibly longer) escrow.
Downside: You could still end up homeless is you don't find a new home and/or the buyer of your home may not have financing approval past 60 days.
Upside: You have some time to find a new home and an aggressive, creative agent will look hard at a variety of sources.
Buy Something New and Lease Your Home. This is a great suggestion if you're in a slow sellers market or you want to keep the house as an investment and you don't need to the money from the sale in order to buy.
Downside: Being a landlord isn't just about collecting rent. Depending on what is spelled out in the rental agreement, you could be responsible for some off the utility bills and maintenance. Are you prepared to deal with a clogged and overflowing sewage system at 2:00 in the morning?
Upside: Real estate is a great investment.
Cash is King. If you have the means to buy a property with cash, some sellers look favorably on shorter escrows and not having to deal with buyers financing.
Downside:
Rent Back. Your house is sold, but you haven't found anything yet. Negotiate to rent your home back from the buyers of your home for a period of time.
Downside: Buyers are generally only going to do this for a short period of time. The property has settled, so it belongs to the buyers, but you have negotiated a rent back. Still, you could still end up homeless if you don't find a new property in the agreed upon time.
Upside: Negotiating a few extra months could give you the time needed to find a new place.
Home of Choice Contingency.