Thinking home sale contingencies are a thing of the past? THEY WERE! But.. we are starting to see them quite a bit more with these current market conditions and the changes in the past year.
Home sale contingencies have a LOT of moving (pun intended) parts but can be successful and can be done! They do have some advantages and disadvantages.
ADVANTAGES
- Get the home you want
- Sell your home at the same time
- Apply funds to the new home
- Only move one time
DISADVANTAGES
- Can be harder to get offer accepted
- Stressful
- Possible concessions due to circumstances
- Less control of timelines and planning
I have helped MANY people purchase and sell homes over the years with home sale contingencies and YES it is more stressful and does have a lot more timelines and planning involved, but when I see my clients happy and moved in, it is WORTH IT! I also have purchased a home on a home sale contingency so I understand the process and all the emotions, timelines and details involved.
COMMON QUESTIONS:
Q: If I get an offer accepted, how long do I have to list my home?
A: Depending on the state (I sell in IDAHO AND WA)- Washington is 5 business days unless otherwise agreed upon to get it listed, Idaho is negotiable and something you write into the offer.
Q: How long do I get to try to sell (get it pending) my home?
A: This is something you negotiate into your offer as well
Q: What is a bumpable status?
A: If your home is on market but not pending yet, you are able to get bumped by another offer and there are timelines set for this within the offer you negotiated. A common timeframe is 5 days. If the seller got another offer they wanted to accept then you would get notice as a buyer, to either move forward waiving your contingencies, get your home pending, or let the other buyer move forward.
Q: How do you align timelines for closing?
A: Once the home sale closes on the first home, proceeds are direcely applied through the title company to the next sale and we try to align them to happen at the same time or within the next day or to generally speaking. Some sellers or buyers will negotiate a rent back or late possession to allow time in the homes overlap slightly so they have time to move and do not have to move more than once or use storage units.
Q: What kind of things might change in negotiations with a home sale contingency?
A: Depending on the market conditions, other offers, etc. sometimes home sale contingencies are the concession themselves, rather than having the ability to negotiate closing costs, repairs, price, or other items. This will depend on so many factors but in many cases the fact that the seller is willing to take on the additional risk is the benefit so there may not always be as many other things buyers can negotiate.
Any other questions? Just ask me! Over the years I have closed so many home sale contingencies and they are all a little different and unique.
