We NEED to move due to a job- but our house isn't selling- we can't afford two mortgages-- what can we do?

Question

Our move is job related. We have a contingent contract on a home in another state and we don't want to lose it, but our current home isn't selling. We can't afford 2 mortgages or a bridge loan for more than a month or two. Right now, the market is bottoming out, so who knows how long our current home will languish on the market. We don't want to sell to an "UG" type buyer because they won't offer us what our house is worth and we need to get a fair price for it. We've used a large chunk of our exsisting equity to renovate the home- so in order to make a small profit, we need to sell it for a fair price. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

let half of the fam...take an appart..in the other site...till the house is sale...by the time u have saled the house...you will be able afford a new home.

Answer 2

hello how are you

Answer 3

Try to get your new employer to float a loan. Lots of them do help out with this type of thing.

Answer 4

We were in the same situation a few years ago. My husband stayed behind in our home and finished out his work obligations while I moved to the new city with the kids to get them established in school.  The market was still bad so we finally rented out the house.  

You need to check references very carefully and hope that the renters are responsible people.  You can contact credit reporting companies in your area and set up an account that will allow you to take and review credit reports of potential renters.  There are also companies that do background checks but this is more expensive and people may balk at having to give out too much information just to be considered as a renter. It was nerve-wracking for a while because our tenant turned out to be a whiny pest but eventually turned out fine because the renters wanted to buy the home.

We handled all of this on our own but there are property management firms that can do it for you, for a fee.  They generally are paid a portion of the monthly rent so their motivation is to have the property occupied. I'm not sure that this gives them the incentive to hold out for really responsible tenants.  They don't have to foot the bill for damage.  We have some rental property now and are thinking of arranging with a friend, who lives nearby, to handle the day to day management with an incentive based on the quality of the tenant.