Questions About Moving

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Get your house ready to sell.
Remove all the clutter and get a storage unit if you can afford one or use the garage. Start packing things up.
Put a large dog crate, borrow one from the neighbor if you don't have one, in a bedroom and when show time come put the cats in there so they don't slip out.
Get it on the market. Price it to sell. You are not sitting on it trying to make a buck, you need to move.
Clean, repaint the hall, fis walls and repaint any dinks, wash the exterior, including the driveway.
You can try ot sell it yourself, it is much less hassle if you use a real estate agency.
Buying a home:
Get yourself preapproved for the size of loan the bank will lend you. A good real estate in the new location will help you find a broker or go to your current mortgage company. THey will tell you what they are willing to give you for the new home. If you are using the old home as a contingency then you tell the bank and go from there.
You can sell your current home and pay rent to the new owners for a month or so if you are not ready to move out.
You can pay double mortgages if you find a home you love and need to have.
You can get the current house under contract and then start really looking at new homes. THere are so many good homes out there.

We have sold homes outright and paid back rent for a month, We have had to get a bridge loan and a down payment loan when we moved out of VA during the housing crash. I do not recommend that way. Same house we paid a double mortgage for almost a year until it sold.
My house is on the market as of today. I have three big dogs, Shepherds, and three cats and four kids. Hubby is not here as he took a job in VA and we are moving to him. We are hoping to sell this one or get it under contract then be able to afford a nicer home in VA.

Hi A.,
Three years ago my husband, teenage son and I moved from CO to OK. My husband was transferred by his job and he had to leave before our house sold. My son and I stayed behind for almost 4 months before our house sold.

Our agent told us that a home with people actually living in it sells quicker than an empty one. It gives a more homey feel and the prospective buyers are able to see how you have arranged furniture and start thinking about how theirs would fit in the same space. Another tip is to have a bread making machine and have it in the middle of the baking cycle when the house is showed so it has a homey smell also. Or have a plate filled with freshly baked cookies out on the counter...the smell is still in the air and they can have a treat while they look.

If you decide to live in your home before it sells you will be asked to leave while prospective buyers look at it. We ran into both senarios (people at home and people gtone) when we were home shopping and it was better when the people were gone because we could openly talk about the features without being offensive to the sellers. You'll also have to keep your home spotless and show ready. I know with having four children this is going to make that a little hard but, without knowing their ages, you can make it a game to get it show ready in the fastest time. If they assist you and get it done in a certain amount of time you could reward them with a special treat.

After our home sold my husband took some personal leave and came back to CO to pack up our belongings. He had already rented an apartment large enough to fit our family of three, plus a small dog. We stayed in that apartment, which BTW was not the greatest but we wanted to save money on the rent. No sense paying a large amount on rent when it's a temporary thing. We hooked up with a real estate agent who in turn found homes that fit our criteria. It only took us about 1 1/2 months to find our dream home, we were preapproved for a certain amount, and the sellers were ready to move out. Waiting on the paperwork with the loan process was the only holdup in our being able to move in. Prior to buying we did our research on the school districts and programs for developmentally delayed children...our son is developmentally delayed and choosing his school was #1 on our list. We also looked at the housing tax rates in the different counties, type of neighborhood, and whether the area was in a flood area. Having done our homework made it easier to narrow down the search area for our agent.

Oh, BTW, we stored most of our belongings in a storage unit. Why pack, unpack and then pack again when you can live with the bare essentials for a short period of time.

In our experience this was the best method for us. We hate moving and have only done so four times in 23 years. Each time we rented a below standard apartment while we either looked for a new home or had our home built. It was temporary and we are frugal. It didn't hurt any of us and in fact it was a learning experience for all of us. We appreciated our new home more after moving out of the apartment.

Good luck on your move. I hope you find the best method for your family. Use it as a positive learning experience for your children, an adventure. The process will go more smoothly and you won't reach the point of wanting to pull your hair out of your head.

Blessings,
W. Q

If you know you are moving - you need to get ready to sell your current house. Do you have the finances to pay your current mortgage AND a rent payment?? You don't mention the distance of the move - and if this is for an established job situation.

We have had several MAJOR moves - fortunately they have been corporate relocations - so we had assistance to sell our home, buy a new home, temporary housing paid for (for 2 months) and the packing/moving/unpacking done for us. We have done it both ways - sold our house - then moved and bought a new one, rented our house and bought a new one - and had our house for sale and bought a new one while waiting for it to sell. I don't reccomend that last scenario - we were in a situation where it became necessary - but it took 2 years for our house to sell and we took a HUGE loss - we did get our "dream home" - but it was difficult financially. (by the way - we moved with 3 kids and 2 cats as well)).

If you have time - you need to figure out your moving plan. Have a timeline for getting things done - get your house listed as soon as possible. Research where you are moving to - I would reccomend renting for 6 months or so to really know the area! Research schools etc. - make the actual drive from where you are looking to live and to your prospective job - during actual rush hour!! We found this to be an important part of deciding where to live (when dealing with large metropolitan areas and suburbs!!)

Good luck!!!