Sell or Buy First?

Sell or Buy First?

This is probably the second most popular question I’m asked when speaking to a home owner about selling their home. It comes directly after ‘What is My Home Worth?”

I’ve happily answered the same questions hundreds of times over the past two decades. Now I’ve published my answer. Below is the article in my local magazine for April of 2019. I’ll continue to be asked the questions ‘should I sell or buy first?’ and I’ll continue to answer them… Though, after you ask I’m going to email the answer in the picture form. One, because it’s spring and chicks are adorable. Two, because it saves me time and I won’t forget anything important.

 

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

Which came first, The Chicken or The Egg?

Are you finding yourself in the quandary? Wondering which comes first, selling your current home or finding the replacement home? You are not alone!

Just as scientists are sure the egg came first; I’m sure that you need to GET YOUR HOME SOLD first. If you need to close escrow on your current home in order to secure financing on your next home, one of the biggest hurdles right now is to get it sold. Writing an offer on a replacement home contingent upon the sale of your current home puts you in a compromised position for negotiations and puts you at the bottom of the pile when competing with other buyers.

Below are some options to consider:

1. Work out a longer escrow and/or rent the property back from the buyers of your property while you continue to shop for your next home
2. Temporary housing options; preferably furnished
3. Consider renting for a short period of time (6 months -1 year)

Many sellers are hesitant to commit to selling their home if they have not found their next property, particularly as we have seen record low inventory in these past several years. However, it’s difficult to buy unless your home is in escrow. Some sellers will offer to sell their home contingent upon securing that replacement housing. While this worked a couple of years ago as buyers were desperate to find a home, it is not as agreeable today as it leaves a buyer in limbo as they wait for the seller to find that next property with no guarantee.

Although it may be uncomfortable to consider not knowing where you will be going, you will ultimately reap the best results by being pragmatic and selling first, then buying. I have helped many of my clients successfully move from one house to the other with no interim housing by negotiating creatively on their behalf and being proactive in exposing them to the market place so that all their cards fell in to place at the right time.

If you have been considering a move but have not been quite sure how to accomplish the logistics, give me a call at 619-993-3734! I can walk you through a plan customized to your needs and help you achieve your goals and so you’ll know which you should to ‘sell or buy first?’

gloria@sandiegohomesforsaleca.com

Eldercare Helpful Apps (aka applications for those of you without smart phones)

 

Eldercare Helpful Apps Can Make Caring for a Senior Easier

Caring for a senior is taxing enough when you live close by. The task become even more challenging when distance separates the two of you. Luckily, there are ways to bridge the gap using apps and other high-tech tools. In this post we’ll review these options and recommend ways you can keep a watchful on an aged loved one no matter how far apart you are.

Lively

Those who suffer from dementia or other mental conditions sometimes have trouble maintaining regular routines. In extreme cases, these people may leave their homes while in a confused state and harm themselves or others without intention. Lively is an app that alerts adult children and other caregivers whenever a loved one shows signs of such behavior. The app offers a handy way to keep tabs on an older person while still respecting their privacy, according to Business Insider.

Red Panic Button

Don’t let the name of this app fool you. It’s designed to give peace of mind to caregivers who must leave their clients alone for a short time. When something is wrong, the care receiver can signal by simply pushing a red button on their smartphone screen. There are also features for inputting caregiver information, according to Forbes.

Carezone.

This is one of the most comprehensive caregiver apps on the market, according to AARP. The functions for keeping track of medications, contacting health care providers, keeping track of vital signs, and storing insurance cards and other important documents. It’s available for all major platforms, including Apple watch.

First Aid

This app, designed by the American Red Cross, offers easy-to-follow tutorials on how to perform basic first aid and CPR techniques. Knowing how to perform these procedures is part of any caregiver’s list of essential skills. Now the information is as close as your smartphone or tablet screen.

When Apps Aren’t Enough

Sometimes older adults need the kind of care that only a residential situation can provide. When this happens, it’s time for care givers and receivers to consider the advantages of moving to a senior living community. These include:

  • The chance to associate with people who share common interests and life experiences.
  • There is a range of supportive services such as fitness instructors, nursing assistants, dietitians, and, in many cases, college classes and instructional programs.
  • Having a simplified lifestyle that matches the person’s physical and mental abilities.
  • A conventional setting with private apartments as opposed to a hospital-type environment.

How to Afford Residential Care

Money concerns always surface whenever someone brings up the topic of senior care – and for good reason. Providing a suitable level of support for the aged can strain all but the deepest pockets. However, in most cases a family can access the funds they need in such situations. Here are some helpful tips:

  • ● Access retirement accounts, life insurance, savings bonds, etc. Often these resources are more than adequate for the needs at hand.
    ● Tap into home equity, either by selling a residence or taking out a line of credit.
    ● Review the available care packages and settle on one you can afford. Many times this strategy offers substantial savings. For example, the difference between rent for an apartment close to the dining hall is sometimes $50-$100 a month more than one just a little further away.
    ● Compare nonprofit vs. for-profit facilities. Those operated by religious or charitable groups often have reserve funds set up to help those with limited means.

Providing quality care to aging persons is a top priority for millions of individuals and families. Using the options discussed in this post can help caregivers to meet this challenge, both now and down the road.

Call me or send me an email, I’ll be happy to help you sell your home when you are ready.

Gloria Roma

Call 726-999-0566

or Email Us

Where is San Diego Housing Headed in 2017?

San Diego housing headed in 2017

Do you know that feeling when you think “hey, this all seems eerily familiar” You chalk it up to being De Ja Vu and then you sit in wonderment for a few minutes before you get moving on with your day.

No realtor or person who has anything to gain in real estate is ever going to be the first one to tell the general public that it’s about to turn down. If you ask any of them it’s always the best it’s ever been and it’s always a great time to buy and sell. Well, as a full time practicing realtor…probably the only one that I know of that is honest to a fault is about to tell you the facts in San Diego real estate as of fall 2016.

Affordability Matters

It all boils down to affordability and availability. If you were a giant peering in you would see that our San Diego local economy is finally picking up steam, unemployment is finally in single digits throughout the county and things seem to be humming along. But if you looked at our demographics, the average income, the average house price, the average debt load, etc you would see that the majority of our population cannot afford to buy a home in San Diego.

One might argue that affordability doesn’t matter because as long as people own homes they now have equity and can move up using their newly formed equity position as leverage to do so. I agree, but who is going to buy thier house? Who is San Diego first time home buyer? They make about $58k a year and can TRULY afford something in the $100k’s.

How can someone who only makes enough to buy a $100k house actually purchase a $400-500k house? It’s called creativity. The loans that were made in the early 2000’s are back. They are buying homes using no down payment, an introductory interest rate that will increase in about 5 years and continue to increase as long as the government increases interest rates. The government has also increased the minimum they will guarantee (aka FHA insurance). These people are being told that interest rates will stay low forever and they’ll get into the market and increase their wealth because they are now home owners. What they aren’t hearing is that interest rates will increase as soon as we have an inkling of inflation. Has that buyer looked at what they’ll be making when that happens?  Have they looked into whether or not they can afford their newly purchased home if the interest rates go up to a normal interest rate of 5 or 6%?

San Diego is number at the top of the list

San Diego has notoriously had the worst salaries compared to what it actually costs to live here. We are number 1 when it comes to not being able to qualify for the average priced home where we live.  Put another way, out of all 50 states in the U.S. our residents can afford our houses the least this year.

To ‘help’ San Diegans qualify for a home loan the lenders are once again offering interest only loans, no down payment loans, no tax return loans, etc. This began in early 2015…I saw it, everyone should have seen it. Home sales were balanced in 2014 some were selling, others were sitting. Some buyers were getting good deals, some sellers were getting out from under their mortgages it was going along fine….then the government increased the loan for FHA from $417500 to $580750 and BAM up shot the prices, all of a sudden there were bidding wars on houses in the $600k’s and it has only blown up from there into what we are experiencing today.

More to come….

Call me or send me an email, I’ll be happy to help you sell your home when you are ready.

Gloria Roma

Call 726-999-0566

or Email Us

About Gloria

Gloria Roma helping seniors move
Gloria Roma works with adult children of seniors when navigating inherited real estate holdings.

 

Gloria is an accomplished Realtor with over 28 years of cumulative experience in real estate and finance. If you’re buying, Gloria knows how to help you, having been awarded as the TOP 3 Buyers Agent in America. If you’re selling, her showcased estates SELL for up to 18% higher with Gloria’s Proven Home Selling System.

DRE #01243709