The other day a friend mentioned how she feels at home in both LA and New York. It got me thinking about how I often say that having 2 places to live is better than NONE.
What exactly am I talking about? Well, when you are "in escrow", or "under contract" to purchase your next home, how do you know when you should give notice to your current landlord, or when to get rid of the place that you are living in right now? The tendency is usually to give notice "right away". I always caution my clients to wait until we are further along in the transaction and if they can, to wait until all contingencies are removed. I also ask them to check in with me before they give their notice so that I can assess the place we are at in the transaction and advise them to act accordingly. Ideally, if you can wait until loan docs are signed, you will be doing yourself a favor. Most people dislike the idea of paying for 2 properties at the same time (i.e. rent on the old place and mortgage on the new place). The problem with giving your notice too early is that you could end up with NO PLACE to live! Will some money be unnecessarily spent in the process? Yes, in a way, you are paying for two places and you will only be living in one. But.....the peace of mind of knowing you have a place to live is well worth it. Also, consider having the cover the cost of moving twice should your purchase be delayed. This year I closed 2 complicated transactions where the buyer's original loan did not go through. We had to start over with a new lender. Thankfully we were able to make arrangements for both clients so that they had a place to stay. In one case, the sellers allowed the buyer to move in as a tenant while we waited for the buyer's loan to close. Working with an experienced agent who has handled many types of transactions will ensure that the often stressful process of buying and selling will go through as smoothly as possible.
Got a Real Estate question for Revi? Email me at Revimendelsohn@gmail.com and I will get right back to you!
