We’re sure you’ve heard how competitive and fast-paced the Denver housing market is these days. If you haven’t, we will confirm that it is still crazy, but not as crazy as it was three months ago. In April, the norm was for listings receiving ten or more offers, sales hitting far above list price, and little to no leverage for buyers during negotiations. We’re still seeing sales at or above list price, but now with only few offers and occasionally with some negotiating leverage.
Sale contingency is driven by your lender
If you’re getting your finances in order to purchase a new home, you may run into one common lender requirement (also called a condition): that you must sell your current home prior to buying your replacement property. While selling before you buy is the most common scenario (then removing the condition and allowing you to secure a new home loan), it is extremely difficult to get a contingent offer on a home accepted. On an initial phone consult, most real estate brokers will throw their arms up in submission when they hear you need to sell before you buy. Rest assured, there are ways to accomplish this:
The old fashioned way
The classic way to deal with this hurdle? Negotiate it! There are more opportunities these days to negotiate a contingency into your offer. To be successful in this, you must show the seller that you’re committed and that you aren’t just testing the waters. Having a plan to present to the seller is key. Having your home ready to list and press the “active” button on the MLS helps to convince a seller you mean business. Better yet, have a live listing that hits the market when you submit your offer, or even better — one that’s under contract!
A new option
We recently published an article on ways to sell (or not) before you buy your next home. While those techniques remain great options for accomplishing your next purchase, there’s a new kid (lending product) on the block that we want to tell you about! We’re continually vetting home financing products that would be a good option for our clients, and we were recently invited to use a new lending program that is only offered to a select few brokers in Denver and their clients.
This program essentially turns you into a cash buyer by purchasing the home for you and selling it back to you once you have sold your current home. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, there is a 1.5% fee for the service, which can be rolled into the purchase price when you’re read to buy the home back. There’s no free lunch, but it is a great service provided to contingent buyers so they can bypass the stress of selling their home until they’ve secured their new one. There are some restrictions on the loan amount, timing, etc., so reach out to us and we can fill you in on all of the details!
There are many different ways to sell your home and purchase a replacement successfully. Your first step is to sit down with a real estate broker who is familiar with all of the options and can help you come up with a solid game plan! If you’d like to utilize our expertise on this or for more detailed information about the market in your neighborhood, please reach out!
