Selling Your Home and Buying Another

It's Time To Move

Moving house is often associated with other changes in your life, such as purchasing your own home, moving in with a partner, changing jobs, beginning study, or moving out on your own. Most people move quite short distances (43 per cent are moves of less than 5 kilometres). If you did move, you may recall being asked about the reasons for moving house. Housing reasons were the most common reasons given for the move (for example, to get a better or larger place), family or personal reasons were next, followed by job or education reasons, then by neighbourhood reasons. Moves for work or education purposes are typically medium to long distance, whereas moves for housing reasons typically involve quite short distances.

So you have made the decision to move and now you need to either sell your home and buy another or alternatively buy your new home and then sell your existing property. Either way has benefits but may also have some downside, for example if you sell first, having to do a double move if you can’t locate a suitable home to move straight into. If you buy first, there is a risk that your sale will be protracted and that this will incur additional interest cost.

Either way, Iden Money can help you. Not only can we help you sell and then buy your home but we can also provide “Go Between” bridging loan finance on generous and affordable terms if you decide to buy first and then sell.

Selling First

To achieve a timely and satisfying sale it is important to understand what your home is worth and be prepared to accept that figure. Many people think their home is worth far more than it’s real value and properties are listed well above their true value, eventually causing anxiety and disappointment when a lower sale figure is achieved. So it is essential that one way or another you find out the true likely sale figure before listing. This can be done by having the property valued by a real estate valuer or alternatively carrying out your own research of similar properties and then obtaining a number of real estate opinions. This should indicate a tight range within which you should sell for.

Either way, once you have a figure in mind you must determine who will list and market your property. Alternatively, you can do this yourself but unless you have the skills and training to do this, it is not recommended. Real Estate Agents giving a market appraisal will vie for the opportunity to list and sell your home. You must determine who you feel is the right person to do this for you. The one who gives the highest appraisal figure is not necessarily the right one. This person needs to be a good negotiator for you. This is very important. It is also important that you are satisfied with the selling fee. In some states these fees are regulated but in other states the agent can determine the selling fee. It may be better to pay a higher fee to get the right agent. You should carefully interview the prospective agents to determine their experience and ability to sell your property and how the property is to be advertised and the cost of this. Some agents will contribute to this cost. Timing is important in selling your home. Fresh properties to the market attract far more interest so it is important that sufficient home opens occur in the first month and that your home does not become “stale.” Needless to say, your home should be kept in pristine condition during this period. Ask the agent for advice on what to hide and what to spruce up. You then need to determine whether you will sell by Private Treaty or by Auction.

Buying First

Buying before you sell provides a number of advantages and is a great way to achieve what you want provided you are comfortable to do it this way. The benefits of buying before you sell include:

Buying before you sell also includes risks. Some of these are:

Bridging Loan

The decision to buy before you sell will entail borrowing additional money for the short term. When you sell you will be able to repay this “bridging loan.” Taking out a normal bridging loan requires the payment of interest concurrently with your existing home loan repayment. This may double your monthly commitments unless you are able to add the interest on to the bridging loan. Iden Money offers a better way to do this. In brief, the Go Between Bridging Loan entails providing a home loan for you to purchase your new home, but with no loan payments for six months. Your existing home loan can remain with the current lender and a  second mortgage will be taken until the property is sold. You will then have only one home and one loan. You can find out more about Go Between Bridging Loan here or call us on 1300 334 336.