HUD Articles
Sellers: What to Do When You Can't Find a Home Before Yours Sells
November 15, 2021
https://www.hgtv.com/lifestyle/real-estate/staging-tips-for-selling-during-the-holidays
t’s the time of year that calendars are packed with holiday parties, budgets are strained by gift-giving and the roads are covered in freshly fallen snow. Alas, 'tis not the season for real estate. But the good news is that the few brave house-hunters who do venture out are serious about buying a house and stylish trimmings will make them want to ring in the new year in your home.
“Holidays can be personal on a lot of levels, but you want to make sure your decor is neutral,” advises Amy Powers, owner of Accent Home Staging & Interiors of Atlanta. “You want to romance your buyer, not invite them to your Christmas party.”
Try these tips to get buyers in the right spirit:
Clean and stage. “Before you decorate, your house needs to be staged,” Powers says. If your living room is already piled high with clutter and tchotchkes, your ceramic reindeer collection is only going to add to the sense of overcrowding.
Create a cozy vibe. The less-is-more mantra of home staging may tempt you to forgo holiday cheer this year. But a few subtle touches like a bowl of pinecones, an evergreen wreath, or a pot of cider simmering on the stove can create a warm and festive feeling in your home.
Complement your palette. Before you start untangling your tinsel, make sure your holiday collection matches your current decor. If your living room is painted a soothing ocean-blue hue, skip the clashing red garland and opt for white snowflakes or a silver glass-ball wreath. If you’ve got an earthy color scheme, accent with rich tones like cranberries, forest greens and gold.
Accentuate the positive. Too many trimmings may distract buyers, but the right accessories can draw attention to your home’s best features. Dangle mistletoe in an arched doorway, or display your menorah on the ledge of a bay window; just don’t block a beautiful view with stick-on snowflake decals or clutter an elegant fireplace with personalized stockings.
Go light on lights. Step away from the inflatable snowman, Clark Griswold. One man’s “merry” is another man’s “tacky,” so tone down any garish light displays while your home is on the market. (No, your neighbors didn’t pay us to say that.) Instead, use simple string lighting to play up your home’s architecture or draw attention to the gorgeous fir tree in your front yard.
Be an equal-opportunity decorator. Leave the life-sized Nativity scene in storage this year, because overtly religious flourishes may be off-putting to some buyers. “You want to keep neutrality throughout, so you can attract any type of buyer,” Powers says. Not sure what qualifies? Powers adds, “No matter what your religion is, you’re not going to feel offended by a nutcracker.”
Mind the tree. A tall Christmas tree can help you show off your two-story great room, but make sure the wide base won’t overwhelm the floor space. If your living area is on the small side, save space with a skinny tree. Swap the gaudy heirloom ornaments and trim your tree in a cohesive theme such as icicle lights and silver tinsel, for example, or blue and gold glass balls.
Clear the clutter. A few decorations can stir the holiday spirit, but don’t feel obliged to hang every last ornament. “A lot of people, when they decorate, tend to use all the extra space in their house,” Powers says. “You still want each space to look as spacious as possible.” Limit yourself to a few hints of holiday flair, but stash the rest in the basement for now. If you start to miss your Santa figurines, just remember that with a little luck, you’ll be celebrating next year’s holidays in a new home. And you can decorate that place any way you please.
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Sellers: What to Do When You Can't Find a Home Before Yours Sells
If you sold your house before you've found new digs, don't worry: You have options.
March 26, 2021
By: Carrie Hamblin
Related To:
Home StagingReal Estate
In an ideal world, selling your old home and purchasing your new one would be perfectly coordinated: you sign two stacks of papers, trade one set of keys for another and voila! Unfortunately, that kind of harmonizing doesn't always happen. With both transactions pending, your future home's seller and your existing home's buyer could be trying to synchronize their own home deals. In a common enough scenario, one of your transactions is finishing before the other has even started. In this article, we will look at what to do if your home sells before you have found another, and how one popular solution to this problem can be beneficial to your buyer too.
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The Seller's Perspective
If you cannot coordinate buying and selling perfectly, this is arguably the better position to be in. Buying a house before selling can make you responsible for two mortgages and two homes, sometimes in different cities. Since your sale is now complete, you know exactly what you have in the bank for house-shopping and have your down payment money ready. Plus, you are an attractive purchaser since you won't need to make your home sale a contingency in the contract.
The obvious downside to selling first is that now you need to figure out where you're going to temporarily lay your head. Based on your personal situation and the outlook for your next residence, you have a few options:
Friends and Family
If it looks like it will be a matter of a short delay, you could stay with family or friends. This option is more tenable for a single person or a couple than folks with a large family or those with young children. The advantage of shacking up with loved ones is that it may be free — a big plus. The downsides are significant, however. You will need to rent a storage unit for your stuff, and you'll incur double the time and expense of moving everything. Plus, the situation could strain your relationship if it goes on too long.
A Housesitting Gig
You could try a housesitting arrangement. Aside from your extended circle of friends, several companies online pair homeowners on sabbatical or extended work assignments with reliable home (and sometimes pet) sitters. Often it is a free arrangement, and sometimes it's even paid. That would more than make up for your storage costs. The downside to housesitting is that finding a position can take time and, depending on where you are looking, be highly competitive. If you have left the problem of where to live until the last minute or are limited in your locality, this one won't fly. It is also not an option for a family or individuals with their own pets. And you still have the moving time and expense times two.
The Short-Term Rental
Another idea is to simply rent an apartment month-to-month or on a short-term lease. This option allows you to relax and shop for your next home at your leisure without worrying about how long it might take. The financial part could be a win or loss because rent may be more or less your next mortgage payment. The definite downside is having to move twice.
The Leaseback Agreement
The best option for the home seller in this situation is often the leaseback (also known as a sale-leaseback, rent-back or post-closing possession agreement), in which you close the home sale like usual and then become the purchaser's temporary tenant for a period after closing. Your rent covers the cost of his or her mortgage payment. This scenario requires a purchaser with flexibility, but it is a common enough practice: it actually happens in about a quarter of home purchases in some markets. The great thing about the leaseback for you is obvious – you can shop for your new residence from the comfort of your former home. No shacking up with in-laws; no storage facility bills; no double moving charges.
The Buyer's Perspective
The leaseback can be of benefit to the buyer too. If the buyer is in the opposite scenario — buying before selling — a leaseback would be of serious financial benefit. Remember, carrying two mortgages is not so fun. Or, if the house was purchased as an investment property, the buyer has a built-in first tenant.
There are pre-contract buyer benefits as well. If it's a seller's market and the buyer is struggling to secure a home purchase, the seller may be too. Being amenable to a leaseback can put the buyer ahead of others competing for the home. If the buyer needs to close quickly in order to secure a low-interest rate, the leaseback offer is their carrot in negotiations. In another scenario, in which a buyer locates an off-market property or a for-sale property with a tentative homeowner, it can incentivize the homeowner to pull the trigger by slowing the transition out of the house to a comfortable pace.
