Do I sell my house 1st then look for a house to buy? Or vice versa?

[lhafer]

Really it shouldn't be that hard to find a house for you. You need to narrow down the area you want to be in first and foremost. Once you have done that, find a realtor who is willing to show you around. Take a trip down for a weekend or a week and house hunt.

I had a client come in from out of state knowing they wanted the Atascocita area - but wasn't sure on neighborhoods. So I showed them around 3-4 neighborhoods and we looked at about 20 houses in a 2 day period. They found one they loved on the first day, and still was their favorite on the second day, so they put in an offer.

Spent a week with clients relocating here from out of state a couple of weeks ago. They knew they would be working in Texas City, but had no idea about neighborhoods, or even which area they wanted to live in. Showed them Clear Lake, League City, Seabrook, Dickinson, and Friendswood. They settled on League City. They actually found 3 houses they like and had offers on all 3 at one point. They finally chose a new build inventory home.

Spent this past weekend with another client from out of state (working with the same people above) - again, she had NO idea where she wanted to live. I narrowed down the areas for her and she's in the process of choosing a house after looking at about 20 houses in a 2 day period.

My point is - it's important to narrow down the area you want to be in. Once you have that decided - the house hunting gets a lot easier.

The closing laws are changing to 60 days beginning in August.

[PinkLadyK]

I saw your other post and wanted to add one more thing, since you mentioned that your primary concern is money. Depending on the age of your home, you also run the risk of something breaking/needing repairs the longer you hold onto it. And, of course, owning the home once you live in Houston is a real pain. Our realtor was excellent and basically maintained our home for us -- went so far as to meet scheduled repairmen, etc, but he was exceptional. And even with help from him and a neighbor, we still had a gas line issue that had to be repaired, to the tune of about $1200. Just one more potential expense to consider if you pass on the current offer.

And I realize I'm giving a whole lot of conflicting info -- I don't have the answer for you, but since I just did the exact thing you are doing, I am trying to share some experiences that may help you.

Best of luck.

[Bike4Life]

I'd ditch the house and move. Quit messing around with it.

[bpollen]

Originally Posted by PinkLadyK

I saw your other post and wanted to add one more thing, since you mentioned that your primary concern is money. Depending on the age of your home, you also run the risk of something breaking/needing repairs the longer you hold onto it. And, of course, owning the home once you live in Houston is a real pain. Our realtor was excellent and basically maintained our home for us -- went so far as to meet scheduled repairmen, etc, but he was exceptional. And even with help from him and a neighbor, we still had a gas line issue that had to be repaired, to the tune of about $1200. Just one more potential expense to consider if you pass on the current offer.

And I realize I'm giving a whole lot of conflicting info -- I don't have the answer for you, but since I just did the exact thing you are doing, I am trying to share some experiences that may help you.

Best of luck.

You make a very good point. I'm selling an old home in a "quaint" neighborhood, so it is possible that something could break or whatever.