If you're a homeowner and have just been informed that you have to relocate to another state for your job, you may be looking at your current home in despair. Despite relatively brisk sales, the housing market can still be unpredictable, and you can't count on selling your home quickly. That means you might not have enough money on hand to buy a new home in your new location. However, that dilemma has a very bright silver lining in the form of renting -- in both locations.
Rent Your Home (in More Ways Than One)
Typically, people planning to sell their homes and buy new ones rely on the cash from the sale of the old house to provide the down payment (and then some) on the new house. However, unless you're very familiar with the new city, you're not really going to know where you want to live anyway. Buying outright upon landing in the city can be disastrous if you pick the wrong neighborhood.
In your new city, you're better off renting at first as you and your family get used to the new area. The rental agencies in the new city can show you what specific neighborhoods are like, and if you don't like the first neighborhood you move into, you can move into another neighborhood with a minimum of fuss as long as your lease is up.
That also means you have some leeway regarding what to do with your home in your old city because you're not hurting for a large amount of cash. You should strongly consider renting that home out as well, only this time as the owner and not the renter, of course. That will give you a stream of income in addition to your work pay, helping you save up the down payment for your eventual new home.
Renting out your old home is also sometimes faster than selling it. With sales, the prospective buyers have to have the home inspected, you have to have people come by to look at the place, and so on. Buyers may want contingencies or offer below your asking price. You'll still have to have the home inspected and made ready to rent, but with the help of a good rental agency that will take care of showing the place, you should be able to rent the home out relatively quickly.
If you have any other questions, start talking to home leasing companies in your current city and the new city. The sooner you start preparing your old home to be rented out, the better, and you'll need to start looking in the new city quickly as well.
Share