Whatever the reason, you may find yourself asking, “Should I move out before selling my house?”
And that’s an excellent question. This question usually enters a homeowner’s mind because they are wondering what will give them the best chance of selling their home.
Let’s explore why you might want to move out before selling your house, how to know if it’s the right option for you, and some alternative options that might work better for you.
Why You Should Move Out Before Selling Your House
There are a number of advantages to moving out of your house before you sell it. The three main advantages are:
- Easier to prepare the home for the market
- Not being inconvenienced with showings, inspections, and appraisals
- Better for staging and shows the home better
Let’s explore each of the benefits to moving out of your home before selling.
Easier to Prepare The Home
The list of to-dos is quite long when it comes to getting a home ready for the market. From painting, to redoing floors, to decluttering, to depersonalizing, and everything in between.
It’s much easier to complete house projects, like painting the walls, if you’re moved out. You won’t have to deal with the inconvenience and headache of trying to fix the home while living there.
For me, with four kids, that would be a huge inconvenience to try to paint rooms while living in the home. If I had the ability to move out before selling, I could complete these projects much faster.
Of course, you could always look to sell your home as-is cash, but you will often be leaving money on the table.
No Showings and Inspections
To sell your home right, you’re going to need to keep the place in tip-top shape. That’s hard to do while living there. It means constant cleaning and decluttering — almost daily.
Imagine, while at work, you get a request for a showing tonight at 6pm. You approve of it. After work, you scurry home to clean and organize the home. You’re rushing out the door trying to get all of your things and make sure all people are accounted for.
You still have to manage to complete your daily responsibilities of kid’s homework, cooking, getting the kids to bed on time, and maybe, just maybe, getting a little bit of time to yourself.
If you move out before you sell your home, then you don’t have to worry about being inconvenienced by showings and it’s far easier to maintain the house in tip-top shape for showings.
Staged Homes Sell Better
Staged homes typically sell quicker and for more money than occupied homes cluttered with personal possessions or vacant homes with no furniture.
Why is this? It’s all about imagination and visuals.
In the case of a home filled with personal possessions, it can be hard for a home buyer to imagine living there. Instead, they feel like they are in your space. As if they are trespassing and violating boundaries.
It makes them feel uncomfortable. They are focused on how uncomfortable they are rather than the home itself.
With a vacant home, it’s also hard for a buyer to imagine living there. They aren’t able to see the potential of the space. Instead, they see an empty void. They don’t know where furniture could go, how it would fit, and how it would look.
It’s hard for them to know if the space would work for them.
Downside To Moving Before Selling: Two Homes
Like all things, there are trade-offs. For the benefits that I listed, there are downsides. You’re going to have to maintain two homes if you move before selling.
From a financial perspective, you’re going to have to carry two mortgages unless your home is paid off. If it takes longer to sell the home, you will have additional holding costs for the unoccupied home.
Property taxes, insurance, and the mortgage can all add up quickly.
Second, if you move out, you’re still going to have to take care of the property. Lawns need to be mowed and snow needs to be shoveled.
Every year, I see a big issue with vacant homes. Salt and snow gets dragged into the home from home buyers touring the house with their shoes on. While you can ask buyers to take off their shoes or wear covers, some choose to disobey the request.
The snow melts and the water dries, leaving behind salt and water stains throughout the home. This is usually seen in homes with hardwood floors.
To maintain the home in tip-top shape, you’re going to have to check in on the house and clean it every so often.
Lastly, you need to consider your insurance coverage. Many providers won’t cover a vacant home. You will need to get a new policy, specifically for vacant homes. Otherwise, you risk being personally liable for the damages that might occur to your house, especially vandalism.
When Moving Before Selling Is Right
Moving prior to selling the house isn’t right for everyone. There are a few situations where it’s a reasonable choice.
For example:
- You have money to afford two mortgages and the ongoing costs
- It’s a buyer’s market and you want to give yourself the best to sell your home
- You don’t want to be inconvenienced with showings and the process to sell your home
- You can only get an offer on a new home if it’s not contingent on selling your current home.
Being able to financially support two homes and their ongoing costs is the biggest qualifying factor. If you don’t believe you can support two homes, then I would advise against moving before selling your house.
The amount of time you have to pay on two homes will vary based on your market. Be sure to check with your real estate agent to get an idea of how fast homes are selling and closing.
In a hot seller’s market, like the one in 2021, a homeowner can list the home and have an offer within a week. Then, it’s typically another 45 days to close. So, at a minimum, you’re looking at around 2 months.
For a buyer’s market, this can stretch to 8 to 10 months. Can you hold onto a home for nearly a year and make the payments on another house?
Alternatives To Moving Out Before Selling Your Home
There’s no rule to when you have to move out when selling your home. It can before you sell, after you sell it but before the close, and after the close.
There are general best practices and common practices, however.
Alternative Option #1: Move out during the sale. You can move out once you have an offer on the home, but before the closing date. This is common for people in hot real estate markets.
We’re seeing a lot of home buyers find their home before they put their home on the market. If they are able to, then they choose to close on the home they are buying, move into it, and move out of the home they are selling before they have to close.
Alternative Option #2: Move out after the sale. This isn’t as common, but people do it. You can sell the home, close on it, and then rent your house back from the new owners.
A situation like this might occur when a home buyer needs the proceeds from the sale of a home to pay for a new home or when they won’t be able to close on the new home in the same day.
It’s a standard practice to rent back for 30 to 60 days. Anything beyond 60 days is usually not allowed. Most home buyers don’t want to wait 60+ days to move into the home they just bought.
Do you have questions about your options for selling your home? Contact an agent at the Dolinski Group. We service the Metro Detroit area and the Lansing area. We’re happy to help you sell your home.
