Buy Before You Sell Program is Now in New York

The conventional wisdom for people with a house they own who want to buy a new home has always been that they sell their current home before they made an offer on a new home because no seller wants a “contingent” deal on their sale. Also known as a Hubbard Clause or a sales contingency, it has always posed a risk for a seller because their sale depends on their buyer finding a buyer of their own. As a listing agent I’ve even had newer agents tell me that once my seller client agrees, their buyer will list their home for sale. Since it’s always been easier to buy than to sell, that seldom worked out.

Times have changed. Many people who might otherwise want to sell don’t, because they have no idea where they will go once they get a buyer for their home. This is common because inventory is so cartoonishly low. Therefore, they want to find something before selling their current home. Given that we are in a strong seller’s market, many sellers are now Ok with this. But the challenge is often that the buyer’s money is tied up in their current home’s equity, and they cannot always even make the earnest money deposit required to secure their purchase.

The solution in some cases is to secure a bridge loan, but that isn’t always a simple or easy process as some clients of mine recently discovered. I’m pleased to share that Howard Hanna and their subsidiary 1st Priority Mortgage have the solution, the Buy Before You Sell program. It allows people to start the purchase of the home they want while it’s still available by tapping into their current home’s equity with a 90 day deferred interest bridge loan.

Here are a few more key points I’ve been furnished with by my colleagues about the Howard Hanna Rand version of the Buy Before You Sell program for Westchester, Putnam and surrounding counties:

• Allows the buyer to take Advantage the equity in your current home, now rather than later
• Specialized tool for our family – Existing property must be listed with you and will use you to purchase their new home plus use 1^st Priority for their mortgage
• Property needs to be in a licensed state
• Out of pocket expense less than $400 at time of application; appraisal and credit report
• Drive by appraisal only on current home
• Low rate of 8%  and payment is  interest only
• Max Term 1year
• Payments deferred for 1^st 90 days (interest accumulates)
• If loan closes within the first 90 days, we will issue a payoff statement for principal amount along with per diem amount of interest
• Existing home to be listed prior to closing with a Howard Hanna agent

Those terms and small print are pretty reasonable and simple. This is for Howard Hanna clients whose home is listed with one of our brands (locally Howard Hanna Rand in Westchester and Hudson Valley or Howard Hanna Coach out on Long Island) and is through 1st Priority Mortgage. I’m a fan of this program; so many people out there would love to sell, but they simply don’t know where they can go! Since moving is a big enough project to begin with, a short term rental or just uncertainty of the next destination or not viable options. This takes the uncertainty out of the equation.

The loan officers who I’ve worked with at 1st Priority are industry veterans whom I have known and respected as professionals for many years. It’s always a pleasure to work with them and my clients have always been  in good hands. They also do a great job at keeping our agents informed on the mortgage market, which is incredibly helpful.

If you are thinking of selling but concerned that you aren’t sure where you’ll go, this is a program worth looking into. Call me at 914.450.8883 and I can walk you through it.