Today’s post is about the need to be organized about before you selling your home in order to get things right and not get hurt down the road. So the question is “When selling my home and buying a new one, how do I line up the dates and make sure that everything goes smoothly so I dont end up having to move my stuff twice?
I know this sounds like a lot to think about, but breaking it down makes it seem less daunting. There are 2 main dates to think about for each transaction: the notary date and the occupancy date. And more often than not, these don’t happen on the same day.
- The notary date is when you sign all the paperwork and the process is put in motion to transfer the funds from the buyer to the seller of the home.
- The occupant today is when you officially hand over the keys and the buyers are officially allowed to start moving in.
Goldilocks Zone: seven to ten days
If you are selling and haven’t purchased your next home yet, I suggest to set the notary date and occupancy date about a week to 10 days apart. This way, you can set your purchase notary date and your new occupant date within that same range when making an offer on another property.
A minimum of 48 hours for funds to clear
We always need a few days between the notary of the sale of your old property and the notary of the purchase of your new property to allow time for the funds to clear. Typically, this is a minimum period of 48 hours, but leaving as much as three to five days between his best.
Using the same notary helps streamline the process
One of the things we sometimes suggest is to use the same notary as the person purchasing your property. This can help facilitate the process and shorten that timeframe significantly.
An example
Here’s a hypothetical scenario of how that timeline could work:
- March 1st: notary date and sale of your home
- March 4th: notary date and purchase of your new home
- March 6th: occupancy date for your new home
- March 9th: the date you need to be out of the home you sold
Taking this approach means there’s no need for short term storage, no need to move into your in-laws house and no need to move your stuff twice.
A final word of advise: remember to do this beforehand–waiting until it’s too late can be a big problem.
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