Seek the advise of a qualified professional in selling or buying property. Advise for sellers and for buyers has as many answers as there are buyers and sellers. Specific advise is available from us to each person on an individual basis as to what suites them the best.

The first step you want to take is to get qualified to purchase another home. You do not want to sell your home and then find out you do not qualify for another one. Do this first!

Secondly, find yourself a reputable Realtor that will work for you and not for both sides of the sale. Any lender will require you to sell your home first before you can close on another loan unless you can qualify to carry both homes at the same time.
If you are thinking about buying a short sale or foreclosure type of home, just make sure the price has been approved by the bank first and you can get that price in writing from the bank. Just because a Realtor placed it in the MLS or advertises it for a price, DOES NOT mean that is the price the bank has accepted. Sometimes Realtors advertise short sale homes at what they THINK the bank will accept to get their phone to ring, but until that price is accepted by the bank AND in writing, it's not a real price.

Then have a plan. If the house you are living in sells before the home you want to buy is available, know what you are going to do and where you are going to stay. If the home you want is available before you are out from underneith your current home, can your Realtor negotiate to secure the home for a while or would you consider another home? And do you have a second choice in mind if the seller won't negotiate? All this is something to think about and work out as you plan to purchase.

I am also a full time licensed Mortgage Broker and can help you with the first step. I work with many reputable realtors in our local area that can help you purchase your next home. If you are interested, please contact me at my office. It would be my pleasure to help you.
Cathryn Blair-Bennett
First Capital Lending Corp.
239-277-9244 Ext. 212

Angela-
DEFINATELY sell your house before you even think about buying another. If and when you sell your house you can always lease it back from the buyer as part of the sales agreement. A short sale may take a few months, that is true, but selling might take even more months.
I specialize in Cape Coral and have closed a few short sales. I think we, as realtors, are up to about 20-25% of short sales that actually close. The rest go into foreclosure.
Contact me by phone or email if you want to talk more about your situation.
Carolyn Giandonato
(239) 243-4082

Angela, short sales take (on average) 3 months to get an answer on your offer from the lender. You are basically locked into that offer waiting for an answer. As the previous agent suggested, you should talk to your lender to see what you can handle. I would love to set up some time to talk to you further about the short sale situation (especially in Cape Coral). Just give me a call at 239-823-6883.

Kate

Contact a local realtor in regards to selling your house.....Nancy Doyle is a good one in Cape Coral.
Find out for sure if you even have equity in your home. I had someone contact me and they insisted they had equity but were upside down about 100k.....

As far as the timing goes.....good luck if you are dealing with a short sale. You will be flying blind.

Yes, you should get your own Realtor to sell your house and to help you buy another one. Timing depends on how much cash/available credit you have. Can you handle two mortgages at once? You should go to your lender and determine your options. You may have to sell before you can buy. You can time that down to the point fo "same day closings". However, in that case, a short sale may not be a good idea, as they take a long time and can have many complications. Also, banks will not generally accept an offer that is contingent on selling another home. So talk with your lender and with a good realtor in your area. Best of luck!

Find and interview the agents who know your neighborhood best. Ask around (neighbors, your attorney, etc) for referrals, then interview several to find the best fit; don't just pick an agent off Craigslist (as much as I love the site).

It's easier and faster to sell a vacant, staged home rather than an occupied one. However, depending on how long homes take to sell in your area, you may have financial reasons for staying in your home until it sells. If not, a 'bridge' loan can use the equity in your current home to help with a down payment on the new place. The listing agent you pick can guide you in that part of the process. Good luck!