ONLY sign a contract for a new house AFTER you have sold your last house AND have the cash in hand. It is much better to rent for a month or 3 than to have 2 house payments for years to come.

IF the builder has agreed to pay you x amount for your current house sign the other contract with that fee applied towards your new house. If they instead only said they would take a 4% comission instead of 6% do what you think is best. That could mean staying where you are now.

Pattie,

You should never sign a contract that you do not understand and/or places you in a situation that you are not comfortable with. It sounds to me like you do not have a representative that is caring for your best interest and your best interest alone.

If you were to sign a contact then you should have a contingency that clearly states that you do not purchase the new home until AFTER settlement of your current home.

I highly recommend you reassess your situation and have open conversations with the folks are you working with now. If you are not already doing so I also recommend you partner with a Realtor. Then, once you have contact and partnership with someone you can trust, create a selling that will net you the most for your home. And, a buying strategy that will which will place you in the drivers seat and will save you time and money.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Chris Capps, Realtor
Residential Real Estate Specialist

cell 804.896.6945
email chriscapps@oakstoneproperties.com

It's Time to Expect More From Your Realtor

I do not know your exact situation so will speak now in generalities; when you sign the contracts the one for your new home should be written as being contingent upon the sale of your current home and visa versa. Do you have an agent who represents only you in one of the transactions? They should be able to help you write the contract so that you are protected from having 2 mortgages at the same time. You can call me if you would like to talk about this in more detail.

Please clarify what it is you are trying to do here? It appears you want to buy a new home and sell your existing home so you don't end up with 2 mortgages but the details are not clear. It also appears the builder has not begun work on your new home since you have not signed a contract? When will the new home be ready? Is the market pressuring you to lower the price on your existing home?

Just too many "unknowns" here for me to give a proper answer.