I'll start off with a brief background... My H and I have been separated since March, and we're currently in the middle of a divorce. DS and I have been living with my parents during the separation because H refused to move from our family home, and I had nowhere else to go. Without going into a huge backstory, DS and I can no longer remain at my parents' house, so I'm trying to find another place for us to live.
Ideally, I would be able to purchase another house for us immediately, but I can't until our family house/farm (where H still lives) sells. H and I are working to get it on the market, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen until the end of this year/first of next year. Neither of us can afford it on our own, so that's the main reason we are selling. So, I've been trying to find a safe, affordable, decent place for DS and I to rent until the house sells.
Now, with that said, I've still been keeping an eye on the local real estate offerings.
And a gorgeous older home, in our same neighborhood, within walking distance of my family, has come up for sale. It needs some TLC, and the price reflects that...in other words, it would be in my budget-range, if our other house had already sold. Also, I'm familiar enough with the house to know it's been on and off the market several times over the years, ever since the original, elderly owners passed away, but no one has ever bought it. It HAS had renters the entire time, though.
I had a crazy thought over the weekend that, given the local housing market (awful) and the fact that this house is agent-owned by a local realtor, and given the fact that they apparently want to sell it fairly badly (the price has dropped waaaaay down from where it started)...maybe they would possibly consider my offer. Which is...let me rent the house until my other house sells, and then I would buy this one. (Obviously assuming the older house actually passes inspection and is not a money pit, etc. I don't mind a bit of a fixer-upper, but can't take on a total renovation.) H and I don't have a realtor for our marital house yet, so (assuming we can agree on this and both like her) we may be willing to offer this realtor the opportunity to sell our house as well.
My questions...(and I know there are a lot of "assuming this and that" and "what if's" involved)...are 1 ) does this seem at all feasible?, 2) what would be the best way to approach the realtor with this proposition?, and 3) what should I expect if the realtor does agree to consider this? (as far as signing a contract agreeing to buy, putting any money down up front, restrictions on how long they will wait for the other house to sell, etc.)
As another sidenote...I have already called and made an appt. to view the house and was able to find out a little more about its current situation. There are 2 renters there right now...one is a single mom and her kids, who are in the main house, and the other is a college student, I think, who lives in a small, detached MIL suite. Apparently, the student is prepared to move and only needs 30 days notice, and the mom's lease runs through May 2011. DS and I would definitely be fine with living in the smaller space for awhile, and it might actually be really nice to have another mama and her family so close. I don't know how any of this might influence the realtor's thoughts about my proposal...
Ideally, I would be able to purchase another house for us immediately, but I can't until our family house/farm (where H still lives) sells. H and I are working to get it on the market, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen until the end of this year/first of next year. Neither of us can afford it on our own, so that's the main reason we are selling. So, I've been trying to find a safe, affordable, decent place for DS and I to rent until the house sells.
Now, with that said, I've still been keeping an eye on the local real estate offerings.
And a gorgeous older home, in our same neighborhood, within walking distance of my family, has come up for sale. It needs some TLC, and the price reflects that...in other words, it would be in my budget-range, if our other house had already sold. Also, I'm familiar enough with the house to know it's been on and off the market several times over the years, ever since the original, elderly owners passed away, but no one has ever bought it. It HAS had renters the entire time, though.I had a crazy thought over the weekend that, given the local housing market (awful) and the fact that this house is agent-owned by a local realtor, and given the fact that they apparently want to sell it fairly badly (the price has dropped waaaaay down from where it started)...maybe they would possibly consider my offer. Which is...let me rent the house until my other house sells, and then I would buy this one. (Obviously assuming the older house actually passes inspection and is not a money pit, etc. I don't mind a bit of a fixer-upper, but can't take on a total renovation.) H and I don't have a realtor for our marital house yet, so (assuming we can agree on this and both like her) we may be willing to offer this realtor the opportunity to sell our house as well.
My questions...(and I know there are a lot of "assuming this and that" and "what if's" involved)...are 1 ) does this seem at all feasible?, 2) what would be the best way to approach the realtor with this proposition?, and 3) what should I expect if the realtor does agree to consider this? (as far as signing a contract agreeing to buy, putting any money down up front, restrictions on how long they will wait for the other house to sell, etc.)
As another sidenote...I have already called and made an appt. to view the house and was able to find out a little more about its current situation. There are 2 renters there right now...one is a single mom and her kids, who are in the main house, and the other is a college student, I think, who lives in a small, detached MIL suite. Apparently, the student is prepared to move and only needs 30 days notice, and the mom's lease runs through May 2011. DS and I would definitely be fine with living in the smaller space for awhile, and it might actually be really nice to have another mama and her family so close. I don't know how any of this might influence the realtor's thoughts about my proposal...
