With two college-aged kids, home-owner Alice Coleman discovered herself on the point of changing into an empty-nester within the spring of 2021. Immediately, her 3,400 square-foot residence in Katy, Texas, felt unnecessarily massive.
And he or she had the large property tax payments to match.
“The taxes have been steadily growing, and that was anticipated,” says Coleman. “However I’m an educator so, you already know, I’m not bringing in a complete lot of cash. My final tax invoice was about $10,500 and I knew it was going to go up once more for 2022.”
Understanding that the Katy housing market was as scorching as the upcoming summer time climate, Coleman determined to discover her choices for downsizing. Her largest worry? The place she would dwell if her personal home bought earlier than she had an opportunity to discover a new one — which is a really actual risk in a fast-moving market.
“I didn’t need to be ready the place I bought the house after which couldn’t discover or couldn’t purchase one other residence due to the bidding wars and every thing occurring,” Coleman explains.
HomeLight Commerce-In brings aid
Happily, Coleman’s actual property agent, Jennifer Voskuhl, had simply the answer: HomeLight Commerce-In.
HomeLight Commerce-In permits sellers to develop into patrons first. By making a good buy provide on the prevailing residence, this system eliminates the gross sales contingency and permits patrons to make a aggressive provide — all of the whereas working alongside their trusted agent. After the transfer is full, HomeLight sells the earlier residence and any earnings above the agreed-upon worth are returned to the vendor (minus the low program price).
“So I had a gathering with the HomeLight Commerce-In workforce and realized what they needed to provide, and it lined up with what I wanted to do,” says Coleman. “The whole lot took off in a short time and I used to be very pleased.”
Since she hadn’t bought a house since 2004, Coleman had anticipated a necessity for further legwork on her finish — both to tediously put together mountains of monetary data or in any other case polish up her credit score historical past earlier than she’d be able to make a transfer — however she was pleasantly stunned to study the other.
“I didn’t need to repay something. I didn’t have to write down any letters. I didn’t need to do something besides pull the traditional financial institution statements.”
Relieved that she wouldn’t have to fret about short-term housing or leaping via approval hoops, Coleman was prepared to search out her new residence.
A swift transfer to cozier quarters
It didn’t take Coleman and her agent lengthy to search out the right home, and he or she didn’t have to depart Katy or compete with different patrons in a chaotic market.
Coleman had a pal who tipped her off to a neighbor who was shifting just some homes down, and prompt that the house they have been leaving could be the right match.
Because it seems, Coleman’s pal was spot-on. And never solely was the home superb, however the sellers additionally weren’t within the potential stress of bidding wars both.
“We occurred to catch the home earlier than they put up for sale, and so they took my provide immediately,” says Coleman. “My new house is 1,800 sq. ft and I adore it, adore it, adore it. It’s so a lot simpler to take care of!”
And her new tax invoice? It was simply $4,400 for 2022.
“It looks like a weight has been lifted to have the ability to lower that vast invoice down as a lot as I did,” she says. “And I nonetheless have a pleasant residence. I’m nonetheless in Katy — I’m simply right here at a way more affordable charge than the place I used to be earlier than.”
As icing on an already candy cake, Coleman’s earlier residence bought simply as rapidly and even for somewhat greater than she anticipated. After a small allowance for carpet, Coleman’s former residence bought for $18,000 over the asking worth.
HomeLight Commerce-In made it doable
“I don’t suppose I might have been in a position to do that with out HomeLight Commerce-In,” she says.
“My largest worry was promoting my residence and never with the ability to buy one, so the truth that HomeLight advised me, ‘Hey, go discover your private home first and then we’ll promote yours’ — for me, that was safety.”
Coleman additional valued the clear communication and effectivity of the HomeLight Commerce-In program; particularly as somebody who hadn’t been concerned in an actual property transaction in practically twenty years.
“I’m a stickler for working with individuals who know what they’re speaking about, and every thing occurred the way in which the HomeLight workforce stated it was going to occur. All people on either side made certain every thing went in response to plan.
“It was very reasonable and it was to my profit.”
Header Picture Supply: (Trong Nguyen / Shutterstock)
