Suggestions? When to give notice to landlord when purchasing house.?

Question

We have been looking for a house to purchase and have an offer in now. We let the lease expire and have agreed to give 45 days notice to the landlord when we want to move. I would like to keep the overlap of paying for both homes to as little as possible. We moved to the DC area and rented until we were familiar with the area and ready to search. The last time we went from rental to purchase was thirty years ago.

I could give notice as soon as the offer is accepted (assuming it is) but we then have the house inspection to go through and we know there are a couple of things we want to have fixed. One fairly major plumbing issue.

Would you suggest we give notice when we come to agreement on fixing the items? We want to minimize dual payments but not take the chance of losing our rented condo and the house. Suggestions.

Answer 1

I would wait to give notice until you (at a minimum) have a closing date.

The real thing to think about is what happens if the closing doesn't happen for one reason or another? You would have given up your apartment and wouldn't own a house. It would be a tough place to be.

Personally I wouldn't even give notice until the deal closed. I would consider the 45 days the price of security. I have seen some strange things happen with real estate closings.

Understanding that you want to minimize overlap, I would wait until the all of the contract issues were settled, inspection and appraisal were done and the closing date/time set up. Then you could give notice and have the notice period end a couple of weeks after your scheduled closing. You still need some time to move, right?

If you are taking a mortgage out, you pay for some costs at closing and typically don't make a mortgage payment for at least 31 days (usually closer to 45 days). The overlap shouldn't be financially taxing.

good luck!

Answer 2

Security costs money. If you want the security, then overlap as much as needed. As you get in deeper you'll have a much better idea of what you can get away with. If relations are good with your landlord, it won't hurt to tell him you have a house. As long as you make your payments, your landlord shouldn't care if you have one hundred houses. Wait until you can make an informed decision. I understand wanting to minimize cost, but make sure you have all your facts before committing to something.