2022 – The Year of the Rent Back!

I recently closed on 3 properties with the owners staying/will be staying for a few months in each instance. One family is waiting to close on another property and need to stay within their home for a few months and are perfectly happy paying the buyer all rental costs in the interim! The other family is renovating their new home and wanted to avoid the dust for a few months! Yet another family was purchasing in another state, and needed a slight delay.

A few years ago this wasn’t the norm, and if a home owner stayed in their home for more than a few days then the daily penalty rose accordingly. However, since the real estate market has been so fluid with fewer homes on the market and higher demand for those homes then multiple offers was the norm for the first 8 months of this year. When you have 7-15 people bidding on a home then you also have the option to choose the best set of buyers with the very best terms (i.e. the buyers who not only place a great bid but who will allow your clients to stay in their home for a few months ). (Costs have usually been the payment of the buyer’s insurance, mortgage amount and property taxes pro-rated accordingly). I always try to advise my clients well, and if placing their home on the market to optimize the best sales price then I have suggested the rent back option to them if required and if the reason to list is holding them back. No guarantee there will be multiple bids but with staging, the right pricing then anything is possible!

As the mortgage rates increased there has been a softening in the market also, and we like to to now compare the market to the way it was in 2019, and when we reflect on the sales and sales prices back then to now, everything seems to comport accordingly. One lament we are hearing is that the interest rates are so high and they will ‘wait until the rates are lower before buying”. Well, if that is the case then they will have to wait for a few years before the rates decline. We like to say that you buy a home but just date the rate? Meaning, you buy the home you love and refinance at a lower rate in the future when those rates are lower.

My manager (Jane Murray) mentioned something in passing which is so worthwhile to repeat. Many people will schedule meetings with their financial planner in the new year, and if they are contemplating the sale of their home doesn’t it make sense to meet with their real estate financial planner (hopefully me!) as well so they can gauge what they have to do to obtain the best price, and to also find out what their home is worth!

It might be the holiday season but it is always a good time in which to plan for 2023.

Please know that I am here for all of your real estate requirements.

I am a Certified Buyer’s Agent, Certified Residential Specialist, hold a Graduate Realtor Institute designation , am a Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker, hold a GREEN designation, a Certified Distressed Properties Expert Designation and I am also a Senior Residential Specialist! Call me!

Westchester is GREAT!

About Gay E. Rosen

Gay E. Rosen is a Top Realtor in the Larchmont and New Rochelle (Lower Westchester) area. She is diligent, caring, driven and thorough (with a sense of humor).Utilize her expertise. Call her!
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