There is plenty that you could worry about if you’re thinking about buying or selling.  But who wants to worry?

What’s my Time Horizon?

This is a critical first question to answer.  Knowing your timeline seems obvious, but so many people get caught up in the noise of the market, the excitement of a purchase, or the distractions of what friends and family have to say that they forget to ask this one.  When do you want to sell?  When do you want to move?  Just getting really clear on your goals, and your vision of how you’d like to see your purchase, sale and transition go will help inform everything else.  Maybe you don’t need to do much right now.  Maybe you can just get educated now about the market.  That alone can take a lot of pressure off of the process.  If you want to do something NOW, then it will also help us figure out how to create a timeline.  And maybe the right answer is to rent now, and buy later.  Maybe the answer is to declutter now, and sell in January.

Plenty of choreography to consider in this market.

How Patient Am I?

This is an questions that far too few people really know how to answer without some further exploration.  Let’s take a quick stab.  Can you put your apartment on the market and be patient?  Or will you get frustrated if it doesn’t sell?  What are your expectations about the timeline right now?  What is guiding your thoughts on that timeline?  Is it realistic?

On the buying side, what if you don’t find the apartment you want right away?  Are you likely to get frustrated?  Are you likely to make a rushed decision?  If you are making a decision with someone else, are you in alignment about being patient?  Who is more enthusiastic about the search?  You or your wife/husband/partner?  Will anyone be disappointed if this takes more than a weekend?

Think about how you’ve reacted when the stock market goes up or down.  Are you a patient investor?  Or do you panic?  The more you think through how you will react if things go more slowly than expected will be very helpful.

What Is My View On Mortgage Rates? Do I Need To Take A Mortgage?

If you need to take a mortgage, you will want to get very, very clear on what your expected costs could be on a mortgage today.  For some, this could be THE most important question.  For others, mortgage rates play a smaller role in the decision.  Either way, if you believe that mortgage rates will not go up forever- or that they may even go down- this is a good question to think through.  Knowing where these answers fall on your priority list will help you think about your timeline- and help everything else fall into place.

If I Want to Sell, Am I Buying Something Else?

Selling and buying into the same market is daunting- but it’s what many clients wish to do.  How can you make it happen?  Do you need to sell before you buy?  This choreography is a challenge.  Lining up the timing, especially with cooperative units and their approval process!   Perhaps you are going to buy first, and then sell.  Perhaps Plan A is buying after you sell, but you could rent if need be.  What about just selling and then renting?   Having options is sometimes helpful, but even more helpful mapping these options on top of you timeline.  The result?  Less stress and fewer variables to consider.

Am I Willing To Do Work?