Should I sell my house before building a new one, or wait until after?
Key takeaways
- Building a new house from scratch while still living in your current one requires careful planning and organization.
- The construction timeline for new builds is often longer than expected and can come with unexpected delays, so it’s important to budget accordingly.
- If your home sells before the new build is ready to move in, you may wind up needing temporary housing, so have a contingency plan in place.
After years of low housing inventory, plenty of hopeful homeowners have explored the option of building their own house. With new construction, you don’t just get a place to live, you also get control: You might be able to hand-select everything from your floor plan to your finishes. It can be a great way to get into your dream home — but there are definitely hurdles to overcome.
The timing of the transition from your current home to your newly built one can be a big roadblock. Sales can progress quickly, especially in a competitive market, and construction work often takes longer than expected. Here are some key topics to consider if you’re wondering how to build a house while living in another, before you sell it.
Should you sell your current house before building a new one?
It’s a tricky question. In an ideal world, you would be able to live comfortably in your current house until the new one was completed and ready to move into. But building a new home is pricey, and if you stay in your existing one in the meantime, you’ll be paying that mortgage on top of the construction costs. So it’s important to plan ahead and be organized.
First, estimate how much your new build will cost. Factor in the cost of buying land, if applicable, plus all of the necessary financing costs, fees , permits, materials and labor. If you’re buying directly from a developer, this should be easy; if not, your general contractor should be able to give you a ballpark idea. Bankrate’s home-affordability calculator can help you crunch the numbers to figure out how much house you can afford.