revive
Senior Member
Posts: 180
|
Post by revive on Apr 30, 2013 21:11:55 GMT
For expats who decided to sell their house, when did you start listing your house for sale?
Did you wait until you get the final confirmation letter from Aramco first or not?
If you waited, I understand that you would very likely close the transaction after you arrived in KSA. Did it go well for you, and would you still recommend this approach?
|
|
|
|
Post by SayRT on Apr 30, 2013 21:35:30 GMT
power of attorney to your realtor (specific for selling your house only) will do the trick. choose someone you trust or a credible and reputable real estate firm.
|
|
|
|
Post by UmmRiyam on May 1, 2013 7:24:51 GMT
You should be able to sign all papers through printing email attachments, signing, scanning, and emailing back. We bought a house that way in the US. My father took the keys from the realtor and moved in.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hadia on May 1, 2013 10:26:05 GMT
As soon as the offer came, we put ourselves in the mind frame that this was really happening, despite there being all of these contingencies that had to clear first. So we had a big gae sale and called a donation truck. Once the BI/medical were cleared, we had our house appraised. When the movers came, that basically emptied out the house, since we'd prepped so much beforehand. We posted it for sale in the final days leading up to the visa issuance and our departure. We designated a family member with power of attorney, and went through a real estate broker we trusted and who would keep in touch long distance. It helped to have a Vonage number to give him with an area code the same as his -- just with a reminder of the time difference. The house was on the market for several months. Our biggest worry was vandalism, since our homeowner's insurance won't cover damages if they find out a house is sitting vacant. We were glad to unload it. That said, it seems more and more new hires who might have wanted to sell their homes immediately are having second thoughts, in light of the probationary period being more challenging for some people than noted previously.
|
|
|
|
Post by kellbenl on May 1, 2013 15:40:55 GMT
We decided to put our home up for sale but will more than likely decided to rent it out until the housing market improves. The Denver market is rebounding nicely but it is still taking time. You can actually contact a home management company that can list your home for sale during the probation period ( 90 to 120 days). Then at that point switch it over to a rental property. You will need to change your home owners policy to a " Landlords" policy that will cover any damages should they incur with the home being vacant. Dave Ramsey has some excellent advice on this subject on his website. This is our thinking at this point in time. For sale for 3-6 mts, if we get a good price we sell, If not we revert to rental property and let it generate income. One thing to note you will have to pay state taxes in the state you reside in if you do this. Hope this helps. Please feel free to email me off line and I can go into gory details as to how best to set this up. Ben anguskelly27@yahoo.com |
|
Buster
Senior Member
Posts: 106
|
Post by Buster on May 4, 2013 19:44:07 GMT
Just wanted to highlight this part of Hadia's reply - I don't want to appear negative but even after you arrive, you still have to work a 90 day probationary period. If you can, I would rent your house for the first few months until you settle as a family.
|
|
revive
Senior Member
Posts: 180
|
Post by revive on May 6, 2013 16:34:46 GMT
Thanks everyone for your inputs.
After some thoughts & consultation with our broker, we decided to list right after receiving the final confirmation from Aramco, now expected mid/late June. We are going to start prepping the house now.
Our house resides in a highly desirable community near Houston, where sellers receive multiple offers in a matter of days. Hopefully it will be a quick & easy process for us, although I've also accepted the possibility of closing after we move to Dhahran.
We also decided to sell right away instead of waiting til the end of probationary for a variety of reasons. Renting it out for a few months is not viable (lease contract is usually 1 year or more). Keeping it without renting can be costly (burglary risk, harder to sell in the fall). Besides we already have a couple of rental properties, so we really don't want to keep another mortgage.
I believe the probationary risk is real, but very insignificant, especially since I will be working in an office environment which I expect to be more professional than a plant location. And off course I will do my best (& pray my best) to make the job transition, and my best is usually good enough anywhere. So I'm really not too concerned about the probation.
We also don't have strong ties to Houston (no immediate family, etc.). So in the spirit of adventures that is bringing us to Dhahran, even if Aramco doesn't work out for us (which again is unlikely), we will welcome to opportunity to start fresh somewhere else.
|
|
|
|
Post by feline on May 9, 2013 17:49:02 GMT
We listed our house after visa was secured, with less than one month to go. It was hectic, as we were packing while having to have the house tidy for showings, dealing with open houses.
Luckily, we had multiple offers and sold within four days. My mother came to live in the house after we left, she also had POA for closing - which took place 17 days after we left the US.
It was a bit stressful, but it all worked out very well.
We didn't want to deal with rental, an empty house, repairs... We had no family in TX and once the job was gone it didn't make much difference to us where we'd go in the US if things didn't work out. So far so good though!
|
|
|
|
Post by Hadia on May 9, 2013 18:11:27 GMT
Great work in short time, Feline! Your story echoes our sentiments about our former home. In a city with no ties other than a job now ended, it is easiest to unload the burden of a home and move on from there. Glad your mom was able to help. Have safe travels!
|
|
|
|
Post by DanielHilf on Jul 24, 2013 11:08:16 GMT
One of my friend is a real estate agent, we did everything according to her advise. She always said that don't list house for sale until you get the final conformation.So we waited for the conformation.
|
|
