Selling Your Home After 6 Months

As discussed in previous posts, you can sell your home at any point you want to after purchasing it, however it may not be the wisest choice financially. While it typically takes about 2 years for a homeowner to be able to turn around and sell their home without a loss, in some circumstances you may need to sell earlier. In our last post we discussed all the specific aspects of selling a home early that you need to consider in your decision. This includes the following:

• Determining the fair market value of your home
• Considering closing costs
• Considering the cost of prepping your home for sale
• Capital gains tax
• Mortgage prepayment penalty
• Negative buyer perceptions

Next, we’ll walk through a specific example of how to calculate your profit or loss from selling a home after living in it for six months. Let’s say you purchased a home for $300,000 in July, 2019 and you need to sell now. This is how you would calculate your profit or loss.

Home price: $300,000 in July, 2019
Home owned: 6 months
Down payment: 20%, or $60,000
Closing costs: 3%, or $9,000
Financing: $240,000 at a 4.5% interest rate, 30-year fixed loan for a monthly payment of $1,586
Equity: $2,000  from paying down principal
Closing costs for resale: $20,000
Loss: Total loss equals $29,000 (combined closing costs) plus $2,000 in equity equals a $27,000 net loss

So, based on these figures, you would need to sell your home for $327,000 to break even.
These calculations don’t include interest payments, property taxes, or insurance, because it’s probable that you would have incurred similar expenses if you had rented instead of buying and reselling.

Now, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to sell your home early, such as a job change and relocation or a health emergency, you will be able to be prepared for the expenses  you could incur. Preparation will make the whole process less stressful and more manageable.




Source: https://www.zillow.com/sellers-guide/how-soon-can-i-sell-my-house-after-purchase/
https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/how-soon-can-you-sell-a-house-after-buying/