Ro Troia

Home Swapping. A New Reality TV Show?

No, it’s not a new reality show and it’s not your typical vacation home exchange.  It’s the extreme way to move in this depreciating market.  Do you own real estate in Boulder Colorado that just won’t sell?  Have you reached desperate measures?  Do what others have done.  Trade!  Get on board with this new real estate trend – Home Swapping!  Read more to see if it’s that easy.

For those trying to sell a house that just won’t move in this market, a unique trend is emerging.  Simply swap with a seller who finds themselves in a similar situation. 

This has of course, led to the formation of web-based companies providing home matchmaking services. David Moskowitz, founder of DomuSwap, explains that there is a huge need for this service right now because, “there are people who have to move and they’re really stuck in this market.”  According to Sergei Naumov, president of NowMoves Inc., a  permanent swap is technically an arrangement between two homeowners who are both buying each others’ homes and selling their own at a simultaneous closing.  

The Wall Street Journal reported in a recent article that two neighbors in New Jersey swapped homes.  One was a large family looking to “move up” and the other, a retiree, looking to downsize.  

While you can’t just move out and move in, it is a fairly easy process. 

  

FIRST: Hire a real estate agent to walk you through this procedure.  There are many important details that require an experienced agent.  For Boulder Colorado and surrounding areas, call The Troia Team, of course!

SECOND: You will get an appraisal based upon the property’s value under the current market conditions. 

THIRD:  The same title company will be used to consummate the transactions together.  Each homeowner signs a purchase and sale agreements. Both sign deeds and other closing documents on the same day.

FOURTH: Mortgages for both properties are also paid off then, and new mortgages are initiated.  If the properties are of different values, cash and mortgage amounts are used to balance out the disparitites.

There are many online sites for permanent home trades such as Online House Trading’s Network who claim that house swapping will enable stuck sellers to beat the slow real estate market. 

The two families from New Jersey confirm that their home swap went perfectly.  Before moving day, the homeowners took turns moving belongings to each others’ homes. “I brought some things over to their garage, and they brought some over to mine,” Ms. Sedehi says. On the day of the move, they split the cost and hired one mover to share between them. They said there were no drawbacks to the move, “We were both very accommodating,” Ms. Sedehi says. “I don’t think there was any discord and there were no difficulties.”

There you have it!  Now, what do YOU think about home swapping?

Tags: Tags: boulder, buyers, home swapping, homeowners, market, properties, real estate, sellers

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 10:23 am and is filed under Buyer's Corner, Market Conditions, Real Estate Tales, Selling Thoughts, Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Scenic City Scoop - Chattanooga Tennessee Real Estate Blog said at August 7th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

   You certainly give a plethera of information about the real estate market in so many areas. Thanks for keeping the rest of us honest in what we need to be doing. I look forward to reading more online about “House Swapping”. I am also glad that it is not a new reality show, we have way too many of those. David

2. CoRE #106 - We have A WINNER! | Seattle Real Estate ~ Rain City Guide said at September 2nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm

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3. Julie said at September 4th, 2008 at 8:29 am

   Click on Wall Street Journal, I added the link to the article that spoke of the neighbors who swapped homes. One was a retiree looking to downsize and the other a growing family wanting to upgrade. The families loved the neighborhood they lived in and took advantage of an incredible opportunity. The best source for information would probably be the agent who assisted in the transaction. From what I read, it doesn’t seem too complicated and any agent could do it. I think the difficult part would be finding the perfect match at the right time.

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