4/17/2006

Advice from Nashville's leading Financial Aid Advisor Dave Ramsey

 
Dave Says
By Dave Ramsey
Author of:
Financial Peace and
The Total Money Makeover

"House not selling!"

Dear Dave,

My husband and I have bought a house. The closing date is soon, but we haven’t sold our current home yet. We really thought we’d have found a buyer by now, and we’re a little nervous. What can we do?

Ruby

Dear Ruby,

You’ve got good reason to be nervous. Never buy a new house without making the deal contingent upon the sale of your current home. You’ve turned yourself into a desperate seller because you made some bad decisions and put yourself in a desperate situation. 

I’d back away from this deal if there’s any way to do it, still be honorable and not break your word to the other people involved. If you’re locked in, you might try explaining the situation and see if you can delay the closing, or restructure the contract to make it contingent upon the sale of your current home. If the other party is agreeable to either of these ideas, then you need to drop the price on your house today and get it sold!

I’ve got a feeling you’ll have to pay some stupid tax to fix this thing – and that might mean losing some cash and making some other tough choices. 

- Dave 

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