Anyone in banking out there? Mortgage/home buying question

[anothermom]

We would like sell our condo and move to a house, but with the market being how it is where we live, we're not sure how long it would take to sell the condo. We want to move soon, and we'd love the outdoor space to enjoy for the summer. Plus, for a lot of reasons, it would make our lives a lot easier to move before fall/winter.

There are a few houses we really like that are for sale now, but we're not sure we should bother even looking since our intent was to use the money from our condo sale as a downpayment on the house (and we're just getting ready to list our place). I know that bridge loans are expensive; are there any other options for us to borrow from the equity in our condo for a downpayment on a house? I think we'll be ok when it comes to a higher mortgage payment on the house, but what kind of repayment scheduling is there for what's borrowed from our condo equity? We might consider renting the condo until it sells as well (or until the market turns back up).

Would love to hear from anyone with info particularly about bridge loans or other such financing options!

Thank you!

[Moneypenny]

I'm not in the business, but DH and I took out a home equity loan on the home we planned on selling and used that as down payment on the new house. You just have to be sure you get the home equity loan before you list the condo.

[khm]

I'm not in the business, but am working closely with our broker to try and refi (if the rates get low enough).

She takes great pains to keep us updated. She said the changes in her industry have been huge lately. Any "creative" financing solutions are pretty much off the table now. Things are radically different than even two months ago.

I think the best option would be go to talk to someone you trust who is local to your area. Things differ wildly depending on where you are, and any info that is even a couple months old might not be workable right now.

Good luck! It is a great time to buy if you can swing it!