Trading Real Estate In Western NC

Trade Homes In the Cashiers & Highlands Area Real Estate Markets

There’s a growing trend on the national housing market that is becoming increasingly apparent on the Western North Carolina market as well: house trading. This trend is in part a result of the current economic and housing market climate.

Cashiers area home buyers who are finding it difficult to get sufficient loans end up swapping homes with equally frustrated Cashiers area home sellers who may be finding it difficult to sell their home.

Here are some facts about this growing trend on the national real estate market:

The National Association of Realtors doesn’t count house swaps during its annual home sales survey.
The association also estimates that house swaps make up a small portion of the overall market – although it has been growing in recent years.

Continue reading to learn more about this growing Cashiers real estate market trend and how it works.

House Trading Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions that I hear about house swapping on the Western North Carolina real estate market.

Who Is Eligible To Trade Their Western North Carolina Home?

Everyone. House swapping is just another type of Western, North Carolina real estate transaction. House swappers do not need to have paid off their property in order to complete the transaction. However, if there is a mortgage and little or no equity, home sellers may have to qualify for a new mortgage when they become the “buyer” of the property for which they’re swapping.

How Does House Swapping Work?

Here's how a Western North Carolina house swap would work:

Cashiers area home buyers find a home for sale that meets all the criteria they’re looking for.
The Cashiers area home sellers agrees to buy the home currently occupied by the Cashiers area home buyer.
The two parties schedule a near-simultaneous closing on both of the properties in order to avoid any financing issues.
Both parties agree to pay off any existing loans as well as get new financing on their “new” homes.

How do people on the Cashiers real estate market benefit from house swaps?

There are plenty of ways in which people benefit from house swaps, including:

Value Preservation. By avoiding the traditional real estate transaction process, sellers are more likely to get a price closer to the appraised value of the home. This is because the seller is not liquidating to an investor, but rather working directly with the new owner. Thus, both parties can set their own prices without being as affected by foreclosures and short sales in the area.
Avoid Double Mortgage Payments. By swapping homes with another home owner, individuals can avoid having to pay off their mortgage while also paying for a new mortgage.
Avoid the Hassle of Renting Your Home.
Avoid the Need to Store Your Belongings in Between Moves. Oftentimes, the sell of your old home and the purchase of your new home don’t align. Thus, home buyers are often faced with a dilemma on where to store all their items in the interim. This is not the case of house swappers, who close on the sale of their old home and the purchase of their new home on the same day.
Helps Homebuyers to Obtain Financing. So long as a home buyer has their old home under contract, a bank will not count that mortgage against your income during loan qualification. Thus, it is often easier to obtain financing during a house swap than a conventional real estate transaction in this economic climate.

What Are The Costs Associated With A House Swap?

All of the costs are the same as with any conventional real estate transaction.

I Don't Have Any Equity On My House. Can I Still House Swap?

Yes, although you might find there are more steps during your house swap.

To review, equity is the value of a property after you’ve subtracted the loans against it. Even if you don’t have any equity in your Western NC home right now, you can still swap your home as long as you can produce a down payment and qualify for a new loan on your “new” home.

Still, since it might be hard to obtain a no-down payment loan, these home owners might need to create a second mortgage or transfer the equity from another property to help complete the home swap.

I Want To Swap My Home For A More Expensive Home. How Would This Work?

This can still work so long as the buyer is able to get a new mortgage on a more expensive property. The important thing is that you find another home swapper who’s looking for a home that fits your current home’s description.

What Happens In The Event That One Owner Has Paid Off Their Home While The Other Owner Has No Equity On Their Home?

It is still possible to successfully complete a house swap under these circumstances.

To see how this works, think of a house swap as two separate transactions. In this scenario, Buyer A has a $500,000 home with no equity and Buyer B has a $400,000 home that is fully paid off.

In this case, Buyer A will have to qualify for a $400,000 loan less down payment in order to buy Buyer B’s home. Thus, Buyer B can use that $400,000 less down payment to help pay for Buyer A’s $500,000 home.

That means that Buyer B will have to come up with $100,000 to pay for the difference between the old home and the new home.

In the event that both homes are worth the same, Buyer A will likely have to qualify for a new loan while Buyer B may not have to bring any money to closing.

Real Estate For Sale In Cashiers and Highlands NC

Just like any other Cashiers area real estate transaction, house swapping can be a confusing process for home buyers and home sellers not working with an experienced Cashiers NC Realtor.

Thus, if you’re considering this nonconventional real estate transaction type, Contact Me, Dorothy Swearingen.

As your Cashiers NC area REALTOR, I’ll help make any real estate transaction process easier for you and your family by providing you with numerous Cashiers area real estate tools.

These include: