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Okay, so there are some people who just throw the core things they need in a rucksack, grab a few dollars for the week’s expenses, and set off in a random direction. That can work out. It probably won’t, it’s a bad idea, it’s dangerous, and those individuals who make such moves better be young, smart, and willing to work hard anywhere they find work. But it may work.
For most people, this sort of approach to transitioning between states of primary residence is unthinkable, and it’s easy to see why. Such moves represent a dangerous approach.
What’s wiser is taking your time, planning things out, thinking critically, and using knowledge and experience in combination for the best outcomes.
Here are some strategies for selling your property.
Be sure you’ve got a place to land
First things first: you’ve got to choose your state, and you’ve got to find a place to live. Now, you don’t necessarily have to acquire a property. If you’ve got regular income and can afford it, one move is getting an apartment for a few months or years as you probe the local community to find a house that suits your needs. However, this will be expensive.
A cheap apartment is $500 a month prior to deposits and moving costs. Expensive apartments can be $3,000 a month. Most have leases of six months to a year. At a minimum, you’re looking at around $5k once you factor in all moving and utility costs on a $500 apartment for six months, up to $40k if you’re in a spot for a year in New York City, or somewhere similar.
Unless you can afford to just waste $5k to $40k and six months to a year of your life, a smarter move is closing on the house and getting things like keys, utilities, and public services figured out in advance. It’s better if you’ve got a place to land that’s ready for your landing.
Take the time to secure income before selling your property and moving
Beyond having a place to land, you’ve got to be sure that spot won’t shift on you once you’ve made the leap. If you land on shifting sand at the edge of a cliff, cracks in the ground can make the place where you’ve put down roots fall away, and then you’re scrabbling among roots at the edge of a cliff. That’s a colorful metaphor, hopefully, it’s communicative.
The point is, you need to be sure you’re landing in a spot that’s tenable over the long run. You need to make sure the place you are moving to has the work opportunity you need to maintain the necessary income.
If you work from the internet or remotely, as many do today, this isn’t an issue. But for most of human history, this has been an issue. Often it’s a person’s work that predicates a move. If you’re not moving owing to work, be sure there are opportunities for the kind of work you do. Except for those with substantial inheritances, this applies.
Plan out how you intend to transport possessions
Some have few enough possessions to transport over a few trips in a van or a truck. Others need to hire a moving company. Sometimes a move can take a few months, and transportation costs can be higher than expected. Think it out, budget it out, and you’ll have an easier time of it when all is said and done.
Work with selling agencies to expedite the process
Selling with a realtor is a good idea, selling yourself is a good idea, but if you’re truly making a move to another state, expedited reliable selling is key, and the link provides a resource to home-sellers that can make the process faster and easier. This allows you to focus on the more complicated aspects of the move, rather than the stress of selling.
Give yourself enough time for the move
If you’re living on the border of Wyoming and Utah with only enough possessions to fit in the back of a tiny car, maybe you can get the move done in a weekend. About 99.9% of homeowners aren’t in a situation like that, and a move will take between several weeks and several months. Keep that in mind, and give yourself the time you need.
Get help as you can – Going it alone is costlier and harder
A single person or a couple moving all on their own is going to have a longer, harder, more tiring prospect in front of them when it comes to the move. But when a whole family works together, or friends help someone transition, that saves everybody time and hassle. Get help where you can form your own community, and, when possible, in your new community.
Getting established in your new home
Getting help, giving yourself time, working with selling agencies, planning out transportation, taking time to assure you secure income, and being confident of where you’ll land in your new state all represent sound strategies in both expediting and enabling your move between states. Take your time, and get the move done right for the best results overall.
