Among the many benefits of amassing savings, one of them is lower-stress moves. The last time I moved, my wife and I deliberately chose closing dates to create an overlap period where we owned both houses. This was only possible because we had enough savings that we didn’t need the proceeds from the old house as a down payment on the new house.
An overlap period gives time for cleaning, painting, changing carpets, etc., at a leisurely pace. Other benefits are directly related to the problems Larry MacDonald described.
On same-day closings, if the delivery of keys for the new house is delayed by a few hours, you might be paying professional movers $100 per hour while they wait. With an overlap period, any delay in getting the keys may be a little disappointing, but it won’t affect a move of belongings, because the move is still a few weeks away.
If you choose to move yourself (with the help of friends and family), delays in getting moving vans can be accommodated more easily if you are able to simply delay the move by a day or two.
Now, you may be thinking that this last point makes little sense because people with significant savings wouldn’t bother to move their own stuff. But, this isn’t how savers think. People get to have savings by making choices that cost less.
Few people can afford to own two houses at once, even for just a week or two, but if you think you can handle the finances comfortably (even if something scuttles the closing of your old house), then it is a great way to reduce the stress of moving.
I agree, having overlap time with the two homes can make a huge difference to the stress level of moving.
ReplyDeleteI had something like 10 days of overlap when moving out of my apartment to my current (rental) house, and I don't think I could have handled a same-day move. Even with all the extra time to go back and clean up and repaint after all the stuff was out of the way, it was still pretty hectic and stressful!
ReplyDelete