Ready to buy house but condos aren’t selling.

Start with a lender before you write an offer on the house. Have them run the numbers two ways: with the condo still owned and with its sale proceeds available. That will tell you whether you truly need to sell first or whether you have enough income and reserves to carry both properties temporarily. Next, get a realistic condo net sheet. Use a price supported by recent sales, then subtract the mortgage payoff and selling costs. Since several units in the building aren't selling, I would also find out whether buyers are running into financing problems involving the association's reserves, insurance, litigation, or other condo requirements. If the house purchase depends on the condo closing, a sale contingency is the safer structure, although it may make the offer less competitive. Also confirm that the pet-care business is allowed at the house before treating its added income potential as part of the decision. Austin Moore Broker/Owner, Austin Moore & Company Real Estate Realtor in Longview, Texas

You may have more options than you think, especially if you have meaningful equity in the condo and strong demand for rentals in the building. The challenge is that you need to solve the timing problem between buying the house and disposing of the condo. First, I would talk with a lender about whether you can qualify for the new home while keeping the condo. Depending on your income, equity, existing mortgage, and the lender's guidelines, the lender may be able to account for potential rental income from the condo. Your lender can also tell you whether a bridge loan, HELOC, or another financing strategy is realistic. At the same time, I'd get the condo professionally valued and determine your actual net proceeds—not just the estimated equity. If the condos aren't selling, pricing may be the difference between sitting on the market and getting a buyer. You may also want to explore selling directly to an investor or offering terms that make the property more attractive, depending on the numbers. The rental waitlist is another piece of the puzzle. If there really is strong rental demand, find out whether you can legally rent your unit and what the building's rental restrictions, caps, and waiting-list rules are. A potential rental strategy could allow you to buy the house without immediately having to sell the condo, but the numbers need to work after the mortgage, HOA, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and vacancy. I'd also make sure the pet-care business is permitted at the new property. Check local zoning, licensing, insurance, parking, and any restrictions on the number of animals or clients you can have. The additional business income could be helpful, but you don't want to buy the dream house and then discover the business can't legally operate there. Finally, if the house really is priced exceptionally well, talk to the lender before making an offer. You may be able to structure the purchase with a financing contingency that gives you time to solve the condo situation. Don't assume you have to sell the condo first until a lender has actually run your numbers. I'd approach this as a two-property financial plan rather than simply asking, "How do I sell my condo?" If keeping the condo as a rental or using a short-term financing solution makes the overall numbers work, you may be able to make the move without waiting a year for another condo in the building to sell. Juan Picos Real Estate Agent JohnHart Real Estate

Adrienne, before you assume it's the market, find out whether buyers in your building can actually get loans. When several units stall at once it's often a financing problem rather than a pricing one, things like the reserve level, a high investor ratio, pending litigation or an expired FHA approval. Ask your HOA for the lender questionnaire and read it. If that's the issue, you either price for cash buyers or you know what to disclose up front. On the house, talk to a lender this week about what you can carry if the condo hasn't sold yet, and ask specifically about a HELOC drawn before you list, since many lenders won't touch one once the unit is on the market. One more thing, check the county and neighborhood rules on running your pet care business at the new address before you fall further in love with it. I work in California, so pair this with an Atlanta agent who knows your building. Alla Novytska, Realtor®, JohnHart Real Estate, DRE #02254775

Adrienne, before you do anything else, find out whether your building is showing as "Unavailable" in Fannie Mae's Condo Project Manager. When a whole building stops selling at once and it is a new phenomenon, that one line is the explanation far more often than the market is. Here is what happened. After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tightened project standards for condos. A project can be flagged for critical deferred maintenance, or for unfunded critical repairs totaling more than $10,000 per unit, among other things. Lenders collect that information on the Condominium Project Questionnaire, Fannie Mae Form 1076 or Freddie Mac Form 476. If the project ends up with an "Unavailable" status in Condo Project Manager, a loan in that building cannot be sold to Fannie Mae. Buyers do not get told this in plain language. They just get denied, one after another, and from inside the building it looks like nobody wants condos. So ask your board or management company, in writing, for four things: - The building's current status in Fannie Mae's Condo Project Manager. - The most recent completed Form 1076 or Form 476. - The current reserve study. - Any structural or engineering report, and any open or planned special assessment. If it comes back Unavailable, that is fixable, but it is fixed at the board level, not by your listing agent. A board that has been slow or incomplete on the questionnaire can often correct it. If it stays Unavailable, then your realistic buyer pool is cash and portfolio lenders who keep non-warrantable condo loans on their own books, and that is a pricing conversation rather than a marketing one. It also tells you what your unit is truly worth today, which you need in order to plan the down payment. On the house itself, Michael is right to point you at a HELOC or bridge loan before you give up. Two things I would add: First, ask your lender in writing whether the new loan allows a recast. If it does, you can close with a smaller down payment now, then apply the condo proceeds later as a principal reduction and have the payment recalculated at the same rate, usually for a few hundred dollars and without refinancing. That is often the difference between "I can only do this if the condo sells first" and "I can do this now." Not every loan permits it, so get the answer before you pick the loan, not after. Second, and this one gets missed constantly: your pet care business is not automatically legal in a house. Two checks before you write an offer. Look up City of Atlanta home occupation rules for the specific zoning district of the house you want, because those rules commonly limit client traffic and on-site activity. And in Georgia, boarding dogs or cats for compensation requires a kennel license from the Commissioner of Agriculture, with fees roughly $100 to $400 a year depending on capacity. Also read the covenants if the house is in an association. You do not want to trade a condo that limits your business for a house that limits it differently. I am a real estate professional, not a lender, an attorney or a CPA, so confirm the loan and licensing specifics with the right people before you commit. I am Zoltan Peresztegi, and I work with buyers and sellers throughout the South Bay and greater Los Angeles. Atlanta is not my market, but I am glad to connect you with a strong intown agent who knows the 30312 condo buildings and can pull the CPM status for you quickly. Zoltan

Adrienne, the market has changed dramatically for condos, including new regulations that have already taken effect and that will be taking effect in January. Unfortunately, it does not look like improvement is coming anytime soon so you need to make a decision on whether you are going to stay and ride this out for the next several years or you are going to take your loss now to move on. You can also rent the property but given you have an HOA fee and I gather you do not have a significant amount of equity given your statements, that might not be terribly cost effective given the risk of repairs and possible tenant complications. Good luck! Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

Adrienne, talk with a good lender before giving up on the house. With substantial condo equity, you may be able to use a HELOC or bridge loan to access that equity for the new home's down payment before the condo sells. Another option is making the purchase contingent on selling your condo. The key is making sure you can comfortably carry both properties if the condo takes longer than expected to sell.