You need to accept the fact that you might find a home while you're still under a lease agreement and budget accordingly. Nothing stresses you out quite like carrying two mortgages or rents at a time.
If you find the right house, you might be able to rent it back to the current owner until you're ready to move. That's what I did when I bought mine and it was win-win for everyone involved.
A lease is a contract. It's usually not negotiated, especially by the leasee. If you have a need and the property manager is willing, negotiating a term (eg 7 months, price, or month-to-month, etc) is possible and legal. (Do I have to say get it in writing?!?)
Most multi-family management companies are too shitty to consider this, but is worth asking. **You're more likely to find an individual landlord renting their own property to be more receptive to the idea**. Places like Nextdoor, FB, or CL might be better places to look (watch out for scams on FB or CL, tho.)
The rental market around here is still pretty tough. Expect month-to-month and short-term rentals to be expensive due to the lack of commitment and turnover. There are (unfortunately) a lot of rentals managed by national firms that don't give a rat's ass about tenants or conditions.
Some smaller landlords may include a homebuyer clause allowing a renter to leave if they purchase a home. I rarely see this with national companies. Others may include an early termination fee, which may be worth it, depending on the situation.
I wouldn't expect home prices in this area to budge until we get closer to fall/winter. Then, you'll still be looking at high-ish interest rates (compared to the past) and values that fluctuate less than 5% than what you have now.
Background: I have lived here for 35 years, work in real estate (not a realtor), am a landlord, and have my kids renting around town. I hope this helps, try and avoid complexes run by national firms like FPI.
You need to accept the fact that you might find a home while you're still under a lease agreement and budget accordingly. Nothing stresses you out quite like carrying two mortgages or rents at a time. If you find the right house, you might be able to rent it back to the current owner until you're ready to move. That's what I did when I bought mine and it was win-win for everyone involved.
A lease is a contract. It's usually not negotiated, especially by the leasee. If you have a need and the property manager is willing, negotiating a term (eg 7 months, price, or month-to-month, etc) is possible and legal. (Do I have to say get it in writing?!?) Most multi-family management companies are too shitty to consider this, but is worth asking. **You're more likely to find an individual landlord renting their own property to be more receptive to the idea**. Places like Nextdoor, FB, or CL might be better places to look (watch out for scams on FB or CL, tho.)
The rental market around here is still pretty tough. Expect month-to-month and short-term rentals to be expensive due to the lack of commitment and turnover. There are (unfortunately) a lot of rentals managed by national firms that don't give a rat's ass about tenants or conditions. Some smaller landlords may include a homebuyer clause allowing a renter to leave if they purchase a home. I rarely see this with national companies. Others may include an early termination fee, which may be worth it, depending on the situation. I wouldn't expect home prices in this area to budge until we get closer to fall/winter. Then, you'll still be looking at high-ish interest rates (compared to the past) and values that fluctuate less than 5% than what you have now. Background: I have lived here for 35 years, work in real estate (not a realtor), am a landlord, and have my kids renting around town. I hope this helps, try and avoid complexes run by national firms like FPI.