Despite the tightening or disappearance of certain loan programs, many lenders are responding to our current buyer’s market, increased market times and increased inventory by developing programs to help current homeowners get into their next home while allowing for the possibility that their current home might not be sold by that date. For example, the latest program I’ve seen is through American Chartered Bank and is called the Skip Pay Mortgage. This program allows qualified borrowers to actually skip up to 6 months worth of mortgage payments. For current homeowners who are waiting for homes to sell while market times stretch past 120 days, 6 months worth of skipped payments might be exactly what these move-up buyers could use.

 Not being shackled with dual mortgage payments is a big concern for many sellers with homes on the market. The only difficulty is that many sellers are not willing to consider an offer with a home sale contingency. Basically a home sale contingency is a type of offer that states that the buyers are allowed time to sell their current home. If they are unable to sell it, they are not penalized or forced to buy the home under the terms of the contract. Because of the extreme market times we’re experiencing, many sellers aren’t even willing to consider a home sale contingency offer. This means that for current homeowners that find their “dream home” they’re often forced to take their chances and try to sell their home before their dream home goes under contract with another buyer or possible get into a dual mortgage situation. This program and others like it sounds like they’d allow these type of move-up bueyrs to purchase a home without a home sale contingency while still allowing for the sale of their current home over a period of 6 months.