My wife and I each own 1 bedroom condo's. We want to get a house. Who should we talk to or where do we start to figure out the best way to handle this

Please call me to arrange a meeting to discuss options with you. I am a licensed real estate agent with prior experience in mortgage lending. I would be happy to walk you thru the process. Michael Morreale

I would start with a mortgage broker and see what you can qualify for by keeping both the condos, one, or selling one or both. Also find out if you can rent the condos. Then I would contact a couple agents and get an idea of the comps for rental or sale for both. That person may also be able to help you with some idea of what you need for what you want in a house. Then run the numbers. Sometimes it is better to sell at a loss or even to get a better deal on the buy end. Work with professionals though. There is too much involved and high stakes to try to do this alone. I know I work with people on this all the time and give them good rates if I can help them with more than one transaction.

Hi Tim. It would be prudent for us to get together and discuss your situation to see what options would make the most sense; either to keep one or both condos or to sell them to purchase your house. It depends on a number of factors-your income, assets location of the condos. I am a licensed real estate broker and an apartment leasing agent and I can take care of all your needs. The consultation would be without cost or obligation. Thank you Mike Morreale American Realty pros

It can be handled...a loan officer can best help you determine your best strategy. We deal with this all the time...need to determine if income from your rental unit is usable. Chances are you will have to qualify based on at least your wife and new home payments. It's calculated as DTI. Monthly Housing & debt on credit report/gross income. At Charter One we can go up to 45% for conforming loans and 50% for FHA.

I agree with the answers below, you need local expert advice. I would suggest, you first talk to a lender to find out about your financial options, can you purchase a home before you sell (or rent) the condos? you can talk to wintrust mortgage, 708-326-3100. If you have not been a landlord very long, the lender for your new home may not allow you to offset the expense of the condos with the income of rent, so renting may only be an option if you have sufficient income to cover all the notes. You should also talk to a local realtor to find out what the condos are worth if you want to sell one or both. Also a local realtor can help you start getting familiar with the market where you want to purchase a home - what prices/taxes you should expect. If you are not quite financially ready to buy right now, it might make sense to stay in one unit, renting the second one and save a bunch of money so that you can buy the house you want in the near future. if you can save 20% down you avoid the expense of mortgage insurance!

Speak with a few agents to see what your options might be. You also need to speak with a lender to see what you can afford to buy both by keeping the condos and by selling them. You might not be able to buy the house you want while keeping the condos.

Speak with a few agents to get an idea(s) as to how you might proceed. You also need to speak with a lender to see if/what you can afford to buy while keeping the condos and by selling them. You might need to sell them in order to afford the type of house you want.

I would speak to an agent. Get one that specializes in the area your buying and selling in. Interview two or three agents and go with the one you mesh best with.

rent the condos. buy home if qualified.

rent the condos. go buy a house...

First of all,you should check if you are able to get the loan to purchase the house if you both will rent the condos. Then try to rent. If your mortgage, assesment and taxes are not higher than the rent I would suggest to rent the condos .

First of all, you should check if you and your wife do qualified for the loan in case if you both will rent your condos. Than you can rented or try to sell, but if your monthly payment (mortgage, assesment + taxes)is close to what you can get for rent I would suggest to rent instead of selling.

Hi Tim, First things first: you have to talk to a lender to see if you can qualify for a new mortgage if you hold on the two condo units you have. On the long run it's good to keep them as investment properties if the rents cover all the expenses: PITI and monthly assessments. In case the lender tells you that you'll need to sell one or both in order to qualify for the house you want to buy, then you look at how much these condominiums are worth , interview agents from your area and list them for sale. After the sell or after the contingencies are met on these sells, then you should be able to go shopping for the new house! Let me know if you have further questions.