Three weeks until the new job, and the old house is still yours
Relocation compresses everything. You may be house-hunting in another state, enrolling kids in a new school and starting a job, all while the old house still needs to be sold, cleaned out and kept up. The goal for most people we talk to is simple: stop paying for two homes as soon as possible, without flying back for showings or worrying about a buyer’s loan falling apart.
The real cost of a slow sale when you have already moved
Once you start paying rent or a new mortgage somewhere else, every month the old house sits unsold costs you twice: its mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities on top of your new housing. Hudson Valley and North Jersey property taxes are not small, and an empty house still needs heat in January, a lawn cut in July and someone to check on it after a storm. A listing can work beautifully when you are local and the house shows well. From a few hundred miles away, it often turns into long-distance management of showings, repair requests and a buyer’s mortgage approval you can’t control.
My family was caught in a jam paying two mortgages and really needed to sell a house fast and Greg was so helpful and honest the whole process. It happened in a fraction of the time I expected and there were zero games.
How a sale works when you are already gone
- One visit. Greg or Brett walks the house once. A neighbor, a relative or your agent can let us in, or a lockbox works if you are already out of state.
- An offer in writing, usually within a day, that you can review from wherever you are.
- A closing date you choose. On a clean title, closing can happen in roughly a week. If you need to stay until the end of the month or the end of the school year, we pick a later date.
- Leave the furniture you don’t want to ship. Moving companies charge by weight. Take what you love; the rest stays and we handle it.
- Signing from a distance. Ask your attorney how they handle out-of-town sellers. Many closings are arranged so the seller signs ahead of time rather than flying back for the day.
Taxes once you live somewhere else
Where you live on the closing date matters, because both states collect an estimated income tax payment from nonresident sellers at the time of sale.
New York: a seller who is a nonresident of New York when the house is sold generally files Form IT-2663 and pays any estimated personal income tax due to the county recording officer when the deed is recorded. The instructions list exceptions, including the sale of a principal residence, which is certified on Form TP-584.
New Jersey: a nonresident seller of New Jersey real estate must make an estimated Gross Income Tax payment at closing unless one of the seller’s assurances on Form GIT/REP-3 applies. When a payment is due, the Division of Taxation says it can’t be less than 2 percent of the sale price stated in the deed, even if there is no gain.
Separately, the federal home-sale exclusion can shelter as much as $250,000 of profit, or $500,000 for spouses filing together, provided you satisfy the two-out-of-five-year ownership and use rules that IRS Publication 523 describes. A job relocation can affect how those tests apply to a home you have owned for less than two years. Bring the closing statement to your accountant and ask before you file.
Contracts and disclosures across two states
In New York the contract is normally drafted by the seller’s attorney, and most residential sellers must deliver a Property Condition Disclosure Statement. Fill it in honestly even though we are buying as-is; it is the law, and it helps us stand behind our price. In New Jersey, a contract drawn up by a licensed agent triggers a three-business-day window for attorney review. Ours isn’t an agent’s form, but a New Jersey attorney can still review it before you sign, and we encourage that.
If the house is already empty
Many relocating sellers move first and sell second. If that is you, read selling a vacant house for what to keep an eye on while it sits. If a parent is moving with you, or you are trading down as part of the move, our downsizing page may help. And if the move is the result of a separation, selling during a divorce covers the signatures and court orders involved.
Should you rent it out instead?
Keeping the house as a rental is a reasonable idea if you might move back, or if the rent would comfortably cover the mortgage, taxes and insurance. Go in with open eyes, though. Managing tenants from another state usually means paying a property manager, and both New York and New Jersey give residential tenants real protections that make it slow to get a house back once it is rented. Some of those rules depend on the city or village. If you are unsure, get a rent estimate and a management quote, and compare them with a cash offer before deciding.
Corporate relocation packages
Some employers offer a relocation company that buys your house or pays for listing it. If you have that option, compare it with ours side by side. Check how the package values the house, what fees come out of it, and how fast the money actually arrives. Sometimes the employer program is the better deal, and that is fine with us.
Moving soon? Give us your start date and we will work backward from that date. Call or text (845) 367-4898, or fill in the contact page. Each step is described on how it works.
Tax and residency questions depend on your own facts. Talk to an accountant or a real estate attorney before deciding when to close.
Relocation questions
Will I need to travel back for closing?
Often not. Your attorney may be able to arrange for you to sign the deed and closing documents ahead of time where you live, with a notary. Ask them early so the paperwork has time to travel.
Can you buy the house after I have already moved out?
Yes. Vacant houses are common for us. All we need is someone to open the door for our visit, or a key left in a lockbox.
What happens to the furniture I can’t take?
Leave it behind. Once we own the house, hauling away the leftovers is part of our renovation work. Take anything you want to keep before the closing date, because the house and what is left in it are ours afterward.
Will I owe New York or New Jersey tax if I have already moved to another state?
Possibly an estimated payment at closing. New York nonresident sellers use Form IT-2663 unless an exception such as sale of a principal residence applies. New Jersey nonresident sellers pay at least 2 percent of the price unless an assurance on Form GIT/REP-3 applies. Ask your accountant.
How soon could the sale close?
With a clean title, roughly seven days at the fastest. If liens, an estate or a payoff from another lender need to be sorted out, it takes longer, and we tell you that up front.