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How Soon Can You Sell a House After Buying it?

Rochelle Harris • Mar 07, 2022

No Legal Minimum

If you recently became a homeowner, but for whatever reason now need to relocate, you might be asking, how soon can you sell a house after buying it? The answer is, although you won't have significant equity for at least five years, you can sell anytime. There is no legal "minimum" time you have to wait, it's your house. But there are some penalties you might want to consider, as well as all the selling expenses, including the down payment on a new house.

Capital Gains Tax

If you suddenly need to sell fast, you may be facing capital gains taxes. A premature sale means you need to sell less than a year after buying, and in this case, you're taxed as regular income on the sale, according to your tax bracket. That's short-term capital gains. If you've lived in the house more than one year but less than two, you'll be paying capital gains taxes at a little better rate, but it's still typically either 15% or 20%.

Possible Exemptions

However, if the house is your primary residence and you've lived in it for at least two years, you should not have to pay much if any capital gains. The feds allow $250,000 profit tax-free, and $500,000 for married couples. But you may also qualify for a partial exemption for many hardship reasons for moving, so speak to a tax professional.

The Housing Market

Home values in your local market, when selling your house, make all the difference between being able to break even or not when selling within the first 2 years. Even after 2 years, it will be tough, which is why 5 years is advised. A comparative market analysis can be done easily so you can get an idea of a listing price. Right now it's a seller's market, so selling a house should be easier.

The Mortgage Balance

One of the biggest selling costs, when you sell your home, is paying off your current mortgage's balance. You need to figure in the paying off of the remaining loan balance, and remember not much of your monthly payment goes towards the mortgage principal, at first. You'll be making interest payments alone for a while. You can call the lender to find out what your remaining balance is currently, and find out if you have a mortgage prepayment penalty. You don't want to end up paying mortgage prepayment penalties you weren't aware of.

Unexpected Reasons to Sell a House

Under normal circumstances, most homeowners plan to be in their homes for a while, allowing the investment to grow. But unexpected life events happen, and there are multiple reasons homeowners sell sooner. Perhaps someone in the household loses their job and can't find another in time, so now they're losing money. If the situation was tight in the first place, it can quickly take a financial toll, and no one can continually lose money and still make monthly mortgage payments on time.

Medical Emergency

One common reason people sell quickly is a health emergency. Either you or someone in your family experiences a medical crisis, and either you need to relocate to help the person, or perhaps you need to pay medical bills and can no longer meet your housing obligations. Medical emergencies or even a natural disaster can often result in an early home sale.

Job Opportunity

Job relocation is one of the most common reasons people sell early. Life happens fast, and if you're given an opportunity for the job of your dreams, but the only catch is you have to move to another state, you may need to sell fast. Otherwise, you could regret the missed opportunity for a lifetime.

Family Change

Marriage, divorce, pregnancy, and kids leaving the house are all common reasons you may need to sell your home. A family change might require you to sell unexpectedly, either upsizing or downsizing accordingly.

Buyer's Remorse

This is a common phenomenon that happens when a negative buyer perception sets in, once they've bought a house. It may have been a good deal initially, but you end up having to make significant renovations you weren't expecting, the kids don't like it, or the neighborhood is undesirable. Some buyers experience remorse after buying, and there are lots of reasons for this.

Transaction Costs

Don't forget the real estate agent, who'll get 6% of the purchase price in commission - the seller pays. And closing costs, those are always significant, figure 2-3% of the home's price. In Missouri, as well as many states, you will have to pay prorated property taxes. Closing costs can also include title and escrow services, insurance payments, and more.

Your Options for Selling

You might now be asking, what are my options if I still need to sell my house now? You can look for a professional home flipper or real estate investor. You can see if a realtor will help you sell your home in your absence, under the circumstances, if he or she thinks they could get the price you need. But most of us don't have the financial security to be able to do that. You want to make a smart financial decision. So what's the alternative?

Sell Your House Fast - Mississippi

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How it Works

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