trying to buy a house before you sell yours - need options\suggestions

you could approach the owner with a contract stating those terms and see what he thinks. is your ability to purchase a new home pending on the sale of your current home? in other words, do you have the funds available to put a down payment on the new one or must you first sell your current home?

You can write a contract to do whatever you want.

1) Make a payment to him in exchange for a six month (or some other amount of time) exclusive purchase window

2) Rent it from him

3) Present him a purchase contract with a clause that says the contract is null and void if you don't sell your current house by XX date

Is the house you are looking at on the market? How long has it been on the market? Is it likely he could sell it before you can get the other one sold?

I tried to find a house in southdowns for a year. The only three that came on the market that interested me sold they day they were listed, before I could get a showing. I finally found a great place in the garden district and jumped at it. I had a house in capital heights that the realtor said would sell in three days. After six months, I just decided to rent it out. So far so good, but make sure you consider the worst case scenario and if you're comfortable with it, go for it. I would think you could easily rent your current southdowns house if it didn't sell for whatever reason.