[fireant911]

We placed our home for sale in April 2012 and were under contract six days later. The prospective buyer was a first-time buyer using an USDA loan. Two days before the closing date, our realtor contracted us to inform us that "the deal was off" as this buyer supposedly did not qualify for the loan. Our house went back on the market at the end of June 2012 and, again, we received a firm offer from another buyer and were under contract six days later. This buyer was also a first-time buyer using an USDA loan. The day before closing, our realtor called and said we could not close on the scheduled date because of a problem with the prospective buyer finances. I told the realtor that this was totally unacceptable... We did end up closing on that date but it still took three months.

I was not impressed by the 'work' of our realtor (I really expected more for a 6% commission). Be cautious, extremely cautious, about USDA loans because they can take a long time to go through the process. Properly staging your house can make a big difference - houses do sell throughout the year. Although your carrying cost is $1,300/month, I found it to be quite a headache having two houses. Do a lot of homework yourself regarding 'house-selling' because you cannot always rely on those that should be 'in the know'.