The concept works as follows: I'll buy your house, but only if you buy mine. It can also be viewed as two separate transactions taking place at the same time where party A buys a house from party B, while party B buys the house from party A. The exchange takes place on the same date via a simultaneous closing. Both parties pay off any existing loans and obtain new financing on the home they are buying. The only complication is to complete the closing for both parties on the same date.

Value preservation. By swapping the property instead of selling it the traditional way, sellers have a higher chance of receiving close to the appraised value. Since the seller is not liquidating to an investor and is dealing directly with the new property owner, both parties in a trade can agree on property values they are comfortable with, and not the values dictated by foreclosures and short sales in the area. This especially applies to declining markets or hard to sell properties.

Knowledgeable real estate lawyer is recommended to ensure the transaction flows as smoothly as possible. Real estate agents should only be used if they listed a property or found your exchange property. Otherwise, the lawyer, the mortgage company, and the title company will handle the closing.

The costs are the same as one would incur when buying and selling a property because real estate exchange is simply selling one property and buying another. NCHOMESWAP.COM does not charge any commission for exchanging real estate.

The short answer is yes, but let's first define equity.
Equity is the value of a property after deduction of loans against it.
For instance, if John has a house recently appraised at $300,000 and his total obligations equal $300,000 then John officially has no equity. Believe it or not, John can still swap his house for any house as long as John can come up with a down payment and qualify for a new loan for the house he is swapping for.
Zero down payment loans from banks are vanishing as quickly as they appeared, so the only alternative way to obtain a no-down payment loan is by creating a second mortgage or by tapping into equity of another property. In conclusion, even property owners with no equity can swap as long as they are able to qualify for a new mortgage.

We provide the platform for traders to be matched and communicate with each other. The actual closings are handled by title companies, agents, and attorneys.