It seemed like a perfect time to buy their dream home.

David and Paula Strickland stopped by Stonewood Creek one night before heading to church, and David ran in to look at the model. He loved it so much, they returned that weekend for the Dallas community's grand opening.

(ENLARGE)

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Paula and David Strickland and daughter Gracie check out a home being built in their new neighborhood in Dallas.

After eating Varsity hot dogs and learning more about the neighborhood, the couple was sold. As it happened, the developer was willing to accept a contingency contract on new construction and less earnest money than other communities. It seemed so easy to buy the new house, and surely their old house would sell, right?

Not so much.

"It's terrifying," said David Strickland, 43, who works for GT Law. The couple's Kennesaw home has been on the market for two months. About 20 prospects have come through, but no offers. They've already reduced the price by $5,000 to $199,500 and would negotiate that.

"People would be really surprised what would happen if they would just make an offer," said David. "We have other goals, and as long as we're here, our hands are tied [with two mortgages]."

Trying to pay two mortgages is financial suicide for most families. But with easy-buy incentives coming at them from builders trying to unload homes, it can be awfully tempting to go ahead and sign a contract on that dream home, hoping that the old one will sell quickly.

But in this market, say the experts, it may not. They advise against getting sucked into commiting to a new home until the old one is taken care of.

Iva Butler with ReMax Communities has been a real estate agent for 17 years and says she's never seen properties take this long to sell.

"Unless you have money to throw out the window, it is not a good idea to go put yourself under contract somewhere else before you sell your house," she said. "I would sell my house before I do anything else. The resale market is incredibly slow. After HomeBanc [mortgage company] failed last week, and another major lender [American Home Mortgage] a week before, and other people following suit, people need to be extremely careful. It is scary."

Even with builders offering $30,000 allowances for upgrades or even a lease on a new car if you buy now, consider how much it could cost you if you are trying to pay two mortgage payments for several months.

"Recognize that carrying dual mortgage payments is for most people financially suicidal. You just cannot allow that circumstance to occur," said John Adams, an Atlanta real estate expert and consultant.

Certainly make sure you understand the contract you are signing for a new house and try to make sure it has an out for you if your old home doesn't sell in time. You may lose your earnest money, but that may be the least of your worries.

In the Stricklands' case, they are struggling against panic. Fun stuff like choosing fixtures and finishes for the new home, which should be completed by the end of November or early December, are laced with concern. Paula Strickland is trying not to get too attached to the new house, knowing that another buyer could "buy it out from under us."

"It's kind of like when you're an EMT [emergency medical technician] and you have to emotionally detach yourself from the emergency situation so you can keep it together," said Paula, 41, a teacher at McEachern High School. "It's a material thing. I'm telling myself, 'I can't take it with me when I die.'"

If you are stuck in the middle — or if you soon will be — perhaps these tips and stories will help.

MOVING UP

Who: A.J. and Erin Erdman and 3-year-old son Ashton

Moved from: Lithia Springs

Why: They weren't looking for a new home, but fell in love with the Craftsman style and family-friendly amenities in The Village at Tributary, a Douglasville master-planned community. The builder also offered a discount if they used a selected mortgage broker.

What they bought: A single-family residence, the Montrose II floor plan with three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a study, by Summit Homes.

How fast their existing home sold: Four months.

How it happened: They decided to build a home, instead of buying one of the inventory homes, which gave them about six to eight months to sell and less of a chance of having dual mortgages. "It was a little bit of good planning and a little bit of bad planning," said Erin, 26. "We were like, it could take three months, it could take a year." About a dozen people came through, and the Erdmans received an offer in February. They counter-offered and ended up cutting $6,000 from their asking price (the home sold for $169,000). But the buyers wanted to close fast — in just one week. Their new home wasn't finished until the end of May.

How they dealt with it: They lived in a hotel for almost four months, costing approximately $150 a week. "It was, for lack of a better way to say it, pure hell, with a 3-year-old," she said. "When we got into our house, it was well worth it."

What they like about the new home: The neighborhood, with its parks, pools and plenty of kids. "Ashton is really going to love this during Halloween — the fact that we could know that we were in a subdivision that was going to be in a fun area for him," she said. "That was our biggest thing, where did we want to bring up Ashton?"

TWO HOUSES: FOUR STRATEGIES

• Make sure that your home is "puffed and fluffed," as real estate agent Iva Butler describes it. That includes hiring a staging company or a professional decorator, a step the Stricklands have taken. They've packed personal photos, painted their walls neutral colors and emptied out all the rooms to make them look bigger — a tough task with three kids (16-year-old Scotty, 10-year-old Austin and 20-month-old Gracie). The boys have become adept at quickly putting their stuff away when they get a call that a potential buyer is on the way, David Strickland said.

• Price it right. Have an appraisal done, put that price tag on your house and tell people that you're sticking to it, real estate expert John Adams said. "So you're much better off in most cases selling your existing house even for less than you have hoped, just to get rid of it and move forward with your life." Butler is seeing offers $10,000-$25,000 off list price, and potential buyers are asking for closing costs paid, appliances included and home warranties. She negotiates to get the best price possible, but her sellers recognize that they have a choice. "If it's not what you want, you may have to take a loss or lose your earnest money on the other end. That is where we are," she said.

• Face the builder. If you tell the builder you are not financially able to proceed, but that you understand your obligation and would be prepared to abandon the deposit, Adams said most builders would probably work with you to get beyond that situation. He's even seen cases where the seller returned the earnest money. "Recognize that you have a choice," he said. "You can't make someone buy a house. You can't put a gun to somebody's head and say, 'Sign here' ... especially if someone is facing what they perceive to be a financial crisis."

• If an offer on your existing home arrives before the other house is finished, sell. You can offer to do a lease-back, where you close on the property and rent it back for a week, two weeks or maybe 30 days, Butler said.

NEW TO TOWN

Who: Mike and Barbara Elliott

Moved from: Johnson City, Tenn.

Why: For Mike's new job with Cardinal Glass Industries.

Where they bought: Suffolk at Windermere in Cumming — a four-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home by Peachtree Residential with an unfinished basement.

How fast their existing home sold: Two months.

How it happened: Mike tried to sell the home on his own for 60 days, then his new employer bought it. The Elliotts didn't get as much as they wanted, originally hoping to sell it for about $20,000 more. But it was a fair price and resulted in no worries. "At the end of 60 days, they cashed me out, and I went on my way." "For a company to offer a moving package where they buy our house is a major, major deal," he said. "I was fortunate enough to go to work for a company that had a package where they buy your house, which allowed me to actually go to work without worrying about selling it. I think companies will be more pressed into doing that."