List the options
Create one column for each viable sequence: buy now, rent first, temporary housing, sell first, or retain/carry the current home. Remove an option only when a verified constraint makes it impossible.
Score decision quality
For each option, rate destination certainty, timing resilience, reversibility, cash required, monthly exposure, reserve impact, and disruption from one to five. Record the evidence behind each score.
Write the failure scenario
Describe what happens if the employment date changes, a sale is delayed, financing shifts, the destination area is a poor fit, or temporary housing lasts longer than expected.
Identify missing facts
List the facts that could change the ranking and who can verify them. Examples include a lender, employer, insurer, attorney, tax professional, property manager, public agency, or brokerage professional.
Choose the next decision, not a final answer
Select the next fact to verify, professional to consult, or planning step to complete. Re-score the options when important information changes.
Compare benefits and risks explicitly
For each path, name the practical benefit and the risk being accepted. Buying may offer control but reduce reversibility. Renting first may preserve flexibility but require another move. Temporary housing may protect decision quality but add cost and disruption. Selling first can clarify available cash but create timing pressure. Retaining a home may preserve an asset but adds operating, vacancy, maintenance, financing, insurance, and remote-management exposure.
Apply a Central Ohio location test
Score each option using the exact Central Ohio geography under consideration. Test realistic travel times, property-tax sources, school or service boundaries where relevant, utility availability, housing age and maintenance exposure, and access to the household's support network. Record the date and source for facts that can change.