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How to sell your house while buying another one at the same time

Danica A • Mar 01, 2021
When you’re trying to sell a house while buying your next place, things can get complicated if your closings don’t align or it takes longer to sell or buy a house than you anticipated.

Buying and selling homes simultaneously can be stressful especially if you need the money from your current home’s sale to put toward your next abode. Take heart, though, because a little planning and working with a savvy real estate agent can help make both transactions run more smoothly.

Here are some tips to help you manage the process — and keep your sanity intact.

1. Assemble your team

Given all the steps and paperwork involved in buying and selling at the same time, you’ll want experienced professionals guiding you through the process. Hiring a skilled real estate agent can give you a realistic estimate of home prices in your area and how to price your current home. Using that figure, you can calculate how much equity you have and what your net proceeds will look like so you can apply that money toward the down payment and closing costs of your new home.


Using the same real estate agent and real estate attorney (if required in your state) for both the sale and the new purchase can make the entire process go more smoothly.


2. Consider your financial position

Ideally, you’d be able to have concurrent closings, where you sell your home in the morning and close on your next place by that afternoon or within a few days. But what if things don’t go according to plan? You could suddenly find yourself without the necessary funds to close on your next home, wind up paying two mortgages for an extended period of time or, worst-case scenario, be unable to get final approval for a mortgage and potentially lose your next home.

If you don’t have the means to handle two mortgages, definitely include a contingency in your offer that gives you an escape route should the sale of your current home fall through. You might also consider adding a financing contingency in case your new loan approval hinges on selling your current home.


3. Factor in the market

Timing is one of the most important factors in buying and selling a home at the same time. Getting the timing right also depends on the conditions of your local housing market.


If you’re in a buyer’s market

In this scenario, it could take longer to sell your home, so you may want to wait on making an offer on your next place until you’ve gone into contract with a solid buyer. Another bonus during a buyer’s market is you often have the upper hand to include a contingency that voids the deal if the sale of your current home doesn’t go through. This can give you more peace of mind.


If you’re in a seller’s market

In a seller’s market, you’ll need to make sure that your home is staged and market-ready. You also want to ensure that your finances are in order so you can quickly make an offer on a home to buy. When conditions are tipped toward sellers, you’ll have less flexibility to include contingencies or bump out the closing date, particularly if a seller needs to move quickly. However, if your current home is priced right and staged well, it should sell faster. You can also be more selective about which offers to consider and limit your options to those with fewer contingencies.

4. Negotiate the timeline, not just the money

While you want to make sure that you’re getting the best possible price on the sale of your home (and not overpaying for the next one), consider the closing process when negotiating both deals. The goal is to get both the buyer of your house and the seller of your next home to agree to adjacent closings or any necessary contingencies


5. Have a backup plan

No matter how carefully you’ve planned your transactions, they still might not happen on schedule — and one or both of them might fall through completely. If you have contingencies in your contract, you should be able to reschedule the closings accordingly or walk away with minimal financial pain.


If not, you may need a backup plan. Here are some options:

  • Find a short-term rental if you sell your current home but haven’t found your next place. You’ll have to factor in the added expense of renting a storage unit if you have a lot of belongings that won’t fit into a rental.
  • Ask the buyers to do a rent-back agreement, which allows you to remain in your current home after closing for a short time and pay rent to the new owner until you can move.
  • Cover the costs of your next home with savings, a home equity line of credit or a bridge loan over the short-term. If you do use a bridge loan, you’ll be responsible for making payments on it regardless of whether or when your house sells.


Rent out your current home and use the income to help offset the expense of owning two homes until you can sell it.


Bottom line

Trying to sell your house and find a new place at the same time can be a challenge amid work and family obligations. Working with an experienced real estate agent can help ease the transition and ensure consistent communication with everyone involved. Finally, make sure you keep close tabs on your finances and credit before and during the process, too, so you can act quickly when you find your next home.

What does sale pending mean?

By Danica A • 01 May, 2022
You’ve spent months searching for the perfect home, and you think you may have finally found it. But when you hop online to do some additional research, the home’s status is listed as “sale pending.” Are you entirely out of luck? It doesn’t say “sold,” after all. Find out more about what “pending” means on a house for sale, and what your options are if you’re interested in it. What does sale pending mean in real estate? A pending sale in real estate simply means that the seller has received and accepted an offer on their home. However, the deal is not yet finalized — hence “pending” and not simply “sold.” If you’re interested in a pending property, your agent should consult with the seller’s agent to learn more about the status. You may still have a chance, though it is likely slim. Can you make an offer on a house that is pending? In short, yes. But it may not be worthwhile. A pending deal is not set in stone, but it’s not exactly open for discussion either. Unless the pending deal falls through, you can’t simply win over the seller by offering more money or waiving certain contingencies. In fact, most sellers are contractually obligated to honor the current offer, even if a higher bid comes in. Still, if you’re really interested in the home and counting on the current deal to fall through, you do have the option to submit a backup offer. Be sure to consult with your real estate agent for advice on the best way to move forward in this situation. Reasons a pending sale may come back on the market It is possible, if not likely, for a pending sale to come back on the market. There are many reasons why this could happen: Below are some common reasons why real estate purchase transactions sometimes fall through.

4 Signs That It’s a Good Time to Sell Your Home

By Danica A • 01 Apr, 2022
You might already know for a fact that you’re ready for a new home. But before you pull the trigger on selling your current home, you want to know that you’ll get top dollar and be financially secure for the long haul. Here are four signs that there’s no time like the present to put your home on the market. 1. You Don’t Need Any Big Repairs or Remodeling Sure, upgrading a bathroom sink might make you feel better about what potential buyers see when touring your home. But don’t sweat the small stuff. You aren’t likely to recoup the expenses you put into most home improvement projects, much less turn a profit . The important thing is that your home doesn’t need some type of major overhaul that sends buyers running for the hills – something like a leaky roof or cracked foundation. Barring any such severe flaws, just double check with your real estate agent to make sure there aren’t any renovations that would significantly raise your home’s value. If there aren’t, then you should consider your home ready to hit the market. 2. You Have Positive Equity to Avoid Out-of-Pocket Costs Equity is the difference between what your home is worth and what you owe on it. Say your home is worth $100,000. If you only owe $50,000 to pay off your mortgage, that means you have $50,000 in positive equity. Ideally, you’d like to have enough equity to cover closing costs and put some money down on your next home. At a minimum, you want to have enough to cover the current balance of your mortgage, so you can avoid paying out of pocket. As long as you have even a small amount of positive equity, that’s a positive sign that you’re ready to transition to a new home.

Foolproof Paint Colors That Will Sell Your Home

By Danica A • 01 Feb, 2022
Selling a home with an electric, lime-green living room is going to be more difficult than you originally anticipated. In fact, your home might sit stagnant on the market for quite some time. The reality is that paint color packs a serious punch in the real estate game. So, which colors are going to sell your home? A home remodeling guide and contractor liaison website, surveyed 200 leading interior design experts and influencers to uncover the upcoming paint trends for owners to keep in mind before selling their home. We’re armed with Fixr's Paint & Color Trends Report and ready to dish on the hues to use and hues to lose before putting your house on the market. (Hint: Lime green didn’t make the list.) The Kitchen: White or Warm Gray Design pros believe that warm gray or classic white tones are best for painting interior rooms like the kitchen. Some of our favorite white and warm gray paint colors to check out for your kitchen include Revere Pewter and Simply White by Benjamin Moore or Pure White and Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams. The Living Room: White When in doubt, white it out. Surveyed pros believe white paint will sell your home because not only does it provide future buyers with a blank slate, but it gives living rooms a fresh, well-kept appearance that appeals to the masses. Our tried-and-true white paint colors include Snowbound or Greek Villa from Sherwin Williams or White Dove and Chantilly Lace from Benjamin Moore.
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