Want to Buy a New Home, But Need to Sell Yours First?

Have you ever thought, “I’d love to move, but I need the money from this house to buy the next one“?

I hear this all the time. Most homeowners don’t have an extra down payment sitting around. Their equity is in their current home, which can make buying the next one feel like a chicken-and-egg situation.

The good news? There’s more than one way to make a move.

Buy first, sell second

Recently, clients of mine (we’ll call them T&S) found their dream home. It had the views they wanted, and we knew they didn’t want to risk losing it while waiting for their current home to sell.

This is where having a good lender involved early really helped. Elevate Mortgage found a financing option that allowed them to purchase the new home while their existing home was listed for sale, with a plan in place if their home didn’t sell within a certain amount of time.

There are more financing options out there than many people realize. The costs and qualifications vary, of course, so that part is a conversation for your lender. But in this case, it gave my clients options — and the ability to go after the house they really wanted.

Sell and buy on the same day

Another set of clients, M&J, listed their home first and received an accepted offer. The only problem? They hadn’t found their next home yet. Instead of buying something just because the clock was ticking, they asked their buyers to extend the closing date. When the right home came along, we wrote an offer contingent on the successful sale of their existing home. Because their house was already under contract, the seller accepted the contingency.

Then came the fun part: coordinating everything so their old home sold and their new home closed on the same day!

Sell first — and take your time

L&R chose an even simpler route. They sold their home, put the proceeds in the bank and rented an Airbnb for a few months.

It was summer, so they decided to make an adventure out of it. More importantly, they didn’t have to rush into buying a house simply because they needed somewhere to live. Eventually, the right one came along.

There are other possibilities, too, including negotiating a short-term rent-back after closing or talking with a lender about ways to use your existing equity before you sell.

The point is, there isn’t one “right” way to do it. If you’d like to move but feel stuck because you need to sell your current home first, don’t assume you’re out of options. Sometimes it just takes a little planning (and the right team!) to figure out a path that works for you.

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