Buying & Selling at the same time: How is it possible?

I have two clients in this dilemma: one is down-sizing from a 3-story condo to a one-level home, and the other couple needs to leave their starter home for something larger to accommodate their growing family. Both are nervous about how it is possible to buy and sell at the same time, so I thought I would address the steps.

First, you have to put the home that you want to sell on the market. Unless you can afford two mortgage payments at the same time, you have to shop while you sell. Your Listing Realtor should be able to estimate the amount of time your home will be on the market, but because we don’t have crystal balls – the best laid plans will sometimes surprise us. The custom searches Realtors are able to set up now allow you to view prospective properties comfortably from your home so that you can rule out what you don’t like and identify homes that meet your needs.

Ideally, you and your Realtor will be out shopping on Saturday and Sunday while cooperating Realtors are showing the home you wish to sell. Yes, it’s entirely possible that you will find a home that you fall in love with before your home sells, but that usually works out. Every Buyer I’ve worked with in that situation wound up finding a home later that they loved more, so I remind my Buyers that if it wasn’t meant to be, there’s probably a good reason.

Once you receive an offer on the home you are selling, you hopefully have your choices of homes you would consider purchasing narrowed down to a few. Now, shop fast! As you negotiate the details of the home you are selling, you will be preparing an offer on the home you’d like to buy.

Buying & Selling at the same time: How is it possible?

In a perfect world, you will wind up at the closing table selling your home at 10:00 am and be back at the closing table at 1:00 to purchase your new home. You may have your household belongings in a moving truck while all the paperwork is being signed, but it CAN be a smooth transition.

Remember that Buyers and Sellers don’t have to be adversaries – and a GOOD Realtor will do all he/she can to keep a transaction together. I am remembering a transaction where the Seller needed two additional days to close on the home they were purchasing – my Buyers were moving from a rental, so in trade for extending the closing date two days, we asked the Sellers to pitch in additional monies on repairs. There is always a solution and a possible” win-win” for all.

So, yes, you can shop and sell at the same time. Jump in and start the process!

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