Last week we opened up ‘question and answer’ on our Instagram – we received SO many amazing questions from followers! We realized there are a lot of questions out there & a lot of people who probably wondering the same thing.

Today we discuss one of the questions:

What are some tips for buying and selling at the SAME time?

To start, all the stars have to align to truly ‘buy and sell’ at the same time. A few things to consider —  a typical closing date from a fully executed contract (the moment you go pending) is 30 days. That would mean if you list your home and it goes pending (would have to happen immediately), you would have a new home ready to close in that 30 days. Your home would need to SELL quick, and you would also need to have your next home PENDING (and found).

A few ways to make this work :

1) Start researching the neighborhood of your next home — I always recommend sellers start looking daily at the neighborhood they are trying to move into. A lot of times, I set up ‘market updates/reports’ for clients so they get all new listings the minute a home gets listed. Based on the neighborhood or area you are looking, will determine how quickly that market sells and how competitive it is.

 

2) Buying Contingent — this is now possible! What this means, is you can make an offer on a home contingent upon the sale of your departing residence. NOTE: your home must be live on the MLS within 5 business days. Also, you risk getting ‘bumped’ by a non-contingent offer. Buying contingent is only an option in some areas, and if there are not multiple offers. Have a property contingency is an additional layer of risk to the seller, so most sellers prefer not to accept a contingent offer (if at all possible).

 

3) Listing your home — When you do decide you are ready to list and sell – the team you hire is SO important. Do your due diligence, when interviewing a Listing Agent ask to sell their past listings. Look at their marketing in detail – ask them about their marketing plan for your home. Ask them about past sales – and their average days on market for listings this year. As our market shifts with significantly more inventory, it is SO important that when you do ‘go to market’ your home looks its BEST. Staging, photos, a homes online presence is everything. 

 

4) Start packing ahead of time — We always recommend doing as much packing/moving as early as possible. This will make the process easier on your end when your home does go pending and you suddenly need to pack and move. Moving is stressful! We have moving companies we can recommend, to make it easier on your end. Some clients also rent Pod’s, move personal belongings to Pod’s, that way all their stuff in one location for moving.

 

5) Contract negotiations — this is a big one. And also goes back to interviewing the team you are about to work with. Experience is huge, and having a seasoned Realtor on your side is imperative! When negotiating the sale of your home you may be able to negotiate a rent back from the buyer. This means you can fully close on your departing residence/home and rent the home for a month or two from the buyer while you find your next home.

 

6) Get fully pre-approved — To buy / sell at the same time, it is important to get fully underwritten and pre-approved so you are ready to buy. If you do find your dream home and need to act quick, having an underwritten loan is imperative. With this done it can save your 1-2 weeks, and you can close in under 15 days.

 

Time is something that needs to be on YOUR side when buying and selling at the same time.

 

7) Home Prep — Before you decide to list, always get your home prep done ahead of time. This way when you do go to market, the waiting is just on the listing agent for pre-listing marketing prep. (IE. Staging, home photography and video, marketing etc). Do all of the prep ahead of time. We have a checklist if you need that includes everything to prep your home for listing. Ask us for a copy.

 

If you are curious about what your home is worth or wish to discuss further, shoot us a message!
We would love the opportunity to connect & help you.