What's the Best Way to Buy a Home When I Have One to Sell?
One of the questions I get a LOT as a Realtor is “What’s the best way to plan to buy a new house when I have one to sell?!” This is such a great question that typically comes up with many different scenarios all the time! Maybe your family has graduated from your starter home and you’re ready for more space or a better floor plan. Or maybe you’re an empty nester with more space than you want to manage and are looking to downsize… either way, I’ve got you covered!
Here are the steps you’ll need to take to buy a house while selling another:
Determine your budget: Calculate your expenses, income, and debt to determine how much your preferred budget on a new house.
Get in touch with a mortgage lender. They can help you assess whether you must sell your current home in order to purchase a new one OR if you can purchase your new home before selling your current one. If you’ll need to sell your current home first, there are a few extra steps involved. But all manageable—-especially with a skilled Realtor (like me!) here to guide you. If you’re looking for recommendations, your agent will be able to recommend a few awesome ones to you.
Get pre-approved for a mortgage: A pre-approval letter from a lender will you an idea of how much you can borrow and how much you will need for a down payment. Additionally, you’ll need that letter in order to submit an offer on a home down the road—-so best to get it early.
Meet with a Realtor to discuss preparing your current home for sale. The goal is to get your home in top condition by making necessary repairs and improvements. You’ll also want to consider staging it to make it more attractive to potential buyers.
Get your home listed. This step is important because your home will need to be on the market before you can make an offer on your new home.
Work with your agent to start your home search! Be sure to communicate with then about everything that’s important to you with your new home like your budget, your list of must-haves and deal-breakers. Based on the market your in(buyer’s market or seller’s market) your agent will be able to give you guidance and advice on how to maneuver the market and craft a winning offer.
Make an offer: Once you have found your PERFECT home, you’ll make an offer to the seller! If your offer is accepted, you will need to provide a down payment and Earnest Money Deposit—usually in the form of a cashier’s check or wire transfer.
Close the sale: Once the seller accepts your offer, you will need to close the sale. This involves signing the purchase contract, completing a home inspection, and obtaining title insurance.
Close the sale of your current home: Once you have a buyer for your current home, you will need to close the sale. This involves signing the sales contract, completing any necessary repairs, and transferring the title to the buyer, etc.
Move into your new home: After both sales have closed, you can finally move into your new home.
