How to Buy and Sell a House at the Same Time

Everyone wants the easiest way to transition into their next home. You’re excited and ready to move on, but you need time and you also can’t have a gap between homes. Most importantly, you definitely don’t want to be paying for two mortgages at the same time. That’s why 29% of home sellers feel the most stressful part of the process is buying and selling at the same time, but we’re here to help.

There are four solid options for selling your home and purchasing a new home at the same time. They have their pros and cons, and some aren’t available for everyone. We’ve broken it all down for you below.

Buy a New Home First

This isn’t an option for everyone as it requires a low debt-to-income ratio, a down payment, and the ability to pay multiple mortgages at once. If you have the ability to buy a home before you sell your home, this is the most seamless transition.

Pros

• Easy transition into your new home
• You get to take your time choosing your dream home
• You have somewhere to live if you decide to remodel your new home

Cons

• You need a down payment and a healthy financial status
• You will need to carry two mortgages at once until your previous home closes

Buy and Sell at the Same Time

By doing this you could use all of your built-up equity in your previous home towards your new home. This requires you to juggle inspections, renovations, walkthroughs, paperwork, and potential delays while also searching for – and closing on – your new home. It is possible, but could be a scheduling nightmare.

To prevent being locked into two mortgages at the same time, you may decide to put a contingency clause into your agreement. If your home doesn’t sell, you can back out. The catch with a contingency clause is that it isn’t ideal for the seller and someone may come along with an offer that doesn’t include any stipulations.

Pros

• Use your built-up equity
• Most ideal if it all falls nicely

Cons

• May require a contingency which is less appealing
• You may need to carry two mortgages for a short period of time
• You may not be able to hold out for the best offer

Sell your home first

This option is more ideal financially and lowers your debt-to-income ratio, making it more likely that you will get pre-approved. It all sounds great until you factor in moving from your previous home into a temporary home and then again into a new home.

Overall this process is time consuming and adds additional deposits, rental costs, and moving costs. For some, they delay the transition over time to prevent two back-to-back moves.

Pros

• Only one mortgage at a time
• No contingency clause so your offer will be more appealing to sellers
• You can wait for the perfect offer on your current home

Cons

• You have to move twice
• There are additional costs for rent, moving, and deposits
• You may be pressured to buy quickly

Sell Your Home Fast in Washington

No offers, no showings, no repairs! We offer straight-forward pricing and buy your home as-is. Let us save you time, without anything taken off the top so you have more money in your pocket.

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Sell Quickly with a Cash Offer

If you are looking to quickly and comfortably close the current chapter in your life, a cash home offer might be your best bet. Many companies like ours are happy to deliver a competitive cash offer without you having to list, stage, or show your home. Plus there are no showings, cleaning, or repairs to take care of. Seriously, you don’t even have to clean.

Once you decide to sell you can choose your closing date so you can comfortably get packed and settled into your new home. If you’re moving locally, we’ll cover the movers!

Don’t stress about commissions or closing costs taking money off the top. When all the costs to list your home are added up, there isn’t much of a difference in net profit. You can see an estimate of a home in the Washington area on our process page.

Pros

• Take your time
• No showings, repairs, or cleaning
• Use your built-up equity
• No contingency clause so your new home offer will be more appealing
• FREE local move
• No pressure to buy or sell quickly
• No additional costs or fees

Cons

• Slightly less net profit

No matter what you decide, we’re here to help. If you decide to list with us, we offer FREE staging and photography, a FREE pre-inspection report, and FREE project management. We also are happy to deliver a back-up cash offer in case you need to close quickly. If you are in Washington, give us a call!

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