After Selling, Where Are You Moving?

Here’s what happens if you decide to buy another home after you sell.

So you’re selling your house, and the big question now is where you’re going to go next. The first decision to make is whether you’re going to live with someone you know, purchase another home, or rent something. It’s uncommon, but sometimes we’ll have someone say they’ll live with a friend or family member for a while, so it doesn’t matter when they sell. Sometimes people are relocating and can’t or don’t want to buy another house immediately, so they’ll rent something for a bit. 

However, if you’re buying another property, some coordination is needed for when your sale closes and when your new purchase closes. There are two ways to do that, and the first is the easiest: Buy your new house non-contingent, which means you’ll be paying two mortgages at once for a short period. If you’re agreeable to that and have the income, low debts, and credit, it’s a great way to buy and sell simultaneously. Then you can begin shopping for your next house, find one you love, and get it under contract. Then when you feel secure about where you’re going, you can put your other property on the market.

If you’re buying another property, some coordination is needed between your sale and purchase.

The second option is when you can’t or don’t want to buy non-contingent, meaning you must sell your current home to buy another, so you’ll want to carefully time everything. You have many options when doing that, but often you’ll want to finalize your sale on the morning of closing day for your new property. The sale proceeds will be wired to the other title company where you’re making your purchase in the afternoon. The way that typically works in the current market is that we’ll have our clients look for a house first, get it under contract, then work on selling their first home.

Buying contingently puts you at a bit of a disadvantage, but it also offers you a safe place to land once you’ve sold your home. It hasn’t been difficult to convince sellers to take a contingent offer because homes are selling so quickly in this seller’s market. Though as the real estate market shifts, that dynamic may change somewhat.

This is all a brief overview, so you’ll want to speak to a qualified expert about what the best strategy is for you. If you have any questions about your situation and/or are considering making a move, please reach out via phone or email. We would love to help you.