Plenty of people find themselves buying and selling a home simultaneously, but knowing that others have gone through the same stress does not make it one bit easier. It turns out that most buying-and-selling mistakes are easily avoidable—or at least predictable. Follow these six tips for a smoother road to closing.
1. Waiting too long to prep your house for selling
Every home needs a little work before selling. You might need to repaint some scratched walls or fix broken decking. Don’t wait until the last minute to kick-start this process, otherwise you could wind up in a bind.
2. Skipping the backup plan
When you’re buying and selling simultaneously, the number of moving parts doubles. And if any of those parts gets jammed, it can throw off both transactions.
3. Buying too big
One of the biggest mistakes that we see that simultaneous buyers and sellers make is the same one that many first-time buyers make: They fail to get pre-approved on their new loan. Pre-approval is essential because it tells you exactly what size house you can afford.
4. Working with too little cushion
You know what price your house should sell for. But what if the market softens? If you’re forced to take an offer that’s $20,000 less than expected, there could go the down payment on your new home. Move forward conservatively with the expectation of what your house will sell for.
5. Failing to compromise
Don’t forget you’re not the only human in a stressful situation. That person selling your dream home? And the buyers under contract for your current place? They’re all probably stressed, too, so keep that in mind if issues come up.
6. Using two different real estate agents
Expect this process to get messy if you’re juggling agents for your listing and for buying a new home. Simplify things by using the same agent for both transactions. There are two instances when you should not use the same real estate agent. If you’re moving out of state, look for a reputable buyer’s agent in your new location. If you’re remaining in the same area, you may also meet and like an agent who works exclusively with buyers or sellers — not both. In that case, ask for a recommendation within your agent’s brokerage so you can, at a minimum, keep both transactions under the same roof.
Let me know any questions you may have and any additional information I may provide.
Thank you, and hope you’re having a wonderful start to spring!