Buying a new home and selling your old home can be a stressful process, but it can be made easier by using a contingent purchase. A contingent purchase means that the purchase of your new home is dependent on the sale of your current home. This can be a great option for those who want to upgrade their home, but cannot afford to carry two mortgages at once.
Hire a Real Estate Agent
The first step in this process is to hire a real estate agent who is experienced in contingency sales. They will be able to help you navigate the process and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Get Your Home Ready to Sell
Before putting your current home on the market, make sure it is ready to sell. This means cleaning, decluttering, and making any necessary repairs. Your real estate agent can give you advice on what needs to be done to make your home more appealing to potential buyers.
List Your Home
I know this seems soon! We haven’t started talk about the house you’re buying yet. Don’t worry, when we list your home the listing will state that you need up to 60 days of occupancy post closing. This means you will have the entire 30 day closing plus an additional 60 days to both find and close on your next home. Trust us this timeline has worked for all of our past clients! If you are looking for a very particular property that’s when this part can get a little bit trick, make sure you are having an honest conversation with your agent upfront about what you’re searching for. But, if in the last few weeks you have seen homes on the market that would meet your criteria this timeline should work for you.
Accept an Offer and Get Through Inspections
Here’s the key to writing a contingent offer that is still a competitive one. Don’t start shopping until the buyers for your current home have made it through the inspection period (typically 1-2 weeks). This is the most likely time for a transaction to fall apart so by waiting until you’re through all the negotiations you can now write a serious and attractive offer for the home you wish to purchase.
Start House Hunting and Write an Offer
Once you find the right house your offer will still be contingent on the sale of your current home. This protects you if any last minute things come up that cause the sale of your home to not go through, for example if the buyer loses their job and no longer qualifies for the loan. At that point you would be able to terminate your purchase because your offer was contingent. Of course for the large majority of people this doesn’t occur and both sales move forward smoothly!
Close!
Once all inspections have been negotiated, contingencies have been removed, and your loan has been underwritten you are ready to close on your new home! Start packing and get ready to move!
This is just one of many ways to get from one home to the next. Sitting down with a realtor and discussing your unique situation is the first step to finding the path that will work best for you. Have questions or want to see if our team may a good fit to help? Leave us a comment below or contact us here.
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