Should You Sell Before You Buy

  Or Buy Before You Sell?

The above situation could be improved upon. If you find a home you like and submit a contract to buy it contingent upon the sale of your home, the seller may flat out reject your contract so that their home is not off the market waiting on yours to sell. The seller may accept your contract and continue showing their property to other potential buyers and then accept another contract from another buyer if you haven’t sold your home yet. If more than one buyer wants the same home you want, your contract may be rejected in favor of another contract that doesn’t contain a home sale contingency.

When you list your home for sale before contracting for a home to buy, you obtain many benefits. You know the price and net amount of cash you will actually receive from your home sale and don’t have to guess. When you contract to buy your new home you have the ability to negotiate as an all cash buyer, which gives you tremendous leverage. If more than one purchaser submits a contract on the home you want to buy, yours will most likely be accepted since the others will probably be contingent upon the buyers selling their existing home.

The reason homebuyers don’t list their home and actually have it under contract before finding their new home is obvious. They believe they could be “Homeless”. Your Realtor won’t let that happen. When you accept a contract from someone to buy your existing home there will be a special clause in the sales agreement that states that you have a certain amount of time of accepting the contract on your home to find a home of your choice. In the event you do not successfully find a home of your choice in that time period you may declare the contract on your home null and void. In other words it is impossible for you to be “homeless”. It’s to your advantage to list your home for sale first and then find your new home.

Regardless of whether you decide to put your home on the market for sale first or find a new home first, you will need professional representation.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you personally to see how I might help you.

I look forward to your email or phone call.