Where do I start? This is a question I get when working with customers that are buying a new home in West Texas, but the purchase is contingent on the sale of their current home. In today’s blog I’m going over my tips for selling your current home, so you can buy your next one. Before we get into that, I want you to think how you felt when you bought your very first home. You were probably nervous about the process, but you made it through the entire process ok. At that time, all you had to worry about was what you needed to do as a home buyer, but now that you’re moving into your 2nd home, you’re experiencing those worries all over again. The reason you're worrying is now you’re going to be both the home buyer and home seller, as you need the equity from your current home to purchase the next one. There’s no need to worry though, just keep reading and I’ll take you through the process, so you'll better understand what to expect.
Tip #1. Understand your finances. There’s a difference between needing to sell your home to buy the next one and wanting to sell your home to buy the next one. I know you don’t want to think about paying 2 mortgages, but if you can qualify to purchase your next home without needing to sell your current home, I do recommend it. It will give you a leg up in your offer being accepted and in negotiations, especially in a seller’s market, because contingencies take longer to close and are more of a risk for the seller. They are more of a risk, because in most situations if your house doesn’t sell, then you’re not going to be able to buy the home. Also, they probably have other buyers that want to purchase their home that don’t have those contingencies, which makes your offer less likely to get accepted. If you fall in the category of needing to sell your home in order to qualify for your next one, you’re certainly not alone, because the majority of people are in this category. What you need to understand is most sellers would prefer not to worry about contingencies from their buyers, so when you find homes you like, make good offers. Today’s market is very competitive, so you need to keep this in mind when making an offer, because if you don't, your offer likely won't be accepted.
Tip #2. Don’t put the cart before the horse. The cart in this scenario is your next home and the horse is your current home. If you can’t buy that home without selling your current home, then you really need to focus on the current home sale. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when focusing on the sale of your home and start looking for new homes, but please avoid doing this as much as possible. You really need to spend your time and energy focusing on the sale of your current house, because you can’t move to your new home until your current home is sold. Spend the majority of your time decluttering, cleaning, painting, and fixing all the little things you’ve been putting off. If you're landscape isn't neat and trimmed, you'll need to get it cleaned up. The front of your home is the first thing home buyers are going to see, so having a nice landscape is very important. If fixing things, painting, and landscaping aren't your thing, ask your real estate agent to refer you to someone. Agents work with these professionals all the time and know the ones that will do a great job without breaking the bank. I also recommend having your real estate agent do a walk-through of your home, they have a keen eye for what home buyers want, so listen to their advice. You need to prepare yourself, because getting a home ready to sale is a very time-consuming process and will take longer than you think, so start now. When you have extra time, you can absolutely go browsing online and look for homes, but the priority has to be getting your home ready for sale. (When browsing for homes check out my page Look For Homes or click here - www.lainieeilenberger.com/look-for-homes)
Tip #3. Making offers. By this time, you know which neighborhoods you like, and you’ve been keeping track of the inventory coming on and off the market. Most importantly, your current home is under contract and you’re now ready to buy. For most of you, the offers you make will be contingent and you need to understand that due to this there’s a good chance your first offers won’t be accepted. If this happens, please try not to be offended and know that some sellers just don’t want the extra hurdle of your contingency to deal with. Most builders are totally fine with contingencies, so new construction is an option for you. If your current home that’s under contract has undergone inspection and appraisal, make sure your agent is communicating this to the seller, because this makes your contingency less risky. I advise my contingent customers in today’s market not to make offers below asking price and during negotiations not to ask for too much. The reason for this is currently there are more home buyers than there are homes for sale, and you risk making a non-contingent buyer look like a better deal. I’ve seen many deals go south quickly, because contingent buyers wanted the moon after the inspection and appraisal. It’s your right to request repairs be made or for the price to be reduced, but keep in mind that as a contingent buyer you have a higher risk of losing the home if you do this.
Tip #4. Navigating the move. Timing is super important when you’re dealing with 2 transactions. Your real estate agent will help you time this just right, so make sure to listen to their advice. If you’re going to use a moving company, make sure you consult with them early on and keep them updated on when you’re needing to move. Your real estate agent will know the best moving companies in town, so ask them for a referral. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone when selling your home and a contract negotiation can fall apart, even if everything seems to be going ok. If the timing doesn’t work out just right, you can always put your things in storage and stay in a hotel or Airbnb until your able to move in. Most of the time though, everything will work out just fine and you will move from one home to the next without a hiccup. In summary selling while buying is tricky, but it’s definitely doable and something most of us have to do at some point. The 2 key things I want you to take from today’s blog are: 1 - Focus on the sale before you focus on the purchase & 2 – Buying a home as a contingent buyer is challenging, so I highly recommend getting a real estate agent to help you. If you don't have a real estate agent, I would love to work with you and help you with all of your real estate goals. I service all of West Texas and if you're moving outside of West Texas, I'm connected to the largest referral network of top real estate agents in the country.
NOTE- If you’re planning on selling and are in the market for a top agent to make it happen, I would love to help!
We provide real estate services to these West Texas cities - Abernathy, Brownfield, Buffalo Springs, Crosbyton, Denver City, Farwell, Floydada, Idalou, Hale Center, Lamesa, Levelland, Littlefield, Lubbock, Muleshoe, New Deal, New Home, Olton, Plains, Plainview, Post, Ralls, Ransom Canyon, Seagraves, Seminole, Shallowater, Spur, Sudan, Sundown, Tahoka, Tulia and Wolfforth.
We provide real estate services to these counties - Bailey County, Briscoe County, Castro County, Crosby County, Dawson County, Dickens County, Floyd County, Gaines County, Garza County, Hale County, Hockley County, Kent County, Lamb County, Lubbock County, Lynn County, Parmer County, Scurry County, Swisher County, Terry County and Yoakum County.
-Turn the Key to your clean Slate-
Lainie Eilenberger, REALTOR
Key and Slate Real Estate Grou
Keller Williams Realty
806-928-4453
Licensed Realtor in Texas
Looking forward to working with you,
Lainie Eilenberger
Realtor
Key and Slate Real Estate Group
Keller Williams Realty
806-928-4453