Will you be buying and selling a house at the same time? Are you nervous? Stressed? Wondering
how it's all going to come together? I hear you! Moving is stressful even if
everything lines up perfectly. When you add the complication of needing to buy
and sell a house at the same time, wooo, it's not easy! We've navigated this maze ourselves
and we've helped our clients do the same many times over. Needless to say, we've learned a
lot. So, let's talk about five things you can do to navigate and minimize the chaos.
If this is your first time here welcome! If you've been here before, thank you so much for
coming back and for spending your time with me. My name is Lindsay and I'm proud to be your Anthem,
Arizona REALTOR® with the Wise Move AZ Team at Realty ONE Group. On this channel we have a lot
of fun talking about all things Anthem and real estate every single Thursday and we absolutely
love having you along for the ride. There are many reasons why you may find yourself needing to buy
and sell a house at the same time. To be clear, we're not here to discuss or dissect
your reasoning. We assume that like most people it comes down to one or all of the following:
you don't want to be homeless, you can't afford to own two houses at once, or you need to move
and settle quickly. Before we jump in, I want to assure you that buying and selling a house at the
same time doesn't have to be awful. The five tips in this video will help to streamline the process.
Also, if at the end of the five tips you're thinking there has to be another option,
don't worry! Because at the end of the video I'm sharing a bonus tip that might work perfectly for
you to reduce even more stress and time pressure. Tip #1: Connect your agents. Will you be using the
same agent to list your current home and to help you purchase the new one? If you're moving down
the street the answer might be yes, but if you're moving from Chicago to Arizona the answer is
probably no. If you're using the same agent, this point won't really apply to you, but if you'll
have one agent representing you as a buyer and a different agent representing you as a seller,
I want you to connect them. I firmly believe that the best way to navigate buying and selling
a house at the same time is to communicate openly, honestly, and often! Your listing agent and buying
agent should be in touch with each other regularly to ensure that everything is on track and running
smoothly. Please note that your buying agent will likely need copies of your sale documents
from your listing agent, especially if you'll be purchasing your new home contingent on the sale
of your existing home. Together your agents can discuss realistic timelines and give you the best
service and advice. The earlier you connect your two agents, the more prepared everyone can be when
it comes time for you to put an offer in on your new home. Tip #2: Understand the markets. You've
probably heard the term buyer's market, seller's market, and balanced market, but do you know what
they mean for you in your current move? If you're lucky you'll be selling in a seller's market,
and buying in a buyer's market, but we all know that life doesn't always work out that way. When
you're buying and selling homes simultaneously you need to understand the nature of the market
where you currently live and the nature of the market where you're hoping to buy. It's
so important to note that how competitive a market is can vary from state to state, city to city,
and even neighborhood to neighborhood. This is why it's so important to work with a local expert
who can walk you through the realities of buying and selling in a particular market. For example,
if you're planning to move to the Phoenix metro area, we're in a strong seller's market right
now. Does that mean it's a bad time for you to move and you should cancel your plans?!
NO! It just means that the market is quite competitive for buyers. It also means that you
usually have to have an accepted contract in place on your current home before you can get an offer
to purchase accepted on a new home here. If you want more tips on navigating a seller's market,
click to watch this video. If on the other hand, you happen to be buying in a buyer's market,
there may be less pressure for you to have an accepted contract on your current home
before you can put in an offer to purchase your future home. We also have a video with
tips to navigating a buyer's market, so I will link to that in the cards. Overall, while it's
important that you understand the nature of the market in both places, it's even more important
that you hire an agent who understands the market inside and out. By doing this you can
map out your timing carefully and determine which contract you need to have in place first. Tip #3:
Learn about the other parties. This might sound a bit creepy, but I want you to learn as much
as possible about the buyers of your current home and the sellers of your future home. You may want
to know where they're going or where they're coming from and when they need to be there.
Are they also in a situation where they're buying and selling at the same time? As much as possible
you want to minimize the number of closings that need to happen all at once. If, for example,
the buyers of your current home are contingent on the sale of their home that could mean that there
are three closings that need to happen all on the same day, or in a matter of days. On top of that,
if the seller of the home you're hoping to buy is also closing on their future home on the
same day... well, I think you get the picture. It can get really complicated, really quickly!
I like to think of it as dominoes. If one closing doesn't happen, it's like one domino in the chain
didn't fall. If one closing in the mix doesn't happen on time, the others might not either...
and it's situations like these that keep me up at night! Anyways, the more information you can
gather about all of the parties involved, with the help of your agents, the better. This information
will give you an idea of where there may be some flexibility if you run into delays or timing
issues in the closing process. Tip #4: Consider post possession. Post possession can be a great
option if you need to sell your current home in order to buy your next home,
but you don't want to move into a rental or your mom's basement in the interim. Since we're in such
a strong seller's market we are seeing more and more post-possession agreements. Post-possession
occurs when you officially sell your current home but you rent it back from the new buyers for a
predetermined period of time. These agreements are usually in place for a period less than 30 days
and the rent is a nominal amount paid in escrow. Put simply, you get to stay in your current home
after closing. Arranging for post possession could be the perfect way to offset your sale and
purchase by a few days. A few days might not sound like much, but it can make all the difference
when trying to ensure a smooth closing on both sides. By closing earlier on your current home
it means that you have time to transfer the funds to pay for your future home, you still have a
place to live, and it also gives a buffer if there are any delays with your financing. If possible,
I recommend having a bit of an overlap on both sides. For example, if you're set to close on your
future home on Thursday, you may want to schedule the closing of your current home for Monday
and then have your post-possession agreement in place until the following Tuesday or Wednesday.
This way you have a place to live if there are any delays in closing on your new home. Tip #5:
Have a contingency plan. I was an event planner in my previous career and I always used to joke that
I spent as much time coming up with contingency plans as I did putting together the actual event.
Well, guess what! The same is true when you're buying and selling a home at the same time.
I really want you to come up with a backup plan in the event that one or both of the closings is
delayed by a couple of days. Between your lender, REALTORS®, and escrow officers, everyone is going
to be working hard to make sure that everything stays on schedule. That being said, there's always
a risk that something happens to alter the timeline. Your backup plan could be something
as simple as staying with friends or family. Make sure you think about where you will stay,
but also what you're going to do with all of your stuff. Can your movers hold it for a few days? Can
you extend the truck rental? Will you need to find a storage unit? How much will your backup plan
cost if you have to implement it? By having a solid backup plan in place it will be a lot less
traumatic if you have to put it into action. I hope that these five tips have helped to put
your mind at ease. I really do believe that the key here is building a team that you genuinely
trust and that you can communicate openly with. Now, I haven't forgotten that I promised you a
bonus tip. If all of this buying and selling at the same time sounds just too stressful or if you
are on a really strict timeline, I have another option that you may want to consider. Bonus Tip:
Consider an iBuyer. An iBuyer is a company like Open Door or OfferPad that will purchase your home
from you. You won't have to put up with showings, open houses, or a sign in your front yard.
The other perk is that they're typically able to accommodate your desired closing date. Now,
this convenience often comes with a bit of a price tag, but it could help to keep your stress down.
You may find that the offer from an iBuyer is lower than if you were to put your home on the
open market. If you're hesitating to navigate the traditional buying and selling route, you may want
to get a few quotes from iBuyers. Before you do that, I want to strongly recommend that you still
use an agent. The iBuyer represents their best interest, not yours. By having your own agent, you
have someone who will advocate for you throughout the entire process. I also recommend that you have
your agent draw up net sheets for both options, so that you can objectively compare the two. So,
are you ready to tackle buying and selling your home at the same time? I would love to hear where
you're moving from and where you're moving to in the comments below! If you found this video
helpful let me know by hitting that like button and subscribing to our channel. Lastly, if you'd
like tips on getting your home ready to list in 30 days or less click to watch this video up top
or if you'd like tips for buying a home in our hometown of Anthem, Arizona
click to watch this video on the bottom. Enjoy those and I'll see you next Thursday!