Sell First, Then Buy

Sell First, Then Buy

If you have a house to sell, sell it before selecting a house to buy!

I haven't seen a contingent sale work in the last 3 years, unless it's

with a new home builder who has other houses to sell and can afford to

put one on a contingency. Let's pretend that we go out looking for

the perfect house for you. We find it and you love it! Now you have to

go make an offer to the seller. You want the seller to reduce the

price and wait until you sell your house. The seller figures that's a

risky deal, since he might pass up a buyer who DOESN'T have to sell a

house while he's waiting for you. So he says OK, he'll do the

contingency but it has to be a full price offer! So you see, you paid

more for the house than you could have because of the contingency.

Now you have to sell your existing house, and in a hurry! Otherwise

you lose the dream house! So to sell quickly you might take an offer

that's lower than if you had more time. The bottom line is that buying

before selling might cost you TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars. I always

recommend that you sell first, then buy. If you're concerned that

there is not a house on the market for you, then go on a window-

shopping trip. You can identify possible houses and locations without

falling in love with a specific house. If you feel confident after

that then put your house on the market. Another tactic is to make the

sale "subject to seller finding suitable housing". Adding this phrase

to the listing means that WHEN YOU DO FIND A BUYER, you will have some

time to find the new place. If you don't find anything to your liking,

you don't have to sell your present home.