When you live in a high demand area, such as Huntington Beach, selling a house in order to buy your next home can be a challenge. In today’s market, the inventory is very low, meaning there are not a lot of homes available to purchase. When the market is in favor of the Sellers like it is today, Sellers who need to buy and sell are playing both ends. On one end you’re a Seller working to get top dollar for your home. On the other end, you’re a Buyer trying to secure your next home against competition in our market.
So how do you “win”?
If you know selling & buying concurrently is in the near future for you, here is a little step by step to get you prepared:
- Download my app and start looking at homes to get familiar with what is out there. This will also help you get comfortable with your homes value.
- Hire a Realtor (me) to list your house. Yes, you need to have your house listed before you start offering on properties. (Keep reading and I’ll tell you why)
- Start making offers on new homes with a contingency of sale.
May seem a little backwards, right? It would definitely be more comfortable to have your house sold before you start looking for a new home. In a less competitive market, you would be able to get away with comfortable. Here in Southern California, we don’t have the luxury of being comfortable in our competitive market. Houses sell fast, and Sellers will take a non-contingent offer over your contingent offer any day.
What is a Contingency of Sale?
This is not a dumb question. In fact, most people don’t know this exists without their Realtor explaining. When you have a house that you need to sell in order to purchase your next home, we will attach a Contingency of Sale to your offer. This simply states if your offer is accepted, the purchase is reliant on your current home selling. This protects you from being without a home or carrying two mortgages.
So, how do you get your contingent offer accepted?
In a Seller’s Market, contingent offers are hard to get accepted, but they’re not impossible. If you’re in this position, you need to have the mindset to be competitive in your offers. This means no low-ball offers and you may even need to offer over their asking price. Another thing you could do is lower the contingency time frames for your inspections and loan. The whole goal is to make your offer stand out as the strongest and best and try to take the spotlight off the Contingency of Sale. In addition to the offer, your agent having good relationships with other local agents can help put the deal together. Having the agent on the other end of a deal who has worked with your agent before and knows their work ethic can really be used to your advantage. This has worked in my clients favor on numerous occasions!
A Quick Recap
What you need to know about selling before you buy is:
- You’re protected. As long as you have that Contingency of Sale in place, you will not be without a home or carry two mortgages.
- Hire an agent you trust. Using the same agent to list your home and represent you on your purchase will make it as seamless as can be.
- List before you offer. Having a house in escrow will make your offer seem more appealing.
- Make competitive offers. Don’t go into offering on homes with a mindset of “getting the best deal”. Having to sell a property on top of giving a low-ball offer is a recipe for disaster.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions! I’m always happy to help guide you into the right direction.
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