Simultaneously buying and selling homes? Don’t make these mistakes.


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Many people take on the tricky process of buying and selling homes simultaneously, but it isn’t always easy. There are big mistakes you can make during a concurrent sale, but luckily, most of them are avoidable. Here are the six missteps you should look out for if when buying and selling at the same time:

1. Waiting too long to prepare your home for the market. Every home needs some work before it’s listed. You may need to repaint walls, fix the deck, or add grout to bathrooms. If you wait until the last minute to start the process, you could easily find yourself in a bind.

2. Not having a backup plan. When you buy and sell simultaneously, the amount of moving parts doubles. If any of these parts get jammed, it can mess up both transactions. It’s important to have a plan in place for fixing issues when they arise.

3. Buying too big. If you fail to get pre-approved on your loan, you don’t know what you can afford. A pre-approval prevents unrealistic expectations by telling you exactly what you can afford.

 

 

“You can simplify things by using one agent for both your buying and listing transactions.”


4. Working with too little cushion. You know what your home should sell for, but what if the market softens? If you have to settle for $20,000 less, you just lost the down payment on your next home. So, if you’re expecting to use your entire sale price for your next home, go forward with the assumption that it’ll sell for less than expected.

5. Failing to compromise. You aren’t the only one who’s stressed in this situation. Your agent, the buyer for your current property, and everyone else involved is likely feeling the pressure too. Keep this in mind when issues come up.

6. Using two real estate agents. This makes a messy process even messier, but you can simplify things by using one agent for both your buying and listing transactions. However, if you’re moving out of state, find an agent in your new location. If you really like an agent who specializes in either buying or selling, ask them to recommend another agent within their brokerage. This way, you can at least keep both transactions under one roof.

If you have a topic you’d like me to cover in the future, have any questions, or need further information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.