Are you thinking of upsizing or downsizing your home? Well, there can be some great benefits, efficiencies and rewards when you can buy and sell a home at the same time. It can also be challenging and stressful going through this process. If you think about it, you are basically squeezing three HUGE processes into one timeframe. You have 2 of the largest financial transactions in your life AND having to move from one place to another. And you get the benefit of just one physical move instead of two or three. Another potential benefit is you may reduce market risk since you never are really out of the market. If you are someone who stresses out easily or worries a lot, this could be a challenging undertaking however can also be very rewarding in the end as it will it will be shorter and not dragged out. So listen to my tips and ideas then you can decide if buying and selling a home at the same time is for you.
Tip #1: Be Prepared and Plan Ahead
Be prepared, mentally, physically and financially. Make sure everyone understands what this may mean for everyone in the household. Cleaning, decluttering, packing, and even moving may have to be done before or after work and school. Contracts, negotiations, agreements may need to be discussed, decisions may need to be made, forms signed, loan documents requested sometimes both on the buy and the sell side at the same time. This may sound a little crazy, but believe me, it’s totally doable, with the right mindset and right team. Remember, you don’t have to do it all yourself, leverage out, in other words pay someone else to do it, if possible. You can hire out for responsibilities such as cleaning, packing and moving among other things. The last time my family moved, we used movers and I am so glad we did. I remember my kids were 5 and 3 years old, it was busy season for my wife, we were getting ready to go on a trip, things were crazy. Believe me, I’m frugal like the best of them, and I still feel it was well worth the money.
Just talking about being prepared, you can see things could get hairy. Planning ahead for the journey and understanding how things may flow will help your family get ready for the move. Talking things out, mapping out a timeline visually, and creating checklists may help everyone have be more prepared for execution. This is also a good way to vet out questions and make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Tip #2: Be Flexible
Things are not always going to go as planned, DUHHH. So, you need to be flexible, nimble, dynamic to adapt to the situation. For example, there may be a replacement property that you really want but something may not work out. You may not get it; you could lose out to another buyer or the place you thought was the perfect dream home turns out to have issues after the inspection report and it’s back to the drawing board.
I have helped families buy and sell simultaneously, I’ve helped others sell first then buy, I’ve even helped clients buy and then sell. This video is not to go over all the possibilities and options you have in your buy and sell process. Everyone’s situation is different, you may have different needs, different timing, and different financial situations. This article is to provide high level tips and pointers to get you in the right direction and mindset to determine the path that makes sense for you. This brings me to the last tip.
Tip #3: Put together a strong TEAM
If you haven’t already, get in touch with your trusted service providers for the buy and sell process. For example, if you’re financing the purchase, find your lender. See what financial institutions like banks offer versus what a loan brokerage has and see what fits you better. Maybe you want to include a Home Equity Line of Credit as part of your financing to reduce your interest. Find out who can offer you those. Of course, find your real estate agent. Make sure they have experience and are up to the task. You may need to talk to your accountant/CPA, attorneys for their professional advise in some cases. You also may want to line up cleaners, movers, plumbers, electricians, the list goes on…
Communicate to all parties your intentions and plans. Again, leverage off of them. I already mentioned your lender, talk to your realtor and get a general timeline of the buying and selling process and start talking different scenarios and how that would pencil out on your calendar. You can start looking for potential new homes once you get a better idea from your lender on your financial options. From your realtor, get an understanding of the markets both where you are selling and where you want to buy, this will help in the strategy for pricing your home and making offers on your new home. Lastly, I’d like to emphasize that transparency is important so that your agent and all your service providers can work for you to strategically execute your plan.
I hope this was helpful. If you’re looking for an agent and want some tips on how to find them, check out my blog called, “Choosing a Real Estate Agent.” Here is the link (https://realestateofhawaii.com/real-estate-blog/how-to-choose-a-real-estate-agent/)
