How to buy and sell a home at the same time

We all believe buying a home for the first time is the hardest thing until we have to buy and sell at the same time!

If you’re looking to graduate from first-timer to repeat buyer, you know things are about to get much trickier. Unless you’re a bona fide house collector, you’ll have to sell your home in order to buy anew—adding a whole separate layer of anxiety to what you already know is a stressful home-buying process.

Realtor.com gives us some great tips on how to manage buying and selling without losing your mind.

1. Know the market

Before you start seriously searching for a new home—or put your current home on the market—make sure you have a solid understanding of the housing market in your area (and the area where you’re planning to buy).

Ask your real estate agent: Is the market weighted toward buyers or sellers? Only then will you be able to fully strategize. In real estate, your best plan of action may depending on whether sellers or buyers are in the more powerful position.

2. Plan your schedule carefully

You might be asking: Should you try to buy first, then sell—or vice versa? Both have their risks and rewards.

Selling first makes getting a mortgage easier, but it also means you’ll need to find a temporary place to live.

Buying first means that moving will be easier, but it also skews your debt-to-income ratio, making it harder to qualify for a new mortgage—not to mention the difficulty of juggling two monthly house payments.

3. Know your financial solutions

For those who choose to sell first, the process is relatively straightforward: taking on the additional cost of a rental between homes.

However, you might want to consider the option of a rent-back agreement, where you negotiate with the lenders and buyers to be able to remain in the property for a maximum of 60 to 90 days—often in exchange for a lower selling price or for rent paid to the buyers.

This can relieve some of the pressure of finding a new home, giving you additional time to house hunt.

But if you’re buying first, talk to your Realtor about ways to decrease your financial burden and risk.

4. Don’t let fear rush you

If your home has sold but you haven’t found a new place to live, don’t let anxiety push you toward a bad decision.

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