Posted By Alan Donald @ Jun 25th 2013 2:08pm In: Sellers

Moving Up: Buy First or Sell First?


Alan Donald Real Estate Blog- Buy Homes In Charleston, Buy or Sell your homeMany people are looking at real estate prices and thinking it’s a great time to buy a bigger or better home, or to move to their ideal location. And they are right. The problem is – they may need to sell their existing home first to complete their down payment (or avoid paying two mortgages), and this sometimes can be a challenge.

It is important that you sit down with your REALTOR® and explore all the options available to you. Here are some of them:

  1. Buy first, sell later. 
Advantages: You can take advantage of current buying opportunities and low interest rates. Disadvantages: You may not qualify for both loans, and if you do, you may have to pay two mortgages until your old home sells. You may also explore the availability of a “bridge” loan from your lender to help you make the transition.

  2. Sell first, buy later. 
Advantages: This is the “safest” option, you only have one mortgage at a time, you have no uncertainties. Disadvantages: It may take a while to sell your current home and you may miss out on buying market opportunities (i.e. "opportunistic bargains") and maybe low interest rates.

  3. Buy first, conditional upon the sale of your existing home.
 Advantages: This poses little risk to you, if you don’t sell , you can get out of the purchase contract and get your earnest money back. Disadvantages: Many sellers may be reluctant to accept such a contingency, given that it takes their home off the market for an uncertain period of time, with no guarantee of a sale. If they accept this condition, they will probably demand the home be listed with a professional agent, priced right, and may also give you a deadline to sell your home. It may be very frustrating if you really like the new home but you cannot sell your current home on time.

Wish to get a better home? Call The Alan Donald Real Estate Team today on 843-900-0155. We get it done!

Comments have been closed for this post.
Please contact us if you have any questions or comments.