Selling your house and buying a new one at the same time can be a daunting task. It can be especially daunting when interest rates are high or inventory is low. But, with the right agent, planning, and approach, you can successfully navigate the market.
Here are 8 things to know to help you sell your house and buy a new one at the same time:
1. Work with a real estate agent.
Working with a knowledgeable and experienced real estate agent can help you navigate the market and ensure a successful sale and purchase.
As your realtor, I will help you price your house appropriately, market it effectively, and negotiate on your behalf. I also help you negotiate a fair price, terms, and repairs or closing credits if needed.
2. Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage First.
Before listing your home, obtain a mortgage pre-approval to determine your budget for the new home. Shop around for competitive rates.
I have a list of trusted lenders I’ve worked with and will provide the information they may need about your current home. If you’re moving to another state, I’ll connect you to an expert agent in that area from my national network.
3. Know the market.
Before listing your home, it is important to know the local real estate market. Knowing the market will help you price your home appropriately.
We’ll review a report of comparable properties, market data, and pricing strategy at your listing consultation. We’ll discuss how quickly it is likely to sell as-is, with some repairs, and/or with staging. Pricing appropriately is important to help you sell on your timeline and make the most of your investment.
4. Time your sale and purchase carefully.
Timing is key when it comes to selling your house and buying a new one at the same time. Ideally, you want to sell your house before you buy a new one. However, this is not always possible and comes with the logistical challenges of finding a place to stay between sales.
I’ll help with the logistics to make your move as smooth as possible. For example, I can negotiate for you to stay in your home for additional time after your sale closes. This is called a rent-back period and is relatively common and often free. If you need to buy a new home before selling your old one, speak with me and your lender about your options.
5. Have a backup plan.
Even with careful planning, there is always a small chance that something will come up. Sales fall through and other things can happen to cause delays.
I strategize your backup plan with you. Having a rental property or temporary housing booked in case you need to bridge the gap between selling your old house and buying a new one is helpful.
6. Consider renovation and staging.
You should always consider renovating or staging your home. This always results in getting you a higher price and quicker sale. A fresh coat of paint, new fixtures, and decluttering can go a long way in making your house more attractive to potential buyers.
When you choose to list your home with me, you’ll be given design and repair advice in your budget. I’ll provide a to-do list to prepare your home and references to contractors, stagers, cleaners, and movers.
7. Prepare to negotiate.
In a high-interest rate market, buyers may be more hesitant to make offers. Prepare yourself to negotiate on price and other terms to ensure a successful sale and purchase. Keep in mind that both parties want to make a deal, so be flexible and open to compromise.
We’ll review each offer thoroughly. I’ll navigate you through the negotiations to ensure you’re getting a fair price, making reasonable concessions, and meeting your goals for the sale.
8. Make a Strong Offer.
When you’re selling first and then buying, you might have challenges to overcome on the buying side such as finding a home at the right time, making contingent offers, getting your offer accepted, and closing in time to move from one home to the next.
Writing a strong offer that will get accepted in a multiple-offer situation is key. I’ll work with you to craft the perfect offer within your budget, on your timeline, and with terms that will stand out to a seller and their agent.
Selling your house and buying a new one at the same time can be challenging, especially in a high-interest rate market. But with the right planning and the help of your realtor and lender, you can successfully navigate the process.
If you’re thinking about making a move, I can help. Give me a call or text to get started or you can read my bio, and testimonials, or find me on Instagram to learn more about what it’s like to work with me.
A thanksgiving story — not in a traditional, seasonal holiday sense with turkey and stuffing and finding enough matching place settings for all the folks trundling your way, but one of some of the dearest clients: maybe-buyers I had the wonderful good fortune to meet in a lovely home I had held open in September, located smack dab in the neighborhood they’ve been rooted in together for years – they’d lived just a block away from there “close enough to get to Salt & Straw very quickly” being one of the qualifiers on location as it would turn out. Meeting these two immediately warmed my heart and enriched my life, setting us on a journey to find a solution together for the challenge they were facing: repair their current home, or search for something new to close a difficult chapter for them and move on from the loss and heartache brought on by a house fire Christmas eve 2021. They lost their cherished home they’d poured so much time and energy into. While they were originally planning to rebuild, they saw the above mentioned home in their neighborhood, OPEN HOUSE sign out front, and somehow that rekindled the sense that they could find something new to love and grow into.
It’s raining a lot right now! The moment water hits the peak of your roof, it rolls down towards your gutters, it has to get off and away from your home. Take a look below at a few ideas to keep your house dry in this rainy weather.
My buyer Theo wins the award for the single most expensive repair I have negotiated for a buyer. Theo was a first time buyer who was referred to me by a past client of mine who they work with. We met up on a chilly fall evening to talk about what they were looking for in a house and get the process started. Within a couple of days, Theo had their pre-approval letter in hand and we were ready to go. I sent them all of the available homes within the geographic boundaries, price range and features they were looking for. The list wasn’t very long and out of all of them, only 2 houses piqued their interest. We went to see one in NE, and that was a no-go. The second house we saw was bright blue 1920’s bungalow in the Brooklyn neighborhood. It had been on the market for about a month and had one sale fail. The home was lovely with a gigantic newly remodeled kitchen and a large upstairs bedroom with room to add a bathroom. The basement was decent enough with lots of windows and good ceiling height- a great candidate for future finishing. Theo slept on it and the next morning let me know they wanted to write on it. We put together a great offer and boom- got it accepted.
Sarah and Tariq contacted me in early August after being referred to me by one of my favorite lenders. They used to live in Portland, and had moved to Los Angeles for work, and were now being transferred back to Portland. They were moving to Portland in mid-November, so they came to Portland in mid-October to find a home. Before they arrived, we had a flurry of emails back and forth narrowing down homes they wanted to see. They seemed to really hone in on mid-centuries and when we came up with our list of homes to see over the next few days, the majority were mid-centuries. They arrived on a Thursday evening, and we hit the ground running on Friday morning. We saw around 12 houses together over the next couple of days, and they saw even more homes on their own visiting open houses.
We are so grateful for this nod from our neighbors on Nextdoor!
My buyers Annie and Ben were referred to me by one of the great lenders at Portland Housing Center. They were first time home buyers and during our meeting when we met to discuss their plan and get a feel to see if we would be a good fit to work together, we talked about the ideal house for them. They had a really clear idea of exactly what they were looking for and where they wanted to buy. Ben works in Vancouver and Annie works on the inner east side so their ideal house would be in North Portland in Kenton or near I-5. They also wanted something with vintage charm- preferably mid-century, and in good shape that would be easy to maintain. They also wanted a yard and their budget was $400k tops. They were still interviewing agents when a couple of days after we met, I got an email from my wonderful colleague Martin Cross here at Living Room with info on an open house a great listing of his in Kenton was having the next day. On paper that house seemed to meet all the criteria that Annie and Ben had, so I forwarded the email along to them. They responded that indeed, the house looked like it was great and they could tell I had a really good sense of what they were looking for, and that sealed the deal for us working together.
LOCAL U-PICK APPLES
GUTTERS – DO THEY NEED CLEANING?
Upstairs are four bedrooms plus a bonus room/den. The spacious owner’s suite features vaulted ceilings & french doors. A well appointed en-suite bath has double sinks, tiled shower & a free standing tub.
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My clients offer was accepted! My buyers knew just what they wanted. I showed them one property, made one offer, and prevailed in a multiple offer situation. This is very fortuitous as this is a very special property that was obviously meant for them. They are looking forward to enjoying life in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood with quick access to one of our of the city’s best parks – 
Four years ago I helped my client Matteo purchase his first home in Portland in Rose City Park after he recently moved to Portland from New Orleans. As an artist and stylist, he has a habit of buying and renovating homes, using his house as a palette for his talents. After four years living in his Rose City Park home, he was ready for a larger home with adequate studio space and further east to be closer to his job as a paintings teacher. He loves mid-centuries and we spent a few months looking at possibilities. He came so close to putting an offer on a home with a pool in Ventura Park, but decided at the last minute that he was basically buying a pool that came with a house, rather than the other way around.
