6 Things to Avoid When Buying And Selling At The Same Time

Purchasing a new home when you already have a home requires you to sell your previous home. That is unless you plan on keeping it as a vacation home or a rental property.

Most people want to avoid holding on to their prior home for too long after moving. People commonly make a few mistakes that increase the difficulty of the entire experience for everyone involved.

Top mistakes people make when buying and selling at the same time

The following mistakes are easy to make, and they can cause serious difficulty if you are not paying attention.

However, thankfully these mistakes are also easy to address and can be remedied as long as you focus on providing a solution for them.

Working with multiple realtors

If you are moving into a new home that is far away from your local market, you may be tempted to contact a realtor that is native to the area. In some ways, this does make sense, but unfortunately, it would be the wrong move.

Have the same realtor coordinate the purchase of your new home in the sale of your current home simultaneously to expedite the process of moving.

Not preparing your current home for sale

Often people get overly excited about the prospects of getting a new home and solely pay attention to the process of shopping for a new home.

They end up neglecting their current home, and then they are stuck trying to scramble at the last minute to get it ready for sale. You want to ensure that the landscaping and the interior of your home are ready for potential buyers to view before you even consider closing on your new home.

Getting your self stuck with a second mortgage

If you jump the gun and buy a new home before you sell your current home and things end up taking longer for your home to sell, then you initially planned you would be required to pay for all of the intervening monthly mortgage payments on both mortgages.

If you have planned for this possibility and can afford it, it won’t be a big deal at all. If, however, your finances do not allow you to cover the costs of multiple mortgages, it could ruin you financially. Avoid this by having a buyer for your first homes lined up before you close on your new one.

Stretching your budget too thin

You already buy a starter home and are likely trying to upgrade to a slightly nicer home for your second. It can be tempting to see what you can be approved for at a bank and then shop based on your approval amount.

This is not the wisest idea. It would be best if you did not try to take out the largest loan that a bank will be willing to give you. Find a home that is going to fit what you would like in a new home, but that won’t break the bank. Avoiding financial stress will make enjoying living in the new home much easier.

Becoming impatient

Since you need to have a buyer lined up for your primary home before purchasing a new one, it does require patients. In some housing markets, you can find a buyer within a few hours of listing it for sale.

Other home markets may take much longer for you to find anyone willing to take a bite. If you already own a home, then there is no need to be impatient. You are not waiting for a roof to come over your head as you already have one.

Being patient will make the process of moving much easier once it does come time.

Make plans for when things fail

Even the best-laid plans do not always go as they were planned. It is only foolish if you do not prepare for the possibility that your plans will fail. While we all hope that things go how we planned them to there are things that happen in life, which are unavoidable and entirely out of our control.

For example, if you have a buyer lined up for your home and are getting ready to close on the new one, but the buyer you have lined up falls through on you, what are you going to do? If you plan ahead, you can include a contingency clause in the closing documents for the new home purchase.

A talented realtor can write one of these classes so that it is worded to stop the closing process of the new home if the current home you are in is not sold by the time of closing.

This is a great way to avoid paying more than you need to each month for multiple mortgages.