How to Successfully Buy and Sell a House at the Same Time

When it's time to say goodbye to your current residence and move into your next dream home, you're juggling two very challenging processes at once. If you plan on using your current residence's equity for your down payment, that means carefully managing the home searching process, negotiations, and entire timeline of both transactions. The realtors at the Nancy Ellin Realty Group have years of experience helping Beverly Hills-area residents do precisely that. Here, we give a brief overview of the benefits of managing both transactions simultaneously and the five key steps for successfully doing so. When you're ready to take the first step, contact us to create a custom plan that fits your needs and timeline.

How to successfully buy and sell your home in five steps

Your local realtor will guide you through the entire process so you can start searching for homes, market your current property, and get personalized insights. But if you want a clear bird's eye view of the process, we recommend focusing on these five steps:

1. Work with a real estate team so your buying and selling agent can seamlessly organize your real estate journey

This journey starts with an experienced real estate agent who can advise you and help you navigate both sides of the market. While a single realtor can technically manage both transactions for you, there are advantages to working with a team. Nancy Ellin is teamed up with experts who give lending, legal, mortgage, and ULA tax advice, as well as advice on 1031 exchange options — all essential in the luxury real estate market.

2. Set offer term expectations that align with your house-buying plans

You don't have to try and juggle two disparate buying and selling timelines that may or may not overlap. Instead, you can use negotiations and contract terms to pave the way to success. Your agent will describe the offer elements you're looking for in your property listing. As a seller, along with setting the listing price, you can also dictate the length of the contingency period, repair credits towards asking price and ensure that there are no loan contingencies.

3. Work with a lender who can minimize your reliance on your home sale for your new home's down payment

Mortgage lenders can work with you to determine the best financial strategy for buying your new home and selling your current one. While it's certainly possible — and generally ideal — to manage both at the same time, that may be impossible if your home is in a niche market. Your lender can work with you to:

• See what options you have to minimize your down payment obligations to 3.5% or even 3%
• Find you the best interest rate for your DTI with two home mortgages
• Walk you through different strategies for using your home's equity after the fact

Once you clearly understand all your options, that can significantly reduce the stress of buying and selling a home.

4. Align your escrow timelines so you can transition from one home to the next seamlessly

A leaseback is vital for managing timelines, but it's not your only tool. You might also request a shortened time to close on your home sale so you can access the funds faster, or even combine that with an extended timeline on your home purchase. Your real estate team can work together and with the agents on the other side of the two transactions to ensure the money moves to the right place at the right time.

5. Work with professional packers and organizers so you can stage your home and move into your next one

With all the moving parts of the real estate transaction happening in the background, there are plenty of ways to streamline the transition and trim away any potential delays. We recommend you:

• Hire professional packers and movers who can quickly and safely move your belongings into storage or straight to your new home. This can help with very tight timelines, or you might pack up your belongings to stage your home before the sale.
• Create a to-do list of all the tiny moving chores that must be done. This includes changing your address, moving your utilities, and rerouting your mail. While you may not have your new address yet, creating a to-do list makes handling everything much easier.

The Nancy Ellin Realty Group can help you successfully buy and sell a house at the same time

When you're ready to move to a new home, the Nancy Ellin Realty Group can help you throughout every step of the journey. We have years of experience in both buying and selling homes, and our team specializes in the local markets around Beverly Hills and Brentwood. Reach out today to start exploring active listings on the market and creating your strategy for buying and selling at the same time.