A home listed for sale.

Why You Should Sell Your Old Home First

If you are thinking of moving on to a new home, you probably have a plan in your head. Simultaneously sell your old home and time it so that you can immediately move into your new home. Sounds great but things do not always work out that well. Take a look at some reasons why you should consider selling your old home before buying that new house.

Doing The Home Switch

If you are planning on a simultaneous sell and purchase deal with your new home, you should probably think again. Things rarely happen smoothly in large transactions like these. Sure, you could get lucky but the odds are not with you. Here are some reasons to get that old home sold before you move on.

1. Less Stress

First and foremost, it is much less stress to handle the sale of your home before dealing with the purchase. These are major transactions which often have a lot of hiccups along the way. Do yourself a favor and take them on one by one.Sure, this might mean having to rent for a few months while you search for your new home but it is well worth it.

Doing both transactions at the same time will cause you to have to rush both of them. You will be trying to rush through the sale which could cost you money and you will be rushing through the new purchases and that could cause you to pick a house that is not right for you. Slow it down and take it one by one.

2. You Will Get More Money

Who doesn’t need more money. To maximize the sales price of your old home, you need time and the ability to not have to take the first offer.

If you have a home purchase looming over your head, you will feel the pressure to accept the first offer that comes along without being able to negotiate. It also leaves you at the mercy of your buyer and potentially outrageous demands.

For example, what if the buyer were to ask you to make an unnecessary 2000 dollar repair. If you are under the pressure to move the house fast, you may have no choice but to succumb to crazy demands. If you have time to wait, you can ignore silly requests.Trust me, buyers sometimes ask for ridiculous things.

3. You Can Buy For Less

Time will not only help you with the sale of the home, it will also help you when buying a home. Instead of trying to go from one home right to another, plan on temporary housing. With the time to negotiate, you can potentially save money on your new home. It can also allow you to wait for a better priced home to come along.

In addition, it makes your offer on a home more attractive to not have to attach a contingency that your house must sell first. To get a seller to bite on an offer with a contingency, you would often have to come in at a higher price, especially in a hot market.

4. Get The Home You Want

Do you have a picture in your head of the perfect home? Probably, we all have things that we want out of a new home, especially after the experience of getting our first home under our belt.

Problem is that if you are in a rush, you may not be able to get that home. It just may not be out there, yet. If you plan to sell your old home first, you can move into temporary housing and then have the time to wait on that perfect home.

5. Shop The Right Market

If you sell your house first, you will know what price you can pay for your next house. Assuming that you are going to take all of the equity from one home and put it into another, it may be a good idea to wait until your old home is sold.

If you plan on putting exactly 20 percent down to avoid mortgage insurance, this will tell you how much of a home you can purchase and still have the right down payment. A 10000 dollar difference either way can be a very big deal.

6. It Allows You To Build With Confidence

If you are planning on building your next home, it may be best to sell your old home first. You can then rent some temporary housing and have the time needed to build.

When building a home, you could face delays or it could even go up much faster than expected. Getting rid of that old home first will minimize the stress so that you will be ready to take possession of that new home immediately.

7. You Can Avoid Double Mortgages

A Standard mortgage payment is bad enough, imagine making two of them. Not to mention paying utilities on two homes. Even if you are not living in a home, you still need to keep the power and water running and that will cost you.

Sure, you might only have to do this for a few months but what if a buyer backs out or loses their financing. That two months of double mortgage payments could stretch out to 6 months or even a year.

8. You Could Lose A Home You Love

What if you start shopping for a new home and find one that you absolutely love? If you can not sell your home in time, you might lose it. Many sellers will not accept an offer that is contingent on the sale of another home and sometimes a lender may be unwilling to close if you have another mortgage to pay.

9. You Should Do The Hard Work First

The hardest part when looking for a new home will always be selling your old home. You could find a new house in a matter of days but it could take months or longer to find a buyer for your existing home. Do the hard part of the transaction first and have a smoother transition into your new home.