How to Sell Your Home and Buy Another at the Same Time
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You may want to sell first to maximize your profits, and then delay your purchase until the market cools. At the end of the day, buying your new home first is just one of three options you can choose from. Make sure you consider all your choices before deciding which route is best for your financial goals.

On the other hand, when inventory is high and demand is low, that’s a buyer’s market. When buyers are in the driver’s seat, it could take much longer to sell your home. In a buyer’s market, you may want to hold off on making an offer on your next place until you’ve gone into contract with a solid buyer for your current place. You may also want to include a contingency that voids the deal if the sale of your current home doesn’t go through, for peace of mind. This has been the case for most of the past two years, which were characterized by limited inventory and bidding wars.
Is it easier to buy a house the second time?
When you sell an investment property and buy more investment property, you can structure your transaction as a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. A 1031 exchange must be declared at the onset of the escrow sale of the first property. You will carry your cost basis forward into the new property, and you can reinvest without paying taxes. However, when you eventually cash out, you will have to pay all of your capital gains and recapture taxes in one large lump sum.
With a sale and settlement contingency, you won’t be required to lock in your new home purchase until your home sale is ready to go. If that happens, you’ll get notification of the new offer and will have the option to remove the contingency and go forward with the purchase or to back out. Even if the bank will lend you the money for a concurrent mortgage, do you want one? There are a lot of costs involved in purchasing a new home, including a down payment and closing costs. Many home buyers rely on the profit they make from the sale of their home in order to cover these costs, so it may not be realistic to take it all on at once.
How to sell your home and buy another
Any homeowner who’s lived at their current home for a while knows how much stuff is in their house. Even if you’re weeks or months away from listing your house, take this time to declutter and throw away anything you don’t want to take with you. The process of getting your home ready is the first major step and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Even if it’s not the best time to put the house on the market, you can still get it ready to sell. The sooner you’re prepared, the easier the process will be once you actually get it going. The late spring and summer are popular, especially with families who don’t want to move during the school year.
Also, under a 1031 exchange, you can roll the proceeds from the sale of a rental or investment property into a like investment within 180 days. The law allows what is known as a 1031 exchange, which allows you to buy new property with the proceeds of your sale. In order to do this, you have to close on a new property within 180 days after you close the sale on your old property. And if you’re thinking about a bigger home, it might be time to think about more furniture. Just be careful not to go overboard with credit card purchases to finance all this. When you're trying to sell your current home at the same time.
How Is Real Estate Income Treated for Tax Purposes?
However, selling before buying takes ample preparation, plenty of patience and some flexibility. The 2-out-of-five-year rule is a rule that states that you must have lived in your home for a minimum of two out of the last five years before the date of sale. However, these two years don’t have to be consecutive and you don’t have to live there on the date of the sale. Hearst Newspapers participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. While market conditions should play a role in your decision, the first step starts with you, and the state of your finances.
In a perfect world, your next house would be ready and waiting as soon as you turn over the keys to your previous one. But of course, the world is not perfect, and the timing between selling one home and buying the next does not always line up the way you want it to. Take heart, though, because a little planning and working with a savvy real estate agent can help make both transactions run more smoothly. Things can get complicated when you’re trying to sell your house and buy your next place at the same time. The process of buying and selling simultaneously can be stressful, particularly if you need the money from the sale of your current home to put toward your new one.
If you’re buying in a sellers market, making an offer contingent upon your own house selling might make your offer less desirable or competitive. There’s even an option if you want to sell your existing home and build a new construction property simultaneously. Both options let you choose your closing and move-in dates, as well as avoid selling hassles like showings, staging, open houses, and more.

Many places don’t allow month-to-month rentals if you’re a new tenant. That means you may have to pay for multiple months of rent even if you only need a month. Not only will you still have your existing mortgage payment, but you’ll have a new one, plus closing costs, your down payment, moving expenses, and upkeep and maintenance on both properties. It can be a lot to handle, especially if you’re on a tight budget or limited income. Before 1997, different methods were used to calculate capital gains taxes, and one home sale was impacted by a new home purchase.
If you have more questions about buying a new home, or upsizing, have a look at our buying guide. Don’t pick a figure out of the air, don’t work it out based on what you need for your next property – look at what is selling in your area, what your key features are, and go from there. Work with your realtor to determine what your best plan of attack is. There are a lot of moving pieces to juggle, but with a good plan and strong negotiations you should be fine.

When you take out a HELOC, you can use the funds as the down payment on your next home. Then, when you sell your house, you’ll repay the HELOC with the proceeds. Most homeowners can’t afford to buy a house without selling their original home first or at the same time. If you buy a house before you sell your current one, then you may struggle to come up with the down payment. Make sure you know what your financial options are before you start the financing process.
Based on the information you have provided, you are eligible to continue your home loan process online with Rocket Mortgage. Think about working with a mortgage lender to get preapproved so you can move quickly when you find the right new home. Whether you decide to sell your home first or buy your next house first, the steps to take are the same. But if you follow these steps, you can simplify the home buying process, lower your stress and make it a painless experience. Before we get to the steps, though, here are some important factors to consider. Are you working on a set timeline, or do you have more flexibility?
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