Selling your current home while buying the next one takes more coordination than a normal sale or purchase. We build the strategy around your finances, your timing, and whether you need to sell before you can buy.
Pick the one that fits today. The guide will put your path first wherever the steps differ. You can change it at any time, and nothing else about the guide is hidden from you.
Not sure which one you are? That's one of the first things we'll figure out together.
This guide answers one question: how do I sell my current home and buy my next one without the timing becoming a mess? Tap any section to jump to it.
Selling and buying at the same time is not really two separate decisions. Your sale price affects your buying power. Your closing date affects your next offer. The terms you accept on your current home can affect when and how you buy the next one.
Before we list or start writing offers, we build the full plan.
For many move-up buyers, the equity in the current home becomes part of the down payment or cash needed for the next purchase. That's why we look at both transactions together before making major decisions.
Neither one is better. One of them fits your finances and your timing, and that is the one we build around.
Showing your path first: . Change it
You need your current home to sell before you can complete the purchase of the next one.
This does not mean waiting until your home closes. We launch your home while we search for the next one. Ideally your buyer comes first; if the next home comes first, the offer has to be compelling enough for the seller to accept while we find your buyer.
You can purchase your next home without waiting for the current home to sell.
This usually gives you more flexibility on the purchase, but we still need to plan carrying costs, timing, possession, and when to launch your current home.
You are not obligated to renovate. But buyers do not pay top dollar for homes that feel tired, and when your next purchase depends on this sale, a strong first two weeks on the market matters even more. Before we launch, we walk through your home together and evaluate:
Pricing, the launch system, showings, offers, and the seller's checklist. Everything about the sale side lives in the Seller Guide. It opens in a new tab, so your place here is saved.
When you're also buying another home, the best offer on your current home is not always simply the highest price. We read every offer against all six of these together.
What are they offering?
How strong is the buyer?
What still has to happen before they are committed?
Does their timeline work with yours?
When do you actually need to move out?
How much room do we have if the next purchase needs time?
When the search starts depends on your path. Here is how each one usually goes.
Showing your path first: . Change it
We list and launch your home while we begin searching for your next one.
Ideally, we find a buyer for your home before you find the home you want to purchase. Having your home already under contract puts us in a much stronger position when making a contingent offer.
If we find your next home first, we can still make an offer, but we'll need to make it compelling enough for the seller to accept while we find a buyer for your home.
Why the order matters: a seller reading an offer that depends on your sale wants to see your home at least listed, and preferably already in escrow. Without either, most sellers wait you out or counter with a set number of days for you to find a buyer.
We may begin your search immediately and decide when to launch your current home based on the purchase timeline.
The seller of your next home reads your offer the same way we read offers on yours. Six things decide how it lands:
If you need your current home to sell before you can complete the next purchase, your offer may include a contingency related to that sale.
That does not automatically mean the seller will reject it. Our job is to position your current sale and your new offer as strongly as reasonably possible.
Stronger is not the same as guaranteed. Every seller weighs their own options. On the lower rungs the offer has to be compelling enough for the seller to accept while we find your buyer; on the upper rungs the sale speaks for itself.
Once both offers are accepted, two clocks run at the same time. The steps look alike on each side, but you play a different role in each: seller on the left, buyer on the right.
When the purchase depends on the sale, delays on one side can affect the other. We monitor both transactions together and coordinate with the lender, escrow, agents, inspectors, and everyone involved.
Their buyer may:
We review any requests with you and negotiate them strategically.
Your investigation period is your opportunity to learn as much as possible about the property before moving forward.
A general inspection is important, but it does not cover everything. If something matters to you or raises a concern, we help you bring in the appropriate professional.
If something matters to you, investigate it before removing your inspection contingency.
If the buyer is financing your home, their lender usually orders an appraisal.
The appraisal can affect their loan and, depending on the contract, may lead to additional negotiations if the value comes in low.
Your lender orders an appraisal on the home you're buying.
At the same time, your lender continues underwriting your income, assets, credit, and loan.
If your loan depends on proceeds from your current home, your lender will also track that sale.
The questions every family asks us, answered the way we answer them at the kitchen table.
The goal isn't just to close two escrows. It's to get your family from one home into the next with the fewest surprises possible.
Once we know those four things, we can build the timeline around you.
Build My Sell + Buy PlanOpens our booking page. Pick "I'm Selling & Buying" and a real opening on our calendar.
Choose the situation that fits and this section lays out the steps in the order they usually happen for that path.
Not the right one? Change your path
Not the right one? Change your path