Buying and Selling at the Same Time
Sell first, buy first, or both at once: how each one works, what it costs, and how to line up the dates.
Most people selling a home are buying one too, and the hard part is the order. There's no single right answer: it depends on how much of the next home your sale is paying for, how flexible your dates are, and how long you're comfortable carrying two homes. Here are the three ways it usually goes.
Three ways to do it
Sell first
You sell, then buy with the proceeds in hand. You know exactly what you have to spend, and your offer on the next home doesn't depend on another sale, which makes it simpler for that seller to say yes.
The catch: you may need somewhere to live in between, and that can mean two moves. A later closing date on your sale, or a rent-back (a written agreement to stay in the home for a set time after closing), can close the gap.
Buy first
You buy the new home, move once, and sell the old one empty, which also makes it easier to prepare, photograph, and show.
The catch: until the sale closes you're carrying two homes: two payments, and two sets of taxes, insurance, and utilities. You also need a way to buy before your equity is free: cash on hand, a lender that will qualify you with both payments, a bridge loan, or a home equity line. If you're counting on a home equity line, talk to your lender before you list; lenders often won't open one on a home that's for sale.
Both at once
Your offer on the new home depends on selling yours (a sale contingency, written into the contract with its own deadlines), or you line up both contracts to close on the same day or back to back. One move, no carrying costs, no gap.
The catch: the two contracts depend on each other, so a delay on one can hold up the other. A seller may prefer an offer without a contingency, and builders set their own terms on whether they'll accept one.
Line up the money
- Know your number first. What's left from your sale after the payoff and costs is what's available for the next down payment and closing costs. Estimate your net proceeds.
- Ask your lender early how they'll treat your current home: whether they'll count its payment, and whether they need it sold or under contract before you close.
- A bridge loan is short-term financing against your current home's equity, paid off when it sells. It usually costs more than a regular mortgage, so compare it with the cost of waiting.
- Tax on the sale. If you've owned and lived in the home for at least two of the last five years, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly). See IRS Publication 523, and ask a tax professional about your situation.
- Your Florida homestead benefit can move with you. If your current home has a homestead exemption, you may be able to transfer up to $500,000 of its Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead established within 3 years, using form DR-501T with your homestead application (Manatee County Property Appraiser).
Line up the dates
Two dates drive everything: when you have to be out of your current home, and when you can get into the next one. If the next home is still being built, ask how firm the completion date is before you set your sale's closing, and leave room to extend or to rent back. The planner below builds a dated checklist from your dates.
Your moving timeline
Enter your closing date, or both dates if you're selling one home and buying another, and get a dated checklist counted from them. Print it or send it to us.
Estimate only. The dates are general targets counted from the closing dates you entered, not deadlines from your contract. Your contract, lender, title company, insurer, and movers set the dates, and closings can move. This isn't legal or tax advice.
For a timeline built around your actual contract, have our team check these dates, or ask your title company.
How we calculate this
Each task is placed a set number of days before or after the closing it depends on: address changes about four weeks before the move, the final walkthrough the day before the purchase closing, and so on. Anything whose date has already passed is marked, so you can catch it up. The move date is the sale closing when you're selling, since the buyer usually takes possession at closing unless you agree otherwise in writing, and the purchase closing when you're only buying. Selling and buying, it's whichever closing comes first. Tasks that need a business open (movers, the title company, your insurer) move to the Friday before when they'd land on a weekend, and the Closing Disclosure date counts back three business days. Neither accounts for holidays.
Florida items come from: the Florida Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (update your license and registration within 30 days of a move), the Manatee County Property Appraiser (homestead by March 1; portability of up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes benefit within 3 years, on form DR-501T), the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services (movers within Florida must register) and the CFPB (the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing).
An estimate to plan with, not a closing figure. Your title company and lender provide the final numbers.
Have our team check this timeline
Send it over and we'll line it up with your contract dates, or help you pick dates that work if they aren't set yet.
Common questions
Should I sell first or buy first?
It depends on how much of the next home your sale is paying for, how flexible your dates are, and how comfortable you are carrying two homes for a while. If you need the equity to buy, selling first or a sale contingency is the usual route. If you can carry both, buying first means one move.
What is a rent-back?
An agreement, made before closing, that lets the seller stay in the home for a set time after it closes. It spells out how long, what the seller pays, any deposit, and the condition the home has to be left in. Put it in writing, and check with both insurance companies.
Will a seller accept an offer that depends on selling my home?
Some will, depending on the market and the terms. It helps when your home is already listed or under contract, and when the contingency has a short, clear deadline.
Why clients trust Leslie Wells Realty
What clients say
“I was an out of state buyer and Agata Diggs represented me in the purchase of my second home. She was extremely responsive! Even if she couldn't talk at the moment, she would text me and tell me that she would call me in 15 minutes. She never left me wondering. I've recommended her to a few friends since then. She did a great job.”
“Amazing service from Melissa Moore who helped sell my aunt's home. Being from Scotland, I had lots of questions which Melissa promptly answered even when she was on vacation! We had one viewer and full offer!”
“Working with Alexis Christensen over the past 3 years has been nothing short of incredible. And yes, I really mean 3 years.”
“I am thrilled to have worked with Rachel. She has been professional, but most importantly she was kind, she listened, and was always available to answer any questions. She was a godsend from the very first day and soon felt like family. I would recommend her to anyone.”
“We are incredibly grateful to have been referred to Carly by a friend. When we called her at the last minute to assist with our home purchase, she stepped in and made the entire process seamless. Carly went above and beyond our expectations, and we highly recommend her. We look forward to working with her again in the future.”
Why Leslie Wells Realty
- Years of Leslie's real estate experienceSince 1976
- 50
- Communities covered
- 96
Let's plan both moves together
We'll help you work out the order, the numbers, and the dates, and we can handle both the sale and the purchase.