Can I Buy Another House Before I Sell Mine?

Can I buy another house before I sell mine? Is buying a new house before listing my current one a good idea? Or is it better to sell my current house first before buying a new one? While it would be awesome if there were a straightforward answer to these questions, the answer is that it depends. People buy and sell homes using both methods all the time, and there are advantages and disadvantages to both. In this blog, we’ll go over the pros and cons of buying a new house before selling your current one.

Buying a House Before Selling: The Pros

Pro #1: You Don’t Have to Rush

One of the most stressful things people experience is trying to buy a new home in a rush. When you sell your current house first, it leaves you with very little time to find a new one! If you don’t get on contract with a new place, you’ll find yourself left without a home! If you’re lucky, you can go live with family and friends temporarily. If not, you’ll have to hunker down in a hotel or move into a short-term rental until you buy your next home. When you buy a house before selling your current one, you won’t have to deal with this at all! You can simply move into your new home then focus more on selling your old one. You won’t be stressed out by being caught between two homes!

Pro #2: Showings are Nice and Easy!

If you sell your house before buying a new one, you’ll have to deal with the pressure of showings. You will basically need your house to be clean and organized for the possible showings. Your agent can call and give you very short notice that someone will come over to see your house. Friday afternoon? Saturday morning? It doesn’t matter. Homebuyers will come over at all times of the day to see the space. This leaves you with the pressure of having to keep your house clean and beautiful at all times! This is difficult for everyone, especially for people with small kids and pets! Thankfully, buying a house before selling eliminates the stress completely. You will be completely moved out by then, making it a piece of cake to have the house show-ready without you having to worry about making it messy!

Buying a House Before Selling: The Cons

Con #1: You Need Cash on Hand

While buying a new house before selling is nice, it can be difficult for many people to do. The first disadvantage is that you’ll need a large sum of cash on hand to do this. Instead of using the money, you would receive from selling your current home; you would need to have cash on hand for the down payment of your new home.

Con #2: Two Mortgages at Once!

Here’s another issue: can you afford two mortgages at once? That’s a struggle for many people. If your house sells quickly, the good news is that you won’t have to do that for very long. But if your house is taking a while to sell, that’s where things can get stressful! This, along with the cash issue, are the top reasons why most people have trouble buying a house before selling their current one.

Conclusion: Should You Buy Before You List?

So, should you buy first before you list? Ask different homeowners and you’ll get different answers! Buying a house before listing is great, but it all comes down to what works best for your situation. We hope this blog helped give you some insight and things to consider. At Community Mortgage, we can help you select the right choice based on your specific situation! Give us a call at (619) 692-3630 or click here to schedule a FREE consultation.