Steps to Remove the Stress in a Competitive Market (Part 2)
Needing to sell before you can buy is common, sellers in our market have loads of equity and want to use that towards the down payment of the next home. Exactly why I moved from RE/MAX to Compass, to have more tools and programs to offer you to make this process smoother and less stressful. (the Compass programs listed below have links to click for more information)
Sellers are most likely not going to consider an offer with a contingency, it would be a very rare situation in the current market. So what do you do? There are a few ways I have successfully made this work for several clients, and it always involves up front preparation. We start with numbers and planning for your current home: get measurements done, finish repairs or upgrades needed, staging and photos completed.(Compass will pay for these upfront costs to prepare your home for the market so that you can keep your cash for the down payment on the new home, see Compass Concierge Program We have every detail buttoned up to sell your home before you start looking. Then we look. We find your new home, get the contract and immediately turn around to sell yours. With our proper pre-marketing plan already in place, we can set your home active and sell within a few days. Thankfully in a sellers market like this, we can request specific closing dates to align with what you have in place for the purchase. * A note on site unseen offers, I personally do not recommend taking these offers before your house goes active. I know it sounds appealing because you can avoid the showing traffic BUT in most cases, my clients have profited a minimum of $20,000 more by having people come into your home. It is worth $20k-$80k to allow showings for 2-3 days right? Go out of town for the weekend, It certainly pays for that hotel if that is your only option!
If the coordinated closing of 2 homes at once sounds like too much, we have another plan that could work for you. With our Compass bridge loan program, you can find your new home first, then worry about selling your current home in a less rushed manor. Check out more details: Compass Bridge Loan Program.
New Construction- The waitlists can be long, but timing is everything to secure a new home. This is a lovely option when you need to sell, because you put down the builder deposit at contract time, and you are able to sell your home and align the timing for when the new home is expected to be completed.
*Sight unseen offer or show your home?
Some buyers usually moving from out of town will jump to make an offer on a “coming soon” listing that they haven’t seen in person because inventory is low. This is called a “sight unseen offer”. The agents that post “sold in zero days” are doing you a disservice because it’s not always the best for the seller. That certainly made it easier on them to avoid the 100 phone calls coming their way, but what did it do for you? It left money on the table that could have made a huge financial impact in your bottom line profit. This is proven, and I have a spreadsheet that I am happy to share showing the difference in profit from an sight unseen offer vs. having buyers walk through your home and make a “love it” offer.
