HOW STRONG IS MY OFFER? SELL, THEN BUY…

Are you selling the house you’re living in and getting ready to buy the next? Do you need money from this house to buy the next one? This is usually the most stressful situation for people, because there are a lot of unknowns, with a whole bunch of what ifs, and it can be nerve-wracking.

If you need the money from your current house to buy the next, then listen up because you need to know how your current home’s sale affects the strength of your offer on the next house! With a little bit of knowledge, you can create a winning strategy! An offer to purchase in general involves a lot of conditions, terms, and timelines, but when you’re selling your house to buy the next, that’s adding a whole next level of complexities. What you are doing involves multiple steps, and a well-thought-out strategy, on how to position yourself. So, this is super important to understand, especially if you’re looking to buy in a seller’s market because it’s not until you get to a certain point with your house that’s for sale, that your offer would even be worth writing up. On the one hand, you need to sell your current home for as much as possible, in order to buy your next house, and because the market is very competitive you know you’re going to need to throw down hard to get it. Just how competitive do you need to be? It depends on what the market is doing. I can provide all the information you need to help you figure out how you need to navigate this Adventure to make sure you come out ahead! I’m just going to focus on your offer’s strength considering your home sale and I’m not going to touch on any of the other aspects of an offer. A seller wants to know that your sale is going to go through before they accept your offer. If your house hasn’t been sold, you’re risky.  It’s like a race… the closer you are to the finish line, the better and more of a sure thing your offer is.

Scenario 1- My house is not on the market yet.

            STRENGTH: very weak

            SHOULD I START MY SEARCH: no

Scenario 2-My house is on the market, but no offer accepted.

            STRENGTH: very weak

            SHOULD I START MY SEARCH: Start looking but don’t bother making offers.

Scenario 3- I’ve accepted an offer on my house, but no contingencies lifted yet.

            STRENGTH: weak

            SHOULD I START MY SEARCH: keep looking, you can make offers… but don’t expect anything. You should be training your eye.

Scenario 4-I’ve accepted an offer on my house and 1 or 2 contingencies lifted.

            STRENGTH: moderate

            SHOULD I START MY SEARCH: be looking and making offers. You have a chance, especially if your offer is competitive, but it will depend on the competition, you may still be turned down. Be prepared to pay more than you otherwise would.

Scenario 5-I’ve accepted an offer on my house and all contingencies lifted.

            STRENGTH: strong

            SHOULD I START MY SEARCH: Absolutely be looking and placing offers! Whether your offer gets accepted is more about your offer rather than your home’s contract status.

Scenario 6-My house is sold and escrow closed

            STRENGTH: strongest

            SHOULD I START MY SEARCH: Yes, it’s all about if your offer gets accepted.

Don’t you want to go into this with your eyes wide open, and know exactly what you’re getting into? I am pleased to say that, during all of 2023, every single buyer that we represented, even when facing stiff competition, we were able to position their offer, and negotiate so that their offers were accepted by the sellers!  Experience matters!  Choose your agent wisely!  If you would like to know more about offers, selling, and buying, feel free to reach out to my team and I at 858-336-1114 or at [email protected]