MOVE-UP BUYERS
Buying your next home is only half the decision.
You’ve built equity in your current home and you’re ready for what comes next. But buying one home while selling another creates decisions a first-time buyer usually doesn’t face.
Do you sell first or buy first? How much of your equity should go into the next home? Can you avoid making a contingent offer? And what happens if you temporarily own both homes?
We start by understanding the move you want to make. Then we build the financing strategy around it.
THE MOVE INVOLVES MORE THAN THE NEXT MORTGAGE
TIMING
Selling first may simplify the financing but create pressure to find your next home quickly. Buying first may provide more flexibility but can create a period when you own both homes. We’ll look at the trade-offs before deciding on the approach.
LIQUIDITY
Putting every available dollar into the next home may lower the mortgage, but it can also leave less cash available for reserves, moving expenses, improvements or other financial priorities.
EQUITY
Your current home may represent one of your largest financial assets. The question isn’t simply how much equity you have—it’s how and when that equity should be used in the next purchase.
FLEXIBILITY
The right financing strategy can affect more than the payment. It may influence when you can buy, whether your offer needs to be contingent on a sale, and how much flexibility you have during the tra
THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE
There isn’t one correct sequence for selling one home and buying another. The right approach depends on your equity, income, available cash, housing market and comfort with temporarily carrying two properties.
Sell First, Then Buy
Selling your current home first can make your available equity and purchasing power clear before you buy. The trade-off may be temporary housing or additional pressure to find the next home quickly.
Buy Before You Sell
Some buyers have the income, assets or financing options to purchase their next home before selling the current one. This can make the move easier, but the financial impact of temporarily owning both homes needs to be understood beforehand.
Access Existing Equity
Depending on the circumstances, a home equity loan, line of credit, bridge strategy or other financing may provide access to existing equity before the current home is sold.
Buy Now, Adjust Later
In some situations, a buyer may purchase the next home with less of their existing equity and then apply proceeds from the sale afterward. Options such as a mortgage recast may allow the payment to be adjusted without replacing the entire mortgage, when available and appropriate.
The goal isn’t simply to get from one house to another. It’s to make the transition without creating unnecessary financial pressure along the way.
THE BIGGEST DOWN PAYMENT ISN’T ALWAYS THE BEST STRATEGY
Selling a home can create a substantial amount of available equity. It can be tempting to assume that all of it should immediately become the down payment on the next home.
Sometimes that makes sense. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Before deciding, we look at the bigger picture: How much liquidity do you want to preserve? Do you need reserves for repairs or improvements? Are there other debts or financial priorities to consider? Would keeping some capital available provide greater flexibility?
A larger down payment can reduce the mortgage and monthly payment. But once cash becomes home equity, accessing it again may require additional financing.
The objective is not automatically to make the largest—or smallest—down payment. It’s to determine how your equity can best support the move and your broader financial goals.
PLAN THE MOVE BEFORE MAKING THE OFFER
01
Understand
Where are you now, where do you want to move, and what would an ideal transition look like?
02
Evaluate
We look at your current equity, available cash, income, existing mortgage, estimated sale proceeds and the financial impact of the next purchase.
03
Strategize
We compare selling first, buying first and other possible approaches to determine which structure gives you the right balance of cost, liquidity and flexibility.
04
Execute
Once the strategy is clear, we coordinate the financing with the timing of your purchase and, when appropriate, work alongside your Realtor and other advisors to help keep the pieces aligned.