Dear friends and colleagues,
How many clients have asked you if they can buy before they sell? Maybe they don’t want to move twice, or perhaps they just want to simplify the process. Whatever the reason, helping your clients buy a home before they sell can be daunting. It’s relatively easy if they can pay for their new house in cash, but if they need financing or want to use the equity in their old home as a down payment, the process can get tricky fast.
If you haven’t helped a client do this before, it might sound like a hopeless situation, but it’s not. There are a few ways you can help your clients buy before they sell:
- Make an offer with a home-sale contingency. The traditional method is to include a home-sale contingency in your client’s offer on their new home. With this in place, your client can purchase the home if their house sells within a certain time frame. If not, they can back out of the contract and keep their earnest money. The only issue with this method is that sellers are less likely to accept your offer if it has this contingency. Make sure your client knows that this method will make it harder to purchase a home, especially if your market still has plenty of competition among buyers.
- Finance their offer with a bridge loan. Bridge loans are high-interest loans that let your clients borrow a portion of their equity which they can use as a down payment on their new home. While bridge loans are a great option that allow you to make a non-contingent offer, your clients might have to pay two mortgages for a short time. On top of that, your client may have trouble qualifying for one, and not all lenders are willing to do them. If your clients are interested in this option, connect them with a lender who offers bridge loans and can help them qualify.
- Partner with a service that helps people make cash offers. Certain companies are changing how people buy and sell homes by allowing financed buyers to make all-cash offers. Your clients can buy their new homes right away without worrying about paying two mortgages. You are still part of the process as you would be in a traditional purchase because these companies operate similarly to lenders, and their fees are also minimal for how much convenience they provide. Two examples of these types of companies are Knock and Homeward, but there are many others.
With these three solutions at your fingertips, you should be equipped to help your clients buy before they sell. Just remember to educate them about all their options and help them choose which one would work best for their situation.
If you have any questions about this topic or the industry in general, feel free to call or email me. I’d love to hear from you.
Best wishes,
Dave Friedman
