Have you ever considered buying a house BEFORE selling yours?

The most important explanation of losing money you will ever read.

Seems logical, to buy first then list, after all what it you don't find the perfect new house? What if you sell and all the houses out there are duds? Then  you would be homeless and no one wants that!

The buying process can be daunting if you have these serious concerns because moving is a very stressful event in life and if you are moving out a place you loved into a place that is, well, not so loved, then it can cause a lot of personal stress and headache.

It would seem that buying first, then listing is a smart move. But it's actually AN EXPENSIVE move.

Why? Well, first you are the buyer in a bad spot. You are asking a Home Owner to take their house off the market, accept your price and wait to see IF your house will sell. This puts that home owner in a bad spot, after all they have plans to get on with their life and you are holding it up.

So, if I was their Agent and you were my asking my client this, my advice to them (as any Agents would be) is to get full price. We would make you PAY for making us wait. Because keep in mind, you didn't sell your house first, you came looking for the DREAM HOUSE you always wanted and this is it! So fork over the dough!

So let's assume that you now have to pay approx $5,000 (for easy figures, could be more), more than you would have had to pay, had you bought this house when you were really ready to buy. Most sellers will negotiate on price, but not in this case. Now you are out an extra $5K. Ouch.

But it gets worse. Now you are frantic in that you have only 30 days or so to sell your house. This means, SELL, not just get an offer maybe, but SELL with all conditions off and a SOLD sign on the lawn. The average house sits for over a month and the first 3 weeks is the best buying activity time, so lets' assume that you did get an offer in those weeks. Then you have a 2-4 days of days of negotiating, then Buyer's conditions of inspection, financing and all the rest have to come off. This can take 5-14 more days depending on the situation...and just pray that your buyer isn't asking you to wait while he sells his house too!

But there is still more. Because you HAVE TO SELL in a rush, you have no choice but to significantly drop your starting price. There is no room to "wait for the best offer" or  to "try it higher " for a while. You can't even ask MARKET VALUE. Why? Because you can't affford to ride the regular current of the market. You are desperate and NEED TO SELL. So, brace yourself, it's not even that you can ask $5,000 less and expect any action, you need to be $10,000- $20,000 or more UNDER MARKET VALUE to get any one's attention.

But wait, there's more....let's say you did manage to get interim financing while you wait for your buyer to arrive, not only do you have the costs of that financing, but you also have the HUGE EXPENSE of double mortgage payments, double property taxes, double utilities, double maintenance, double cleaning, double everything. Anyone want a DOUBLE DOUBLE ??

 So on top of all is is added marital stress, family stress, and overall just tension everywhere. It could have all been prevented.

Let's re-cap. You lose 5K  or more when you buy a house you aren't ready to fully purchase.

                     You lose 10-20K or more when you have to sell yours at a reduced bargin basement price in order to sell super fast

                     You hurt personal relationships with the stress of it all

                     You have higher finance charges to carry two properties

                     You have double carrying costs for mortgages, taxes, utilities etc.

So really was this your dream home? Was it worth the extra money and personal COST to you?

Do things in order....in order to succeed. 

Clean, Repair and De-clutter, then Stage your house, List your house, sell your house, buy a house. Breathe.

"Ordering your Steps for a Successful Sale" 

For more information on Preparation for Staging and Selling see www.stageandsell.ca or call us at 780.452.4527 

simply irresistible interiors inc.

Western Canada’s Leading Home Staging Company

Copyright© 2012 by Jill Gargus.