The first decision you will need to make is what to do with your current home. A substantial amount of equity in the home prompts many to sell and get their cash out. Others maintain ownership and turn their home into a rental property.

A Strategy That Could Save You Thousands of Dollars!
Ideally, you should sell your home first and wait until the inspection contingency is removed before purchasing a new home. If you choose to sell your current home before purchasing your next home, you could save thousands of dollars and help make sure your offer has the best odds of being accepted! Here's why...

If you find a home first and sell your current one later, you will need to purchase your next home contingent on the sale of your existing one. In today's fast-paced market many sellers will not accept this type of offer. Even if they do, it will weaken your position - you will not be able negotiate as good a price or terms and may even need to offer more to sweeten the deal. You also run the risk of being “bumped” if the sellers receive another non-contingent offer. In that case, you would have three choices:

1. Lose the home you wanted.
2. Get a bridge loan and pay 2 mortgages at the same time.
3. Reduce the price of your existing home for quicker sale.

What if my home sells before I close on a new home?
There are a number of possiblilities if this occurs:

1. You could rent an apartment or stay in a hotel.
2. You could negotiate a "rent-back" agreement, allowing you to stay in your present home until your new home closes and avoid a double move (in today's hot market, many sellers are able to negotiate a free rent-back period).
3. In the event that you already have an offer on a home, you could negotiate an earlier move-in date or move the closing date up.