Issue link: https://nest.uberflip.com/i/1234437
Other things to consider / Plan for: 1. Waiting too long to prep your home for selling Every home needs a little work before selling. You might need to repaint some scratched walls, fix broken decking, or add grout in a rarely used bathroom. Don't wait until the last minute to kick-start this pro- cess, otherwise you could wind up in a bind. 2. Skipping the backup plan When you're buying and selling simultane- ously, the number of moving parts doubles. And if any of those parts gets jammed, it can throw off both transactions. 3. Buying too big One of the biggest mistakes that we see that simultaneous buyers and sellers make is the same one that many first-time buy- ers make: They fail to get pre-approved on their new loan. Pre-approval is essential, because it puts a stop to unrealistic dreaming by telling you exactly what size of house you can afford. Often times, buyers assume that with a large down payment and increased income, they will automatically qualify for a larger home loan, many do, but not as large as they think or wish. They begin the search and are disappointed when they can't up- grade as much as they thought they would be able to. 4. Working with too little cushion You know what price your house should sell for. But what if the market softens? If you're forced to take an offer that's $20,000 less than expected, there goes the down payment on your new home. Give yourself a cushion on what you need to sell your existing home for. If you're hoping to use the entire sale price as a down payment on another home, move forward with the assumption your home will sell for less than expected. 5. Failing to compromise Don't forget you're not the only human in a stressful situation. That person selling your dream home? And the buyers under contract for your current place? They're all probably stressed, too. So keep that in mind when issues come up—for example, if the buyers need an extra week of escrow because there was an is- sue selling their home, or the sellers don't think they need to fix a leaky pipe for you. One mistake is expecting so much from the people selling the home, but not be- ing willing to give anything to the buyers of their own home. A little compromise goes a long way, especially when there are two escrows (or more) on the line. The complex processes of both buying a new home and selling your old home can have a major impact on your financial health for many years to come. Weigh the pros and cons, then assess your circum- stances. If you struggle with making this decision on your own, speak to your at- torney, financial adviser, or agent to decide how to best proceed.