How to Buy and Sell a House at the Same Time

1. Review Your Financial Situation

You'll incur a variety of expenses while buying and selling a home, so it's important to make sure that your finances are in order. Here are some costs to keep in mind:

• Down payment: Conventional loans typically require a down payment of 5% or more, and you can avoid private mortgage insurance if you raise that to 20% or more. Government-backed loans have lower down payment requirements, but carefully consider how a lower one may influence your monthly payment.
• Closing costs: You'll need to pay closing costs on both transactions. When buying a home, closing costs typically range from 2% to 5% of the loan amount. As a seller, however, your costs can range from 8% to 10% of the purchase price, primarily because sellers typically pay both agents' commissions.
• Moving expenses: Moving costs can vary depending on how far you're relocating and how much stuff you have. According to Moving.com, it costs an average of $1,250 for a local move and $4,890 for a long-distance move.
• Mortgage payments: Review your budget to get a feel for how much house you can afford. This is especially important if you expect the monthly payment on the new home to be higher. Even if you can afford to pay more, make sure it doesn't threaten other important financial needs, obligations and goals.

One way to handle expenses is to use the proceeds from the sale of your current home. However, if you buy the new home before you complete the sale of your current one, those funds won't be available.

For this scenario, you may need to consider a bridge loan, which can provide temporary financing while you're selling your home. Research your options to understand loan terms, repayment options and eligibility requirements.

Learn more: How to Buy a House in 2025: Step-by-Step Guide

2. Hire an Experienced Real Estate Agent

It's possible to buy and sell a home without using a real estate agent, and it may be tempting as a way to save some money on commissions. However, trying to manage a sale and a purchase transaction at the same time can be incredibly challenging, and working with an agent comes with a host of other benefits.

An experienced agent who understands the local market can help you determine which steps to take and when to complete your goals based on your timeline. A good agent can also save you a lot of time by working with other professionals to help manage cleaning, staging, financing, inspections and even moving.

Here's how you can find a good real estate agent:

• Ask for referrals. Ask trusted family members and friends for referrals to agents they've worked with in the past.
• Check reviews. Search for recommended agents online so you can read reviews from past clients. When reaching out to prospective agents, you can also ask for references.
• Ask questions. Set up an initial meeting with each agent so you can get a better idea of what their process looks like. Ask about which services they offer, how long they've been in the business, how many transactions they've completed in the past year and what their strategy looks like for both buying and selling.

Learn more: What's the Difference Between a Real Estate Agent and a Broker?

3. Analyze the Market

If your need to relocate isn't urgent, take some time to research the market to understand if now is the right time to sell and buy a home. Some factors to pay attention to include:

• Interest rates: Current market rates will dictate what you'll pay on your new mortgage loan, so it's important to make sure they're affordable. If interest rates are high and you don't have the luxury of waiting, look for strategies to get the lowest available rate possible.
• Prices: The national median home sale price has fallen from its record high in 2022. But according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, it's still roughly 28% higher than pre-pandemic prices. Still, local price trends can vary, so it's important to know what to expect based on your budget.
• Inventory: Using Zillow, Realtor.com and local real estate sites, take a look at what's currently available in the area you want to buy. If you can't find many listings that closely match what you're looking for, it may be better to wait until inventory picks up.
• Local market sentiment: Talk to your agent about the current state of the local market. For example, are new home listings getting picked up quickly or are they staying on the market for weeks or months? Similarly, when buying a new home, will you need to compete with several buyers or will you have an edge with sellers?

Learn more: Should I Buy a House When Rates Are High or Wait?

4. Get Preapproved for a New Mortgage

As you get closer to listing your home and hunting for a new one, plan to get preapproved with at least three mortgage lenders so you can compare interest rates, fees and other loan terms.

A mortgage preapproval letter offers conditional approval and can provide you with an estimate of what your loan terms will be, assuming your financial situation and overall creditworthiness stay the same. What's more, sellers will see you as a serious buyer.

As you prepare for preapproval, make sure you have the following documents on hand:

• Pay stubs and W-2 forms
• Bank account statements
• Investment statements
• Debt statements
• Property statements
• Business statements
• Tax returns
• Gift letters (if applicable)

5. List Your Current Home for Sale

Your real estate agent will help you determine how much to list your home for by performing a comparable market analysis. This process involves looking at similar properties in the area that have been recently listed or sold.

Other steps to prepare the home for listing include:

• Cleaning: Consider hiring a professional crew of cleaners to deep clean the home. You'll also want to tidy up the landscaping and take care of other cosmetic issues so you can give prospective buyers the best first impression possible. Cleaning projects could include carpet steaming, dusting hard-to-reach places and deep cleaning appliances.
• Minor repairs: If needed, consider making minor repairs that help make the home more appealing. Examples include covering up holes in the walls, fixing faucet leaks, unclogging drains and refinishing or replacing cracked, scratched or broken flooring.
• Staging: The goal of the staging process is to make your home as neutral as possible so buyers can picture themselves living there. This includes removing family pictures and other personal effects, moving furniture and possibly adding new decor.
• Photographs: It's crucial to hire a professional photographer to make your home look as attractive as possible. Your agent may have a photographer they work with, or they may suggest some local options. Depending on your desires, 3D walkthroughs or drone photography may also be a good idea in addition to traditional still photography.

Once your home is ready, the agent will post it to the multiple listing service (MLS).

6. Start House Hunting

Discuss your preferences for a new home with your real estate agent, who can use the MLS to search and recommend properties based on what you want.

Once you find a home you want to tour, your agent can set up a showing. You can walk through the home, ask questions and decide if it's the right fit.

If you like what you see, you can make an offer to the seller. Again, your agent can help you determine the details of the offer based on the local market and level of competition from other buyers.

Learn more: What to Look for When Buying a House

7. Consider Sale or Suitable Property Contingencies

As you consider both buyer offers as a seller and your bid for the new home, consider adding some contingencies to protect yourself:

• Home sale contingency: When making an offer on a home, a sale contingency allows you to withdraw from the contract if you can't find a buyer for your house.
• Suitable property contingency: Also called the home of choice contingency, this allows you to cancel a contract as a seller if you can't find another home to purchase.

It's important to keep in mind that contingencies may make it harder to find a willing buyer and seller, especially if competing homes and offers are contingency-free. Discuss with your agent to determine the best approach for your area.

8. Negotiate Flexibility

In addition to contingencies, you may want to negotiate other aspects of your contracts with all parties to give yourself some flexibility with the sale and moving process.

The simplest way to do this is to discuss closing dates that align with your timeline. If you can find a buyer and a new home around the same time, this may be all you need to do.

If not, it could make sense to negotiate a leaseback agreement, which allows you, as the seller, to rent the home after closing for a set period of time. If you find a new home before selling your current one, you can ask the seller if they're willing to do a leaseback agreement to give you more time to find a buyer.

9. Close on Both Sales

As you near the closing date for both the sale and purchase, your agent or the title company can provide you with a list of things you'll need to bring to the appointments.

In general, though, here's what you can expect to bring as the seller:

• Cashier's check or wire transfer confirmation for closing costs
• Government-issued photo identification
• Proof of repairs (if needed)
• Personal checkbook for other last-minute expenses
• House keys, codes and garage door openers
• Final utility bills

When buying a home, here's what you may need to bring:

• Cashier's check or wire transfer confirmation for closing costs and down payment
• Government-issued photo identification
• Personal checkbook for other last-minute expenses
• Proof of homeowners insurance
• Closing disclosures

Learn more: The Complete Guide to Closing on a House

10. Move

Long before you're ready to move, it's important to start packing and getting your move scheduled. This may include shopping around and comparing moving companies or, if you plan to DIY the move, moving trucks and storage options.

Depending on how you aligned the closing dates, you may also need to find some short-term housing and storage. Discuss your needs with your real estate agent, who may have access to resources you can use to accomplish your goal.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Buying and selling a home at the same time can be a complex process, but with careful planning and the right support, it should be manageable. By staying financially prepared and working with a knowledgeable real estate agent, you can navigate both transactions with confidence.

Before you start, check your Experian credit report and FICO^® Score^Θ for free to evaluate your credit health. This can help you spot any issues early and take steps to improve your credit before applying for a new mortgage.