Buy first or sell first, one of the most critical considerations is of course your financial situation. There are a number of factors that you need to carefully assess before you decide which way to jump as the uncertainties here may push you over the edge. If not financially, then mentality!

Your financial position

If you decide to buy a property first before selling your existing home you will need to give careful consideration to your financial position and ensure that you can comfortably service the loan repayments on both the new property and your existing property. This number crunching can be easily determined but the unknown factor is time. How long will you have to sustain these extra payments? This will be determined by the time it may take to sell your existing home.

Many factors will affect the length of time it takes to sell your home…your asking price, competition from similar properties for sale in the area, the number of available buyers in your price bracket and the state of the market in general. And most importantly, the skill of the agent you hire.

If you get it wrong here, it gets very costly

If you decide to sell your property first, a buyer is found first so you now know exactly how much you are getting which then allows you to calculate exactly how much you can spend on your new home. You’ve avoided the financial stress, the mental stress and disappointments.

So now you’re thinking…. well what if I can’t find something I want to buy? Surely it would be better to find something first then sell? In the majority of cases you will always find something.

The least costly way

The least costly way to go about this process is;
1. See what you can do financially. This won’t cost you anything.
2. Just to give you an idea, Inspect a couple of homes that seem to fit your budget so you can see what you can expect to get for your money. You are not looking for the perfect home here! If you like what you see and feel that it is worthwhile making the move.
3. Find the most appropraite agent for what you have, in your area, to sell with
4. Place your property on the market for sale.
5. Find a buyer for your property. Agree on the price.
6. Find the home you want to buy. Agree on the price.
7. Arrange the contract of sale with your buyer and the contract to buy your new home simultaneously.

Avoid the stress

Now you are straight out of the old home and into the new, in most cases on the same day! No stress, no bridging finance, no dead money wasted on rent and no extra moving expenses!

iREC- Your Real Estate Whistleblower >

If you are currently selling, or about to sell, and would like someone independent sitting on your shoulder observing the goings on, without interfering in the process, drop us a line and see how we can assist. We understand that you might have only dealt with agents once or twice in your lifetime but we do it every day! Contact iREC and see how we can help.