How Do I Make an Offer on a Home If Mine Isn't Under Contract Yet in Barrington, IL?

How do you make an offer on a home in Barrington, IL if your own home isn't under contract yet? You have three ways to do it, and the right one depends on how much you need the money from your current home. I plan it with my clients before we ever write an offer, so the offer fits the sale instead of fighting it.

Laurie Arslani is a REALTOR® with eXp Realty in Barrington, IL helping sellers price, prepare and sell with a plan. I work with sellers across Barrington, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Huntley and Crystal Lake. The question in this article comes up all the time, usually right after someone finds a home they love and realizes their own house hasn't sold.

If that is you, take a breath. You have options, and none of them require you to panic.

An offer on your next home is a promise. The seller of that home needs to know when you can close and how you are paying for it.

If your home is under contract, you know your timeline and you know what you will walk away with. That makes the offer easy to write, because the dates and the money are real.

If your home is not under contract, some of that is still unknown. The seller can see that, and so can the other buyers who are competing with you. That is why the way you write the offer matters so much.

I tell my clients the same thing every time: this is probably the biggest investment you will make in your life, so take your time and think it through. I don't like rushed decisions. An offer written in a hurry, before the plan is in place, is where most of the stress in this process comes from.

Here they are, in the order I usually recommend them.

Option 1: Get your home under contract first, then write the offer around it

This is my usual advice. I have closed numerous same-day double closings for my clients, selling one home and buying the next on the same day, and it works best when the sale comes first.

Once your home is under contract, we go look for your next home knowing your real number. When we find the right one, the offer is written with closing dates built around your sale. I also make sure the agent on the other side knows the plan, so the seller is not guessing.

You can read the full story of how that works, step by step, in my article on whether to sell first or buy first. Should I Sell My House First or Buy First in Huntley, IL?

Option 2: Write a clean offer with no home sale contingency

Sometimes a client is in a position to buy the next home without waiting for the sale. I only recommend this when you do not need the proceeds from your current home to make the purchase.

It looks like one of two things. You use other funds to close on the new home and repay them when your current home sells. Or you have a bridge loan in place and you don't want to be rushed to sell.

In both cases, the offer goes in clean, with no home sale contingency. A clean offer is much stronger, because the seller is not waiting on anything from you.

Option 3: Write the offer with a home sale or home close contingency

A home sale contingency makes your purchase depend on selling your current home. A home close contingency makes it depend on your current home closing.
This is always an option. It is also the hardest one to get accepted, because most sellers prefer an offer that does not depend on anything else.

Whether it works depends on the market. When homes are selling fast, sellers often won't accept a contingency. When the market is more balanced, they often will. It also depends on the home.

One situation where I advise against it: if it is a hot property at a good price and you really want it. A contingent offer is the weaker offer in that situation, and you may lose the home. That is the time to line up other funds or a bridge loan, or to sell first.

Here is a real example of Option 2. I had a couple moving between two northern suburbs. They found the wife's dream home. To get that house, they would technically have needed to sell their current home first.

They chose a different route. They took out a bridge loan, bought the new home, and then took their time moving everything over from the home they were selling.

That meant they never felt rushed, and they didn't have to pack up the whole house at once. We were also able to use a lot of their own furniture to stage the home they were selling, which worked out perfectly. When the move was done and the sale closed, they paid off the bridge loan.

That is what I mean by price, prepare and sell with a plan. The bridge loan gave them time, and the plan made sure the time was used well.

Ask yourself three questions.

Do I need the money from my current home to buy the next one? If yes, you are almost certainly in Option 1 or Option 3. If no, Option 2 is available.

How badly do I want to avoid being rushed? If you want time to sell at your own pace, a clean offer with other funds or a bridge loan gives you that room. If you are comfortable moving in order, selling first is simpler.

How competitive is the home I want? The more people who want it, the more important a clean offer becomes. A contingent offer on a home with lots of interest is a long shot.

If you are not sure, call me before you write anything. We will look at your numbers and your timeline together, and then pick the option that fits.

Tell them the plan. Do not leave it to guesswork.

When the agent on the other side knows how your sale fits with their closing, they can explain it to their seller. A seller who understands the plan is much more comfortable than one who sees a question mark.

On my side, I make sure the people connected to your sale know the plan too. The buyers of your home should know when your purchase is going to close, and the other way around. Nobody should find out on closing day that the order matters.

Once the offer is accepted, the process moves into attorney review and inspection review.

Your attorney talks to the seller's attorney to keep everything coordinated. If an issue comes up, the agents usually talk it through first. Then the attorneys put it in writing in an attorney review letter and get it handled.

As your agent, I make sure everyone has what they need. I send the contract, the disclosures and anything about personal property to both your attorney and your lender. The lender, your attorney and I work to the same deadlines so each one is hit before the closing date. Once that is done, we get the clear to close.

Sometimes they don't. If your sale closes before your purchase, or the other way around, and the dates cannot be moved, I suggest a rent-back.

A rent-back means you close on your sale and then stay in the home for an agreed number of days, paying the new owner while you are there. As a rule of thumb, I suggest setting the rent at the new owner's monthly housing payment, divided by the number of days in the month and multiplied by the number of days you stay. Your attorney writes up the final terms.

If you have the means for a bridge loan, that is another way to give yourself breathing room when the dates are tight. Each lender sets its own rules, so ask yours how it would work for you.

Falling in love before checking the plan. It is easy to get attached to a house. Check your dates and your budget first.

Writing a contingent offer on a house everyone wants. In a competitive situation, the clean offer usually wins.

Leaving the other agent in the dark. The seller and the agent should understand how your sale fits with their closing.

Counting on a sale date that is not set. If your home is not under contract, the closing date is a guess. Build in a backup, like a rent-back, before you promise the seller a date.

Rushing. A rushed offer on a house this size is almost never a good one. I would rather slow a client down than rush them.

How do I make an offer on a home in Barrington, IL if mine isn't under contract yet?
You have three options. You can get your home under contract first and write the offer around your closing date, which is what I usually recommend. You can write a clean offer with other funds or a bridge loan. Or you can write the offer with a home sale or home close contingency.

Can I buy a home in Huntley, IL before mine sells?
Yes, if you do not need the proceeds from your current home to make the purchase, or if you have a bridge loan in place. If you do need the proceeds, selling first is usually the better plan.

Will a seller in Crystal Lake, IL accept a home sale contingency?
It depends on the home and the market. When homes are selling fast, sellers often won't accept one. When the market is more balanced, they often will. On a hot property at a good price, I would not write the offer that way.

What is a rent-back when selling in Algonquin, IL?
A rent-back is when you stay in your home after it sells, for an agreed number of days, and pay the new owner while you are there. As a rule of thumb, the rent is the new owner's monthly housing payment, divided by the days in the month and multiplied by the days you stay. Your attorney writes up the terms.

Should I get my home under contract before I start looking in Lake in the Hills, IL?
For most sellers, yes. It tells you your real number and your real timeline, and it lets us write the offer around your closing date instead of guessing.

If you have found a home, or you are about to start looking, call me before you write an offer. Tell me where you are now and where you want to be, and we will figure out the order together. You can see how I sell a home in Barrington or read how I work first. Not sure yet? Read what my clients say on Google.

Laurie Arslani is a REALTOR® with eXp Realty in Barrington, IL helping sellers price, prepare and sell with a plan.

Phone: 847.804.9595
Website: lauriearslani.com