Should I Sell My House First or Buy First in Huntley, IL?

Should you sell your house first or buy first in Huntley, IL? For most sellers, the answer is sell first, and then close on the sale and the purchase on the same day, which I plan with my clients so the two closings work as one move.

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, and the sellers who call me with this exact question are usually worried about the same two things. They don't want to be stuck owning two homes, and they don't want to be without one.

You can do this without either. It takes an order of operations and a lot of coordination. Here is how I do it.

If you sell first, you know your real number. You know what the house sold for, what you will walk away with, and what you can comfortably spend on the next one. You are not guessing.

That matters because most sellers are using the money from their current home to buy the next one. When the proceeds are part of the purchase, the sale has to happen first, and it has to happen early enough that the money is there when the purchase closes.

Selling first also keeps you from making an offer on a home you love and then scrambling to sell. Nobody makes a good decision with a ticking clock on a house this big.

Here is what I tell clients: 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. Selling first, then shopping with a clear budget and clear dates, is the slowest-feeling way that is actually the least stressful one.

I only tell clients to buy first when they do not need the proceeds from their current home to buy the next one. That usually looks like one of two situations.

You can close with other funds. If you have money available to buy the next home and are willing to repay it when your current home sells, you can shop for the next home without a sale hanging over the offer. The offer goes in clean, with no home sale contingency, which makes it stronger.

You have a bridge loan in place. A bridge loan lets you use the equity in your current home to buy before you sell. If you have the means for one, and you do not want to be rushed to sell, it can give you room to move at your own pace. I explain how bridge loans work further down in this article.

If neither one is you, the answer is almost always to sell first.

I have closed numerous same-day double closings for my clients, selling one home and buying the next on the same day. It does not happen by luck. A REALTOR® is very involved in making it work. Here is the sequence I follow.

1. We get the sale under contract first. Once your home is under contract, we know your timeline and your proceeds. Then we go look for the next home.

2. We shop with dates in mind. When we find the right home, we write the offer with the closing date built around your sale. We are not picking dates and hoping.

3. Everyone knows the plan. The agent on the other side of your purchase knows what the plan is. The buyers of your home know what the plan is too. Nobody finds out on closing day that the order matters.

4. We schedule the closings at different times. The sale goes first. The purchase goes after. This matters most when you need the proceeds from the sale to make the purchase.

5. We leave time for the wire. Money has to get from the first closing to the second one, and that takes time. I build that time into the schedule on purpose, so the second closing is not waiting on funds.

6. The first sale sets everything in motion. Once your sale closes, the rest follows in order. When all the pieces have been lined up ahead of time, the day feels calm.

When you sell and buy on the same day, the same attorney works for you on both sides. The seller of the home you are buying has their own attorney. Your attorney talks to that attorney to keep everything coordinated, including attorney review and inspection review.

My job as your agent is to 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.

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.

The wire instructions come from the title company, usually to your attorney. Your attorney gets them to you so you know exactly where to send the money.

Even with a good plan, a closing day can run late. I had a client who closed on her sale in the morning and needed the proceeds to buy her next house that afternoon. At the afternoon closing, the buyer of her house was still waiting for funds from the sale of their own house, so we waited a few hours before we got the keys. I made sure she knew it was still happening, we got snacks, we talked, and then the funds came in. It is very doable with the right plan. You just have to expect anything and trust the process.

Here is one example. I had a couple who were downsizing. We sold their house first and got it under contract. Then they decided they wanted new construction.

New construction runs on the builder's timeline, not ours. So we made sure the buyers of their current home knew exactly when the new home was going to be completed, and we scheduled that closing to match. That let the couple do everything the builder needed from them, on the builder's schedule.

We closed on their current home in the morning. By the afternoon, we closed on their new construction home. Two homes, one day, and no one scrambling.

That is what I mean by price, prepare and sell with a plan. The plan for the sale and the plan for the purchase are the same plan.

Sometimes a client has to write an offer that depends on the sale of their current home. That can work, but it is harder, because sellers prefer offers without conditions.

Whether a home sale contingency works depends on the market. When homes are selling fast, sellers often won't accept one. When the market is more balanced, they often will. A home close contingency is another version of the same idea.

There is one situation where I advise against it. If it is a hot property at a good price and you really want it, I don't recommend writing it with a contingency. A clean offer is much stronger, and that is the time to line up other funds or a bridge loan, or to sell first.

Sometimes they don't. A buyer needs a certain closing date, or a builder runs late, or your next home isn't ready when your sale closes. In that case 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 to live there. Your attorney writes up the terms.

As a rule of thumb, I suggest setting the rent at the new owner's monthly housing payment. Divide it by the number of days in the month, and multiply it by the number of days you will stay. You are covering the new owner's cost of the home for exactly the days you are there, which is the fairest way I know to do it. 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. I will bring it up with you if it fits.

A bridge loan is short-term financing that lets you use the equity in your current home to buy your next one before the current one sells. It helps most when you find a home you love and need the equity from your existing home for the down payment. It can also let you make an offer without a home sale contingency. When your home sells, the bridge loan is paid off from the proceeds.

Here is a simple example, using round numbers and an 80% limit for illustration only. Every lender sets its own limit:

	Amount
Current home value	$500,000
Current mortgage balance	$250,000
Existing equity	$250,000
Example limit: 80% of the home's value	$400,000
Less your existing mortgage	$250,000
Potential bridge loan	$150,000

In this example, the homeowner could potentially put $150,000 toward the next home. Actual limits depend on the lender, the value of your home, any existing liens and how the loan is structured.

There is no single Illinois bridge loan program. Each lender sets its own rules, so the details depend on who you work with.

Before you count on a bridge loan, ask your lender these questions:

• How much equity do I need in my current home?
• How long is the loan term?
• What is the interest rate, and how do payments work while I own both homes?
• Do I have to qualify while carrying both homes, or can my current mortgage payment be left out?
• What happens if my home takes longer to sell than expected?

I'm happy to connect you with a lender to go through the numbers.

Shopping for the next home before knowing the sale timeline. You fall in love with a house, and then your dates and your budget have to catch up. Get the sale under contract first, then shop.

Writing a contingent offer on a house everyone wants. In a competitive situation, a clean offer wins. If you need to be clean, sell first or line up other funds.

Not telling the other agent the plan. Everyone involved should know the order of the closings before the day arrives. The agent on your purchase and the buyers of your home both need to know what is happening.

Scheduling both closings at the same time. The sale has to go first, and the money needs time to move. Different times, on purpose.

Picking dates without knowing the builder's schedule. If you are buying new construction, the builder's completion date drives everything. Find out where that stands before you lock in the closing on your current home.

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

Should I sell my house first or buy first in Huntley, IL?
For most sellers, sell first. You will know your proceeds and your timeline, and you can shop with a clear budget. I only recommend buying first if you can close on the next home with other funds or a bridge loan, and you are comfortable not being rushed to sell.

Can I close on my sale and my purchase on the same day in Huntley, IL?
Yes. I have closed numerous same-day double closings for my clients. The sale closes first, the purchase closes later that day, and I build in time for the wire between the two.

What is a rent-back when selling in Huntley, 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 to do it. As a rule of thumb, I suggest setting the rent at 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.

Do I need a bridge loan to buy before I sell in Huntley, IL?
Not always, but it is one way to buy first when you do not want to be rushed to sell. A bridge loan is short-term financing that lets you use the equity in your current home to buy before you sell, and it is paid off from the proceeds when your home sells. If you have the means for one, I will suggest it. Each lender sets its own rules, so check with yours first.

Will a seller in Huntley, 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.

If you are thinking about selling and buying again, call me before you list or make 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 Huntley 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