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Buy First or Sell First?

From your personal experience, do you...

  • Sell existing home first, then buy new home?

    Votes: 8 40.0%
  • Look for new home and list current home at the same time?

    Votes: 9 45.0%
  • Buy new home first, then sell existing home?

    Votes: 3 15.0%

  • Total voters
    20

James

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I was just curious as to what others have done as far as moving from one house to another. Do most people sell their house first before looking for a new house? Do they start the search and the sale at the same time, hoping to co-ordinate the closing dates close to each other? Or do most people look for that one special house that they really want and once they have an agreement of purchase and sale signed, then start the process of selling their existing home?
 
To those that sold first then bought afterwards, were there difficulties finding the right home for you? What if you couldn't find the right house? What was your backup plan?

To those who bought first, how difficult was it to subsequently sell your home? Were you nervous about not being able to sell your existing house for the intended amount? If the house didn't sell in the anticipated amount of time, what was your backup plan then?
 
I know a friend of mine bought a pre-contstruction in the burbs, and had to move back to the parents for 6 months until complete.


I think it really depends on your property and how 'marketable' it can be. 2 years ago, if you owned a home in the core, I'd say buy first. Now, it really depends on where you're trying to get into and what you currently live in.

If it's a difficult neighbourhood in a 7-900k range you're trying to get into, I'd say wait and buy first (and only if you have a very easily home that you're willing to sell at a reasonable price).
 
...
2 years ago, if you owned a home in the core, I'd say buy first.
...

I remember hearing of this advice then also. You are definitely right in that it really does depend on what type of property you're looking to buy. Single family homes in the city are still difficult to find and good ones still tend to sell quickly. That said, I also know of people who sold first and, similar to your friend, lived with their parents for a short period of time while they took their time to find a new home.
 
Timing is everything, and when we bought our 2nd home in... 2007, we jumped on a gut reno that we saw and bought in two days (and then went on vacation to worry about our sale!). It worked out nicely for us as we got the house we wanted, and the sale was a bidding war with 5 offers. No worries.

OTOH, we have a friend in Montreal who's now sitting with two houses and two mortgages and looking to sell/rent either before his personal balance sheet implodes. And my uncle and aunt lost six figures holding two houses on Yonge Blvd through the 90-93 meltdown.

So... do as I vote in the poll, not as I do! ;-)
 
Another thought that might influence the selling or buying a house is the time of year. Most parents would want to settle into a new home before school starts after Labour Day. To me, it means moving day has to be during the summer days, so purchasing a new home has to negotiated in the spring. Autumn and winter could be slower times of the year, which makes them acceptable to those who don't have kids in school or without school-aged kids.
 
Timing is everything, and when we bought our 2nd home in... 2007, we jumped on a gut reno that we saw and bought in two days (and then went on vacation to worry about our sale!). It worked out nicely for us as we got the house we wanted, and the sale was a bidding war with 5 offers. No worries.

OTOH, we have a friend in Montreal who's now sitting with two houses and two mortgages and looking to sell/rent either before his personal balance sheet implodes. And my uncle and aunt lost six figures holding two houses on Yonge Blvd through the 90-93 meltdown.

So... do as I vote in the poll, not as I do! ;-)

That's a great turn-around. I'm happy to hear it all worked out as textbook as it can be!

I started this thread primarily because I've talked to many people who have differing views on what the best strategy should be. For my first "move up", if you want to call it that, I actually sold first then bought. Both homes were single family homes and I went from one in the suburbs to one in the city.

Another thought that might influence the selling or buying a house is the time of year. Most parents would want to settle into a new home before school starts after Labour Day. To me, it means moving day has to be during the summer days, so purchasing a new home has to negotiated in the spring. Autumn and winter could be slower times of the year, which makes them acceptable to those who don't have kids in school or without school-aged kids.

Time of the year is definitely an important factor. For those who don't need to beat that September school rush, they'd certainly have more wiggle room and flexibility which can work in their favour. Interestingly, another crucial factor in whether you should buy first or sell first is housing type. An interesting article today in the Financial Post regarding how the condominium market continues to fall while the low-rise market continues to soar. Taking this into account, if one is selling a condo to move into a single family home, it'd be most wise to sell first then buy!

http://business.financialpost.com/2...alling-while-low-rise-homes-continue-to-soar/
 
An interesting tidbit to add to this thread, I was looking at listings on MLS and noticed that a large majority of homes on the market seem to be vacant. While I say they appear vacant, what I mean is that they're staged and appear that the owners no longer live in that house, or if they do, they're keeping it in meticulous order! Which then begs me to ask, have these homeowners bought another house already and are now listing their existing house for sale? If they're not residing in their property that's currently for sale, where are they living in the meantime?
 
Look at TV shows such as Property Brothers: Buy and Sell. To sell their old homes, they usually clear the clutter, put stuff (a lot of stuff) to storage, and rent, buy or "stage" the place to be sold. After they move into their new place, the old stuff comes out of storage.

This definitely seems like the cleanest approach, however, I can't imagine everyone's living in a short-term rental while their house is being listed. This would be particularly difficult with kids, I would imagine. I know lots of people who sold their condos when they were single and the vast majority of them lived in it during all the showings but with a family plus kids, I'm not sure how they would be handling the whole process.
 
An interesting tidbit to add to this thread, I was looking at listings on MLS and noticed that a large majority of homes on the market seem to be vacant. While I say they appear vacant, what I mean is that they're staged and appear that the owners no longer live in that house, or if they do, they're keeping it in meticulous order! Which then begs me to ask, have these homeowners bought another house already and are now listing their existing house for sale? If they're not residing in their property that's currently for sale, where are they living in the meantime?

Don't know where you're looking, but on the east side (E1/E2/E3) a considerable number of TCHC SFH are currently being sold 'as is', and a number of homes seem to have been listed for an estate (I'm assuming that the furniture, etc. was sold in an estate sale and/or taken by the family, then a superficial reno done to bring an old place up to saleable standards.) i.e. -- no one left to reside.
 
An interesting tidbit to add to this thread, I was looking at listings on MLS and noticed that a large majority of homes on the market seem to be vacant. While I say they appear vacant, what I mean is that they're staged and appear that the owners no longer live in that house, or if they do, they're keeping it in meticulous order! Which then begs me to ask, have these homeowners bought another house already and are now listing their existing house for sale? If they're not residing in their property that's currently for sale, where are they living in the meantime?

James, the market as people read it is a bit less pressured other than highly desirable SFH's in certain neighbourhoods. Sellers want their properties to look good. Realtors and stagers have said that most of the public buys on impulse and their first impression. Can I see myself living here? Hence, the house is staged, decluttered and made to look good.
In the frenzied market of before and also for fixer uppers, there is not much need to do this. For finer/nicer homes, especially smaller homes, trying to make the house look as good as possible may get additional bids and a higher price.
Regarding selling or buying first...in a frenzied market one can risk buying first (so long as one can arrange bridge financing or can afford the double carrying costs in the event that the original house fails to sell or sell in time).
It is a risky strategy in the present market unless one has one of those very desirable properties and probably not recommended.
I am older and would not take a chance like this unless I knew I could afford the double carrying costs.
 
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