Buying Before Selling a Home in Massachusetts: What Are Your Options?

Buying before selling a home in Massachusetts can feel a little like a chicken-and-egg situation.

Do we sell first? What if we sell and can’t find anything? Can we buy first? What happens if we find the perfect house before ours is even on the market?

These are conversations I have with clients all the time, and the answer isn’t the same for everyone.

In fact, I’ve helped clients navigate this in several completely different ways. Some have bought first and sold later. Some have needed a home sale contingency. Some have successfully lined up a sale and purchase at the same time. Others have sold first and rented while deciding what came next.

And right now, I’m working with clients who aren’t doing any of those things yet. They know exactly where they want to go, so we’re getting their current home ready and waiting for the right house to come along.

There isn’t one right way to do this.

The goal is to figure out which option makes the most sense for you.

Quick Answer: Can You Buy Before Selling Your Home in Massachusetts?

Yes. There are several ways to approach buying before selling a home in Massachusetts.

You may be able to buy first, potentially using a bridge loan. You can make your purchase contingent on selling your current home. You can sell first and buy later. You can try to coordinate both transactions at the same time. Or you can prepare your current home for sale and wait until the right property comes along.

Your finances are obviously a big part of the decision, but they’re not the only part. The market you’re selling in, the market you’re buying in, what you’re looking for and how comfortable you are with some uncertainty all matter too.

Option 1: Buy First and Sell Later

For a lot of homeowners, this sounds like the ideal scenario.

Find the house you love, buy it, move in and then deal with selling your current home.

I’ve had clients do this in a couple of different ways.

One set of clients used a bridge loan to buy their next home before selling their condo. We hoped we could get the condo sold and line everything up fairly closely.

The market had other ideas.

Their condo took longer to sell than we anticipated, so they ended up owning both homes for a couple months. Thankfully, they had planned for that possibility from the beginning.

I’ve also worked with clients who spent quite a while searching for their dream home. They were financially comfortable buying first, so once they finally found it, there was no reason to rush their existing home onto the market at a less-than-ideal time. They moved into the new house and waited for a better window to sell.

That’s the biggest advantage of buying first: flexibility.

You’re not selling your house and hoping the right next house appears before you need to move.

Of course, that flexibility can come at a cost.

Bridge loans are generally short-term financing and can be more expensive than traditional mortgage financing. They can also be harder to qualify for. And whether you’re using bridge financing or simply qualifying to carry both properties, you need to be comfortable with what happens if your current home doesn’t sell as quickly as you hoped.

For some people, that flexibility is absolutely worth it.

Option 2: Buy With a Home Sale Contingency

Sometimes people know from the beginning that they’ll need to sell their current home in order to buy.

And sometimes they don’t.

I recently worked with clients who started their search believing they could buy first. Partway through the process, it became clear that selling their current home needed to become part of the plan.

Fortunately, we were able to work out a home sale contingency with the seller.

Problem solved, right?

Well…sort of.

Now we actually needed to sell their house.

First, a seller has to be willing to accept a home sale contingency. https://www.mass.gov/info-details/re89r14-purchase-and-sale-agreement-in-residential-transactions?utm_source=chatgpt.comDepending on how competitive the property is, that isn’t always easy. If a seller has another buyer who doesn’t have a home to sell, that offer may feel like the safer choice.

But every situation is different.

The price matters. How long the home has been on the market matters. The competition matters. The rest of your offer matters. Even how prepared your current home is to hit the market can matter.

I’ve absolutely seen home sale contingencies work.

Then comes the next challenge: finding a buyer for your home and getting everything to line up.

Now your sale affects your purchase.

Closing dates matter. Financing dates matter. Your buyer’s terms matter. Sometimes we’re negotiating a few extra days here or moving a date there just to make the puzzle fit together.

It’s doable, but it’s no easy feat.

Option 3: Sell First and Figure Out What’s Next

Financially, selling first can be the cleanest option.

You know what you’re walking away with from your sale, and when you are ready to buy, you don’t have another home that still needs to sell.

But there’s an obvious question:

“Where am I going to live?”

Sometimes the answer is easier than you’d think.

I worked with a younger couple who had bought a home in the suburbs and realized they really missed city living. Instead of immediately trying to figure out where and what they should buy next, they sold their house, moved back into the city and rented.

It gave them some breathing room to figure out what they actually wanted their next move to look like without rushing into another purchase.

For someone else, selling first could mean staying with family, using a vacation property, finding a short-term rental or calling in a very big favor from some very nice friends.

The bigger question is whether you’re comfortable not knowing exactly how long that in-between period might last.

If you’re looking for something very specific, it could take a while.

But selling first can also give you something valuable: time to make your next decision without your current house dictating it.

Sometimes that’s exactly what someone needs.

Option 4: Sell and Buy at the Same Time

This is what a lot of homeowners hope to do.

And yes, it really can work.

I worked with clients who were selling and buying in the same town. We got their current house completely ready for market, but didn’t put it up for sale yet.

Then they found the house they wanted.

We got their offer accepted, immediately launched their current home, found a buyer and worked to get all of the dates and details of both transactions lined up.

They went from one home to the next, which is exactly what we had hoped would happen.

But there was a lot of preparation behind the scenes that made that possible.

We didn’t wait until they found their new house to start thinking about getting their current one ready. We had already done that work.

You’re also dealing with two separate transactions and two different sides of the market.

Maybe your current home sells in a weekend, but there are hardly any homes available that you want to buy.

Or maybe you find the perfect house immediately, but it takes longer than expected to find the right buyer for yours.

Even once both homes are under agreement, we’re coordinating buyers, sellers, lenders, attorneys, inspections, appraisals and closing dates.

When everything lines up, it’s great.

I just still like to have a Plan B in case one side doesn’t cooperate with our beautifully organized calendar.

Option 5: Get Ready Now and Wait for the Right House

This is an option I don’t think gets talked about enough.

You don’t necessarily have to do anything yet.

I’m working with clients right now who have been thinking about selling and moving up for the last couple of years.

But they’re happy where they are, and they know exactly where they want to go.

It’s a very specific and popular location, so selling their current home first doesn’t make a lot of sense for them. They could sell and then wait months for the right property to become available.

Instead, we’re playing the long game.

We’ve met a few times, talked about their current home’s value and what they’ll need to do to get it ready, and now they’re preparing the house for photos.

They’re not putting it on the market tomorrow.

They’re getting ready so that when the right house does come along, we’re not starting from scratch.

We can move quickly on the purchase and be in a position to put their current home on the market almost immediately if that’s what the situation calls for.

I really like this approach for someone who doesn’t need to move and only wants to do it for the right house.

It requires patience.

But sometimes the best move isn’t to force the timing.

It’s to be ready.

So How Do You Decide When Buying Before Selling a Home in Massachusetts?

This is where the financial piece and the real estate piece need to come together.

Before you start seriously looking, it’s helpful to understand what’s actually possible financially. Talking with a lender early can help you understand your buying power and financing options before the right house comes along.

Maybe buying first is completely comfortable. Maybe bridge financing opens up another option. Or maybe you technically could carry two homes, but the thought of two mortgage payments for several months would keep you up at night.

That matters too.

Then there’s the real estate side.

How quickly is your current home realistically likely to sell? What’s happening in the market where you want to buy? Are there plenty of homes that could work for you, or are you waiting for something very specific to come up?

That’s why I don’t think there’s a formula for this.

You look at your finances, your current home, what you’re hoping to buy and what the market is actually doing.

Then you make a plan that fits your situation.

And Sometimes the Plan Changes

This might be the most important part.

You can make a great plan before you start, and real estate doesn’t always cooperate.

I’ve had clients buy first thinking we’d sell their previous home relatively quickly, only to have the market tell us otherwise.

I’ve had other clients start out thinking they could buy without selling and discover along the way that we needed to restructure the purchase around a home sale contingency.

I’ve helped clients prepare everything ahead of time and successfully line up a sale and purchase.

And I have clients right now who aren’t forcing anything. They’re getting themselves ready and waiting for the house that makes moving worthwhile.

None of those approaches is wrong.

Sometimes we simply get new information and adjust.

That’s a big part of my job when I’m helping someone buy and sell at the same time. I’m not just helping you find a house or put a sign in your yard.

I’m looking several steps ahead and figuring out how all of these pieces can work together.

Frequently Asked Questions About Buying Before Selling

Can I make an offer on a house before mine is listed?

Yes. Whether that makes sense depends on your finances and whether your purchase needs to be contingent upon selling your current home. If it does, having your home ready to go on the market quickly can put you in a better position.

Is a home sale contingency difficult to get accepted in Massachusetts?

It can be, particularly when you’re competing against buyers who don’t have a home to sell. But every property and situation is different. Price, competition, days on market, the status of your current home and the rest of your offer can all make a difference.

What is a bridge loan?

A bridge loan is short-term financing that can help bridge the gap between buying your new home and selling your existing one. It can provide more flexibility, but bridge loans tend to be more expensive than traditional financing and aren’t right for everyone. A lender can help determine whether it’s an option for your particular situation.

Is it better to sell your house before buying another one?

Not necessarily. Selling first can give you more financial certainty, but it can also leave you needing temporary housing while you search. Buying first gives you more flexibility on the housing side but can mean carrying two properties. The better option depends on your finances, your market and what you’re trying to buy.

What happens if I sell before I find another home?

You’ll need a plan for the time between homes. That could mean renting, staying with family or friends, using another property or potentially negotiating some additional time in your existing home after closing. And sometimes selling first is intentional because you want time to decide where or what you want to buy next.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve been thinking about moving but keep getting stuck on:

“I can’t buy because I haven’t sold.”

Or:

“I can’t sell because I don’t know where I’m going.”

Don’t let that be the reason you do nothing.

You don’t necessarily need to know exactly how you’re going to make the move today.

Start by finding out what’s possible.

Talk with your lender. Get a realistic idea of what your current home could sell for. Pay attention to what’s actually available where you want to go.

Then you can build a plan around your situation.

And if the market changes the plan along the way?

You adjust.

If you’re thinking about making a move and aren’t sure how the buying and selling pieces could work together, I’m always happy to talk through the options with you.