If your down payment on the next home is sitting in the equity of this one, selling first is usually the cleaner path. If you have the resources to carry both for a stretch, buying first is easier to live through. Most Bondurant sellers I work with land in the middle, and the answer comes down to cash, not preference.
Selling first gives you certainty. You know your exact number, you shop as a strong non-contingent buyer, and no seller has to take a chance on you. The cost is logistics: you may need a rent-back, a short-term rental, or a very well-coordinated same-day closing.
Here is the trade-off in one line: certainty versus convenience. Buying first is convenient and uncertain. Selling first is certain and inconvenient. Removing a contingency does not remove the risk, it just moves it, and it is worth deciding on purpose which risk you would rather carry.
What I typically see in Bondurant is that sellers underestimate how much stronger their offer becomes once their home is sold or under contract. A non-contingent offer signals a predictable close, and that signal is often worth more to a seller than a few thousand dollars of price. The market does not respond to your intent, it responds to your signals.
As one example, two buyers write the same number on the same Bondurant home. One is contingent on selling a house that is not yet listed. The other has a contract on their home with inspections already cleared. The second offer wins most of the time, and it usually does not have to pay more to win.
There are middle paths worth knowing about too: a sale contingent on your purchase, a negotiated rent-back so you stay in your home for a short period after closing, or lining both closings up on the same day. Each has trade-offs and each is workable when it is planned rather than improvised.
Before you decide, my Seller Encyclopedia explains how the timing, value, and leverage pieces fit together.
Related Resources: How Do I Price My Home Right in Altoona? and What Should I Fix Before I List My Home in Newton?.
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Written by Jason Huffey, REALTOR with RE/MAX Revolution (License S73436000), serving Bondurant and the greater Des Moines metro. Call or text (515) 606-1227. The Best Is Yet To Come.
