Being a successful move-up buyer often requires the balance and flexibility of a gymnast. It takes experience to properly price your current home, determine a sales timeline and find a new home that fulfills your needs and wants, says Platinum Real Estate co-founder and CEO Mark Zervos. Here are three tips for those looking to level up.
Price to sell: Since most move-up buyers can’t buy a new house before they sell the old one, pricing is critical. “Price it too high and it sits on the market, you could lose the other home that you’re looking at,” Zervos says. “Price it too low and it sells too fast, you lose the equity that you could have had to buy your next home.”
Do your homework: Start looking three to six months before you need to move in, says Zervos. Also, make a checklist of “have to have,” “would like to have” and “wouldn’t it be great to have” in a new home. “If [buyers] can make a decision more quickly,” he says, “the tendency is to find a house that better suits them more quickly.”
Handle negotiations: Consider negotiating a two-week contingency plan with a buyer interested in your home so you can search for a new home with confidence. If you don’t find what you’re looking for after that time, you can ask for an extension, says Zervos. “It’s not done as frequently as I think it should be,” he says.
