This article was inspired by a neighbor I met at one of my open houses a few weeks ago.  The prospective home buyer explained to me that they would love to upgrade to the home I was hosting an open house at but that they would first have to sell their home and that their agent said getting a contingent offer accepted in this hot seller’s market would be tough. I explained to them while yes, it may be tough, it can be done. They followed these steps and 2 weeks later were under contract on the home of their dreams.

Have you been thinking about listing your home for sale and need the proceeds from your current home to purchase your next home?  Are you worried you may not be able to get your contingent offer accepted? No worries! Here are a few tips to help you get your contingent offer accepted.

Getting Ready – Contingent Offer

So you have started the search for your new home but you need to sell your current home in order to buy your next home.  One step you can take to get in the best position to get your contingent offer accepted is to get your home show ready now!  Get all of the maintenance concerns handled.   It is in your best interest to take care of all maintenance including servicing the furnace if you have not done it in the last year, start de-cluttering your home and take care of the rest of that “to do list” that you have been putting off. This will help to ensure that once your home is under contract and the buyer performs inspections there are fewer things called out needing repairs or maintenance.

Get Listed – Be Ready To List

Another step you can take whether you have located your next purchase or not is to get your professional photo’s done NOW. This way, you are ready to go live in the MLS immediately upon finding your future home instead of having to schedule the professional photos and risk valuable time.  You have already gotten your home ready for sale, performed all maintenance needed and de-cluttered your home so now it’s time to shine!

Even better, is to have your home listed in the MLS instead of waiting to locate your next home first.  You may be thinking “but what if we can’t find a home we like and someone makes an offer on our current home?”  No worries, you can always accept an offer contingent on you locating a suitable home first and if needed ask for rent-back time to give yourself some cushion in finding your next home. If for some reason you just can’t locate a suitable home in time, you can still protect yourself.

Be Priced Properly

It is imperative that you be priced properly or even better, aggressively, to give yourself the best chance of getting your current home under contract.   This will give you a better chance of getting your contingent offer accepted on the home you find if you already have your current home under contract and even better if you have negotiated through the inspection contingency. Overpricing your home at this stage could really decrease your chances of getting your contingent offer accepted. If your current home is overpriced, the chances of getting an offer are far slimmer than if you priced your home aggressively to sell now.

Locate Your Next Home

So you have your home on the market and you get an offer. What now?! If you have already located your next home that will be reassuring to the buyer of your current home for sure with one less contingency to worry about. If you have not yet located your new home, the pressure will be on to find a suitable home or risk the current offer on your home falling apart if you can’t meet the contingency deadlines of the contract.  Selling and buying a home can definitely be a stressful process but with some preparation, patience and expert guidance from your realtor, it can be done!

These are just a few tips to help you get your contingent offer accepted. If you get your current home in tip-top shape and ready to be marketed,  price your home aggressively for sale, locate your next home in advance, get your current home under contract and negotiated through the inspection/repair addendum you can put yourself in a pretty good position to get your contingent offer accepted. The more contingencies you can eliminate, the better chance you have for success!

Additional Resources

What are Contingencies With a Real Estate Purchase – Via Sharon Paxson

10 Important Real Estate Seller Terms To Know – Via Paul Sian

Helpful Advice & Why It Matters Who You Hire to Sell Your Home