How to Sell and Buy a Brickell Home at the Same Time

The opportunity for relocation is an exciting time for your family, and while the thought of a new job, a new location, and a new home are exciting, considerable pressure exists to manage the logistics of selling your current property and finding a new place to live. Is it possible to do both at the same time? Absolutely, and there are ways to go about it that will minimize your stress and help your family transition smoothly into the next chapter of your lives.

Before you start looking for Brickell real estate to purchase, go ahead and do all of the hard work and preparation of getting your current house ready for listing. Make repairs, declutter, depersonalize, and clean. If you are able, list your home on the Brickell housing market so sellers will see that you are ready to make the move and will take you more seriously.

Prepare yourself as a buyer before you begin searching for Brickell homes for sale. Create a budget for your new home and realistically assess the feasibility of carrying two mortgages if you buy first. Get prequalified for a loan. Determine what your down payment will be and how you will fund it.

On both sides of the table, you’ll need a strong and knowledgeable real estate agent to help you negotiate the best terms of sale and all of the technicalities of forms and paperwork. Mariana Garber can help you select the best timing for each transaction and help you formulate a plan that is perfect for your specific needs

Brickell is considered one of the best neighborhoods in Miami. It scored high rankings specifically for young professionals and for young families as well. The high demand for Brickell homes for sale is great news for you as a seller, but perhaps not good news if this is the neighborhood in which you are hoping to purchase a home. Currently there are 255 homes among Brickell real estate for sale.

The Miami area real estate market has seen incredible growth in recent years. Leading up to the COVID pandemic, the market showed slow and steady growth, but in the second half of 2021 and through 2022, real estate values soared. Even with a recent median list price drop to $549,000, homes are selling at an average of $100,000 more than they were just three years ago. Homes are selling at the record-setting speed of 29 days, and inventory remains low. These attributes indicate that Miami as a whole, and Brickell real estate in particular, are in a seller’s market.

Understanding the local market trends is vital to establishing your goals and strategy for buying and selling a home, especially as you are trying to pursue both transactions concurrently. Consult with a knowledgeable real estate agent, to look deeper into current market trends and let them help you design the ideal strategy to meet your unique needs.

Even if you are buying and selling simultaneously, one transaction will inevitably be finalized before the other. Consider these advantages and challenges to each approach.

Who wants to find themselves stranded between moving out and moving in? Alleviate this hassle by securing a home to move into first, and then rest assured that you will have somewhere to go. Buying first also allows you to take your time and be certain that you are satisfied with the new home you choose.

The possibility of covering two mortgages can be taxing on the budget. Pressure to alleviate this situation may cause you to rush into selling at a lower price than you wanted. You may also find it is difficult to secure a loan for the new house while you continue to pay the old mortgage.

The chief advantages of selling first are financial. You’ll know in advance exactly what you’ll be able to use as your down payment, and this will allow you to make an offer on a new home with confidence. You will also be spared the burden of two mortgages.

The perfect new home may not be just sitting and waiting for you. In fact, it may not even enter the market for several months, and this could leave you in a rental property, stuck somewhat in limbo, for an indefinite period of time. You’ll incur additional moving and storage costs in the interim. There’s always the question of rising interest rates, which has been a trend throughout 2022, and many analysts believe will continue to happen as we move into 2023.

In general, an offer on a house that includes contingencies, such as having to sell your current property before being able to close the purchase deal, is not as strong as an offer without such caveats. However, as the market has shifted from favoring buyers to sellers, the competition to acquire a property is not as intense as it was only a few months before, and sellers must be more willing to negotiate.

Other options for writing a contract with contingencies include requests that closing take place in 60-90 days instead of immediately. Ask for a home inspection and a home appraisal and include these as stipulations for purchase.

In recent sales transactions, many sellers have found their property sold so quickly that they did not have time to make decisions about where to go or secure a new property. If this is the case for you, you may be able to negotiate a short-term lease from the buyer, enabling you to stay in the home as a tenant for a month or two.

Bridge loans are meant to be short in duration, and can be taken out for the value of a down payment on your new Brickell real estate. It can be difficult to qualify for this type of loan, so plan ahead. If you are successful in acquiring one, you can secure a favorable interest rate before they climb again and purchase the new home you really want.

If you need more information or have questions about how to make concurrent buying and selling work for you, reach out to Mariana Garber. She has years of experience in the Miami housing market, has an extensive network of buyers and sellers, and can negotiate the best possible deal on both sides.