Moving Up to Your Next Home in Western New York
Buying your next home and selling the current one on a single plan, with the order settled before you tour.
What moving up involves in Western New York
Moving up often means more space, but it usually means an upgrade of some kind: a better layout, upgraded finishes, or a location or neighborhood that fits how you live now. If you are ready for more space or a better fit, you are a buyer and a seller on the same calendar, and the two sides depend on each other. Your sale funds your purchase, and your purchase sets the date you need to be out.
Buyers in this position tell me they do not want to move twice, do not want to end up with no house at all, and do not want to pay for two houses. Each worry traces back to timing. When the order of sale, purchase and closing is settled first, most of those outcomes become avoidable.
Map out your next move before you need to make it.
Sell first or buy first
There are two ways to start moving up, and the right one depends on what you qualify for and how much risk you are comfortable carrying.
- Buy first. This works if you qualify with your lender and your home is ready to list the day your offer is accepted: prepped, staged, photographed, listing agreement signed, pricing in place and marketing queued. Your offer will usually still depend on the sale of your home, and a home that is ready to go on the market is something the seller will weigh. If you qualify to buy without that condition, being ready still shortens the time you carry two homes.
- Sell first. This fits if you cannot qualify without the sale, or if the home you want is in a competitive market or likely to draw a lot of interest. You list first and start touring once you are under contract. You know your proceeds before you shop, but you may need temporary housing or a negotiated closing date.
Whichever you choose, I line up the two closings as close together as I can so you do not move twice, and where it fits I negotiate a rent back. Which one comes first depends on what you qualify for, how much risk you are comfortable carrying, and how long you can live without a home you have not yet closed on. I run the numbers for each option before you start touring, then recommend one and explain why. Selling your current home is half of this move, and I plan that side with you too: see how I approach selling your home.
She handled everything from staging and listing our home to helping us find the right property, and it all came together the way we hoped. If you're navigating a simultaneous buy-sell, she's exactly who you want in your corner.
Writing an offer while your own home is for sale
When you are moving up, your offer is judged next to your sale. A seller weighs whether your purchase depends on your sale. If it does, a home that is prepped and ready to go on the market is something the seller will consider. The strategy you choose, selling first or buying first, changes how strong your offer looks.
How I build an offer, including the ceiling, the verified pre-approval and the terms, is in my offer step.
What I settle before you tour a single home
Touring comes after the planning, not before it. Before you see a house, I work through five questions with you:
- What your current home is likely to sell for, based on recent comparable sales. The method is on the page about what your home is worth.
- Which strategy fits: sell first or buy first.
- The most you want to spend, counting the monthly cost and not just the price.
- A pre-approval a lender has verified.
- Which features you want, such as more space, a better layout, a bigger yard or room to entertain, and which ones you can live without.
The written answers are the starting point for the search I run in my search step.
Getting your current home ready while you search
Your current home still has to sell, and how I prepare the home and how I market it are laid out on my selling process page.
The preparation work runs alongside your search. If the home you want comes up before yours is ready, I would rather you know that your timeline allows it, so the purchase never has to wait on the sale.
What the next home costs to carry
A higher-priced home brings a bigger monthly cost in more than the payment, because taxes, insurance, utilities and upkeep all scale with the home. I work through the full monthly cost before you shop, so you know what the home costs to carry, not only what it costs to buy.
How I compare a home to recent sales before you decide what to offer is in my comparison step.
Moving up in Lancaster and across Western New York
I live in Lancaster and work across Western New York: the city of Buffalo, the Northtowns (Clarence, Amherst and Williamsville), the Southtowns (Orchard Park, East Aurora, West Seneca, Hamburg and Elma), and east of the city (Depew and Alden).
My Lancaster page goes into this in more detail.
If your first question is "What do I do first?", the answer is a conversation about where you are trying to go. Talk with me about your move, and I will lay out the order that fits your numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I sell my house before I buy the next one?
It depends on what you qualify for and how much risk you are comfortable carrying. Selling first gives you certainty about your proceeds, and it fits if you cannot qualify without the sale. Buying first works if you qualify and your home is ready to list the day your offer is accepted, but you carry both homes for a period. I run the numbers for each option and recommend one.
Can I make an offer before my current home sells?
You can. The offer will usually depend on the sale of your current home, which asks the seller to wait on a sale they do not control, and in a competitive market it can lose to a cleaner offer. Having your home prepped and ready to list the day your offer is accepted helps, and if you qualify to buy without that condition it shortens the time you carry two homes. Your lender decides what you can carry. I lay out both strategies, selling first and buying first, before you start touring.
Do I need a pre-approval before I tour homes?
Yes. A pre-approval means a lender has verified your income, assets and credit, and it tells you what you can comfortably spend. A pre-qualification is only an estimate. I connect you with a local lender before any offer goes out.
How do I avoid a bidding war?
You cannot always avoid one, but you can prepare for it. I help you set a ceiling you are comfortable with, line up a verified pre-approval and choose terms that matter to the seller, so you are not deciding under pressure.
Do you work with move-up buyers outside Lancaster?
Yes. I live in Lancaster and work across Western New York, from the city of Buffalo through the Northtowns, the Southtowns and east of the city.
Moving Up by neighborhood
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Ready to make your move with Merritt Kreutzer Real Estate?