Two Households Becoming One: Selling, Buying and Merging the Move
Two households becoming one, with the sale of one or both homes and the next purchase planned as one move.
What combining two households involves
Combining two households means two homes, two sets of belongings and often two mortgages becoming one home. It might mean selling both homes and buying a new one together. It might mean one person selling and moving into the other's home, or both selling to buy a larger one. Whatever the shape, there are two calendars to bring into one.
People in this position often say they do not want to move twice and do not want to pay for two houses. Both worries are about order and timing. A plan that sets which home sells when, and when the next one closes, removes most of the risk before anything is listed.
Map out your next move before you need to make it.
What changes when two people decide together
When two people decide together, the sale has two sets of opinions about price, preparation and timing. I show both of you the same numbers, so the conversation stays about the market and not about who is right.
Money is the other change. A lender who looks at a purchase made by two people will look at both of them, and what each structure looks like depends on your finances. I connect you with a local lender before any offer goes out, so you know what each option looks like before you commit.
What I settle first
In the first conversation, I work through five questions with you:
- Whether one home or both will be sold, and in what order.
- What the next home needs, and what you want it to cost each month.
- When each of you needs to be out of your current home.
- How you plan to finance the purchase, and what a lender will need from each of you.
- What each of you wants to keep, and what you are comfortable letting go.
I write the answers into one plan that follows the steps on my selling process page.
Two timelines, one closing calendar
The hardest part is usually that two homes do not sell on the same day. I plan around two strategies, selling first or buying first, and I show you what each one asks of both of your finances before you decide. If one of you owns a home outright and the other does not, the answer can be different from what you expect.
How the next home is owned, and what that means for each of you, is a question for your attorney, and I work from whatever you decide together. A lender decides what you can carry, and my approach to buying starts there.
Making a smaller space out of two full homes
Two households usually bring two kitchens' worth of belongings. Clearing the homes you are leaving is its own project, and it goes better when the schedule is built around the listing date. I help you decide what stays, what goes and who you need to hire, so the clearing does not hold up either sale. Downsizing covers how that works when you are moving to less space.
If one of you is selling a home you have owned for years, what your home is worth shows how I build the number before you decide what to do.
Combining households 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 you are asking what to do first, start with a conversation about where you are trying to go. Talk with me about your move, and I will lay out the order that fits both of your timelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do both homes have to be sold?
Not necessarily. Some people sell one and move into the other, and some sell both to buy a larger home. I run the numbers for each option before you decide.
What if one person owns a home and the other rents?
The plan changes, and it is usually simpler. I work through what each of you needs from the move and build the plan from there.
Can the new home be bought before the current homes sell?
It depends on your finances and what a lender will approve. I plan around two strategies, selling first or buying first, and show you what each one asks of you before you decide.
Who should be on the title of the new home?
Who is on the title is a question for your attorney, and I work from whatever you decide together.
Two Becoming One by neighborhood
Keep exploring
Ready to make your move with Merritt Kreutzer Real Estate?