Most moves involve selling one home and buying another, and the fear of the gap, selling too soon, buying too late, sitting on two mortgages, is what keeps people stuck. This page is how we sequence both sides so the move works.
The biggest risk and how to manage it
The risk is ending up with two mortgages, or none. The fix is sequencing and options: sell first with a lease-back (renting your own home back from the buyer for days or weeks), buy first with bridge financing, or write a contingent offer on the new home.
Each structure has costs and trade-offs, and the right one depends on your equity, your lender and your market.
Sell first, buy second (the common path)
Selling first puts cash in hand and removes the contingency that sellers of your next home may dislike. A lease-back keeps you in the home after closing while the new place finishes, and the buyer gets a sold, rented-back home, which is a common and negotiable structure.
We model the lease-back terms before you list so the sale contract includes them cleanly.
Buy first, sell second (the bridge path)
If the right home appears before your current one sells, bridge financing or a home equity line can fund the gap. The cost is real, but so is the value of not losing the home you want.
We run the carrying-cost math honestly: two payments, taxes, insurance and utilities across the gap, then decide if the bridge is worth it.
Contingent offers, done carefully
A contingent offer says the new purchase depends on selling the current home. In a balanced or buyer-friendly market it can work; in a hot market it may lose to non-contingent buyers, so we often pair it with a strong pre-approval or a bridge plan.
Whatever the structure, both transactions get the same discipline: valuation on evidence, Walk-Away Number on the sell side, and a clear calendar on both.
Questions before the call
What is a lease-back?
You sell your home and rent it back from the buyer for an agreed period, usually days to a couple of months, while your new home is finalized. The lease terms, rent and dates are written into the sale contract.
How does bridge financing work?
A short-term loan against your current home's equity (or a HELOC) that funds the new purchase before the old one closes. Costs include interest and sometimes fees, and we model them against the value of holding the home you want.
Should I make my offer contingent on selling?
Only with a strategy. A contingency weakens your offer, so we weigh it against your timeline and the market, and often pair it with financing or bridge strength to protect your position.
Can I move twice to make this work?
Sometimes a short-term rental or moving pod makes the math cleaner than any contingency. We lay out every option with its cost, because the cheapest path is often the one nobody sells you.
Build the sale from your number
The guides map the path. The Walk-Away Number worksheet makes it real for your home, free and with no pressure.