What's Working Now!

Welcome to the latest episode of “What’s Working Now!”

Recently, I helped my clients kill two birds with one stone by buying and selling a house at the same time.

No one wants to make an offer contingent on the sale of their home but in this case, that had to happen. Instead of going after a property already listed on the MLS and competing with non-contingent buyers, we set out to find an “Under the Radar” property that hadn’t yet hit the market.

One of my client’s friends pointed us towards a great home in a co-op building. We got the key, went to see it, and my clients loved it. There was no price or contact information for the owner, so we figured out our own price and contacted the daughter.

We sent her a contract and said, “Here is our offer. What do you want to do?” The daughter wanted nothing to do with the sale. We then got in touch with the seller’s attorney, negotiated the contract, and made the offer contingent on the sale of my client’s townhouse on Capitol Hill.

We advertised their home and found a buyer immediately; they will settle that sale next week.

Many people are uncertain about how to buy and sell a home at the same time. After all, you need to take the money from the sale of your current house to buy a new one. No seller wants to accept a contingent offer, so how can you do that in a competitive market where properties sell extremely quickly?

In a market like this, you shouldn’t focus on the homes already on the market. Instead, work with an agent who will go out and find a property that hasn’t been listed yet.

In this case, my clients were able to successfully make a contingent offer because the condo wasn’t on the market and the owners were not in any hurry to close the sale. My clients even got to move in a week before settlement, which is highly unusual and never happens when you buy a property that is officially on the market.

Ultimately, you need to find an agent who is not afraid to write a contingent contract and who is willing to dig up an “Under the Radar” property for you to purchase. That is truly the best way to kill two birds with one stone in this market.

Thanks for watching “What’s Working Now!” Next time, we’ll talk about how my buyers won in an unforgiving market that usually does not give buyers a second chance. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!