For move-up buyers & downsizers
Buy first or sell first?
Four ways to handle your current home, and when each one makes sense.
If you already own a home, the order you sell and buy in matters as much as the price. Here are the four options Sean and Peter walk move-up buyers and downsizers through.
| Approach | Upside | Watch out for | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell first | You know exactly what you have to spend, and your purchase offer can be free of a sale condition. | You may need a longer completion, a rent-back or short-term rental if the right home is not ready. | Stable or rising prices, or when certainty matters most |
| List and shop together | Keeps momentum; you can write a clean offer the day your sale firms up. | Timing is tight; you need both scenarios pre-approved in advance. | Balanced markets with steady sales |
| Buy first, bridge the gap | Win the home you want without a sale condition. | Needs strong equity and income; risk of carrying two homes if your sale is slow. | When the right home is rare, like waterfront or a specific building |
| Offer subject to sale | No risk of owning two homes. | Weaker negotiating position, time clauses, often a higher price. | Slow markets, or unique homes that have sat for a while |
Start with two pre-approvals, not one
Ask Peter to run your numbers both ways: as if your current home has sold, and as if you have to carry it for a few months. That tells you whether bridge financing is realistic and how much room you really have, before you are standing in a kitchen you love.
Price your current home to actually sell
An overpriced listing is the most common reason a subject-to-sale offer fails. Sean's free home valuation uses recent North Okanagan sales, not wishful thinking.