When you’re trying to buy a new home and sell your current one at the same time, things can get complicated as far as timing. If you find a home to buy but haven’t found a buyer for your current home yet, you’ll need to make a contingent offer.
What are contingent offers for homebuyers? These refer to offers that hinge on the buyer being able to sell their home. In other words, you’re telling the seller that you’ll only be able to buy their home if you can sell yours. When you make a contingent offer, the seller can accept, but they might also give you notice of a first right-of-refusal if they get another offer on the home while waiting for you to sell yours. The first right-of-refusal provides you with a certain amount of time, ranging from 24 hours to several days, to remove the sale contingency on your offer. If you decide not to remove it, the seller can refuse your offer in favor of the other one they’ve received.
If you really don’t want to lose the home to the other interested buyer, you have some options for coming up with the money you need. These include:
- Tapping into a home equity line of credit. If you have one of these set up already, you can transfer funds from it or write out a check.
- Asking family for funds. You can ask family members for enough money to cover the cost of the downpayment.
- Get a higher mortgage amount. Make a lower downpayment, but keep in mind that this results in a higher loan amount and higher interest rates.
Need more information on contingent offers for homebuyers?
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