Buying and selling at the same time in Seattle: five ways to do it

5 min read · 8 sections
By Henos Adhana · Licensed WA Real Estate Broker #25016434 · eXp Realty

There are five ways to do it: sell first and rent back, sell and rent, buy with an offer that depends on your sale, buy first and carry both homes, or borrow against your current home first. Each trades certainty against convenience. In Washington a contingent offer usually lets the seller keep marketing and bump you if a better offer comes in, so it works best when your own home is priced to sell.

Start with your numbers, not the houses#

The right order depends on three things: how much equity you have, whether your income can carry two housing payments for a while, and how much uncertainty you can live with. Most people know the first, guess at the second and underestimate the third.

So the first conversation is with a lender, before either house. Ask what you qualify for with your current mortgage still in place, and what changes once it is paid off. The answer usually rules out one or two of the five options on its own.

1. Sell first, and ask for a rent-back#

You sell, close, and stay in the house for a few weeks afterwards as the buyer's tenant while you buy the next one. You know exactly what you have to spend, and you move once.

The risk is that the buyer says no, so it belongs in the negotiation from the start rather than tacked on at the end. Put the terms in writing: how long, what you pay, any deposit, who insures what, and the condition you hand the house back in. Buyers using an owner-occupant loan have to move in within a set period after closing, so a long rent-back needs their lender on board.

2. Sell, rent, then buy#

You move twice and pay for a rental in between. In exchange you buy with the money in hand and no deadline, which is the strongest position a buyer can be in, and you can wait for the right house instead of the available one.

3. Buy with an offer that depends on your sale#

This is the contingent offer, and in Washington it is usually written on NWMLS Form 22B. You commit to getting your own home on the market within a set time, and the purchase only goes ahead if it sells.

Sellers accept these reluctantly, and the form gives them a way to protect themselves. The seller can keep marketing the house, and if another acceptable offer arrives, give you notice. You then have a short window, set in the form, to remove the contingency and carry on, or step aside and get your earnest money back. That is the bump. The exact days are in the form, and I go through them with you before you sign.

How to make a contingent offer stronger: list your own home first and price it to sell, or better still get it under contract before you offer, so the seller is waiting on a closing rather than a buyer. Offer a larger deposit, a shorter timeline or flexibility on the closing date. In a slower market, more sellers will consider a contingent offer, especially on a home that has already been listed for a while. On a brand-new listing with interest, it rarely wins.

4. Buy first, then sell#

You buy the next home with a normal offer, move, and then sell the old one without anyone waiting on you. It is the calmest version, and the most expensive to carry. You need to qualify with both payments, and you need the cash for the down payment without the sale proceeds.

It also puts you on the market's timetable. If the old house takes longer to sell than you planned, you are paying for both until it does. The guide to how long a Seattle sale takes is worth reading before you choose this one.

5. Borrow against your current home first#

A home equity line or a bridge loan can release money for the next down payment before you sell. They work differently. A home equity line is cheaper and flexible, but it counts against what you can borrow for the next home, and most lenders will not open one on a house that is already listed, so it has to come first. A bridge loan is built for this, and costs more for it.

There are also companies that will buy your next home for you, or guarantee your sale, for a fee. Some are good. Compare the fee in writing against the other four options before you sign up.

Either way, this is a conversation with a lender before it is one with me.

Timing the two closings#

When the sale and the purchase run together, the sale usually closes first, the same day or a few days before the purchase, so its proceeds can fund the new down payment. Your two escrow officers talk to each other, and I keep both calendars in one place.

Leave a buffer. A rent-back on the sale, or a flexible possession date on the purchase, turns a same-day scramble into a move you can plan. And when money moves between the two closings, confirm every set of wiring instructions by phone with escrow, never by email.

Common questions#