WHAT SHOULD YOU DO FIRST, FIND A BUYER OR FIND A HOUSE TO BUY?

So… Today I am going to give you some advice on probably the most common ‘chicken or the egg’ question I get asked: ‘Should I find a suitable house to buy and THEN put my house on the market or secure a buyer first THEN start looking?’

The answer is very simple… SECURE A BUYER FOR YOUR PROPERTY FIRST (assuming you need to sell your current property to buy your next).

Hopefully you would have done your research by speaking to estate agents, browsing online and driving round some areas you wish to buy in before even deciding to sell to make sure your expectations are realistic (click here to read my blog ‘what are you trying to achieve?’) and by all means start viewing some potentially suitable houses to make sure what you will want to buy is realistic, but don’t get too emotional and try not to fall in love with a house until you have an offer on your property.

Why? I have listed just a few reasons below (as they say on the xfactor, in no particular order)

• If you are ‘proceedable’ (i.e. are able to proceed with the purchase if your offer is accepted), the reality is you will be taken more seriously by the seller and his/her estate agent
• If you fall in love with a house (because buying a house is an emotional decision, not mental), and then put your house on the market, it is unlikely the person selling your dream home will take it off the market and wait for you to sell. This increases the chances of you losing the house which will always increase the stress levels.
• Buyers are fairly easy to come by, finding a house you would happily call home less so
• With a buyer behind you, you are likely to be able to negotiate a better price rather than saying ‘I can pay X amount WHEN I have a buyer for my house and IF I get the price I am expecting’’
• Until you have an offer on your property (whether you’ve accepted it or not) you don’t REALLY know how much money you have available to spend on your next house.

So remember, find a buyer and then find a house to buy.

All the best,

p.s. Would you like more impartial advice? Head on over to my FREE eGuides page by clicking here.