Selling and Buying at the Same Time in Clarksville Without Two Mortgages

When someone in Clarksville is selling their home to buy the next one, the fear I hear every time is getting stuck with two mortgages. Sell first and you might have nowhere to go. Buy first and you might be paying for two houses. It's a fair thing to be afraid of, and it's avoidable.

I'm Keri Gilles with Keri Gilles, REALTOR®. Here's the order I use, and why it works.

My first suggestion is always to put your current home on the market before you start shopping. It feels backward, but it works in your favor. A listing agent is much more likely to accept an offer that depends on selling your home when your home is already on the market. So we get it listed, and then we look. You can see how I list a home in how I sell a home.

Say an offer comes in on your home before we've found your next one. My counteroffer makes that sale contingent on you finding and closing on a new home, so you're never forced out with nowhere to go.

Then, when we find the house you want, we put it under contract contingent on selling your current home. Now you're protected all the way around. You won't close on the new house unless the old one sells, and you won't hand over the old one until you have somewhere to go.

Here's where experience matters. Often your buyer is selling a home too, and their buyer might be as well. I call it the domino effect, and it takes a level head to hold it together.

I had a seller who was selling his home and buying another. His buyers were selling a house in California, and that sale hit a problem, so we needed an extension on the home my client was buying. That listing agent said they wanted a non-refundable deposit before they'd sign the extension.

I said no. It was out of my client's control, and there were four different parties in the chain. If that was their position, we'd withdraw from the contract and find another house. The listing agent came back with, "Oh no, it's fine. We'll work it out." Knowing when someone is trying to strong-arm your client, and being willing to call it, is part of the job.

If you're trading up for amenities, Hickory Wild has a pool, clubhouse and fitness center. For land, Wofford Estates puts newer homes on an acre or more. For a newer home closer to the Nashville route, look at Wellington Fields. Going the other direction, to something smaller? The same contingencies work for downsizing in Clarksville.

Start with what your Clarksville home is worth and trading up in Clarksville, then tell me about your move. We'll lay out your steps in order.