I’ve heard this phrase more times than I can count in my 20+ year real estate career and it typically happens when I sit with a seller client to discus the market value of their home. Of course they want to get the MOST money for their home and SELL HIGH… who wouldn’t?? But then we start the discussion about their new home, and they want to BUY LOW… so, the question is, how do we do this?
There are 3 key components to success, and I will detail them below:
What you are selling?
I will use the Lethbridge real estate market in my examples. The ideal scenario is to sell a home in a “segment” of the market that is UNDER supplied (not enough homes available for the amount of people wanting to buy that type of home). In Lethbridge right now, this would be a single, detached home with 3 or more bedrooms, 2 or more bathrooms, built in 1940 or later and under $350,000 (at time of writing, there are 10 homes for sale that meet all this criteria, 2 are pending offers and 3 have issues that require a savvy buyer). In addition to owning a home in a desired “pocket” of the market, you need to be READY to sell (i.e. home is photo ready, deferred maintenance issues taken care of) and you need to have a mortgage PRE-APPROVAL in hand so you are ready to move forward on your next home purchase!
What do you want to buy?
If you are looking to move into the same market/same style of home/price range that you are currently in, buy low and sell high is likely not in your furture. For this to work, you need to:
a) Buy a home in a market segment that is “oversupplied” (more homes availble than buyers wiling or able to buy them) or;
b)be in a DOMINANT position to buy a home (cash in hand, able to purchase with no conditions, no home to sell, able to be flexible with moving dates)
The ideal scneario in TODAY’S market is to purchase that MOVE UP DREAM HOME in the $500,000+ range (currently 154 homes available ranging from modest comfort to show stopping forever homes!!)
Who’s working for you?
And I don’t just mean your REALTOR! Do you have rockstar team that includes a home inspector, mortgage broker, contractor, lawyer, insurance agent and all the other professionals that make for a seamless home purchase (and FYI, a great real estate agent like myself can connect you with all those professionals in Lethbridge). And back to the real estate agent… here’s the mistake I see people make ALL THE TIME. If you are working with 15 realtors, private sellers and your uncles cousins brothers… you get it…. then don’t expect a GREAT real estate agent to dedicate 100% of their time, resources and knowledge to your success! It’s a 2 way street and loyalty matters :)
So the answer is yes, you can BUY LOW and SELL HIGH (and I have past clients who will testify that I have helped them do this). I would be happy to sit down with you and talk about if this is possible for you and how we can make it happen!
I will end with a a fitting real estate quote:
“If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree.” – Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker
If you are not happy in your current home and are looking to find a better fit while also making a wise financial decision, please call me at (587)220-1233 and let’s make this happen!
Liz