It’s a common predicament: you need to sell your home and at the same time buy and move into another, possibly off Staten Island.  Since it’s not likely that you’ll close on both homes in the same day, how do you proceed?  Buy first or sell first?  It’s a classic chicken or the egg scenario.

If you sell first, you’re pressured to move, perhaps into temporary quarters.  But if you face something like job relocation, there may be little choice.  If you buy first, you might be paying two mortgages for some time.  But if you can’t afford two payments, you’ll probably have to sell first to qualify for a loan.  What a headache!

There’s a beast called a “contingency contract,” wherein you make an offer on a home that is “contingent” upon selling you current home.  Experience has shown, however, that sellers will not be enthused by such an offer.  Why should they take their home off the market while waiting for the possible sale of your home?

The best bet is to go ahead and list your home for sale as soon as possible and start looking at other homes.  When your home is under contract, get your loan pre-approval and choose from the houses you’ve already selected as your top three.  Then make your offer and make you plans to start moving!