Should You Sell First or Buy First When Moving Up in Vancouver or Burnaby?

For most families moving up in Vancouver and Burnaby, selling first is the lower-risk order. You know your budget before you shop, and you never carry two mortgages at once. Buying first makes sense when the next home is the hard one to find, or when you can carry both homes for a few months without strain. 

Do Bae Real Estate (eXp Realty) settles this question with each family before their home goes on the market, because the order shapes the offer you write and the dates in your contract.

When does selling first make sense?

• Most of your next down payment is the equity in your current home.
• Homes like yours are taking longer to sell than the homes you want to buy.

The trade-off is timing. You may need a short rental between homes, or you can ask your buyer for a later completion date when you accept their offer, which gives you time to find the next place.

When does buying first make sense?

• The next home is the scarce one: a certain school catchment, or a layout that rarely comes up.
• You can carry both homes for a while, or your lender has said yes to bridge financing.

The risk is carrying two homes if your sale takes longer than planned. Bridge financing covers the gap once your current home has a firm sale that hasn't completed yet, and lenders usually want that firm sale in place first. Your mortgage broker confirms what your lender will do before you write an offer.

Can you make your offer depend on selling your home?

Yes. An offer can be subject to the sale of your current home. In a busy market many sellers turn these down, or accept them with a time clause that lets them keep showing the home and ask you to remove the condition if another offer comes in. It works best on a home that has been on the market for a while.

How do you keep the dates from going wrong?

The dates are where moves go wrong: the completion date on your sale and the one on your purchase. Do keeps your lawyer and mortgage broker working to the same dates, so you aren't carrying two homes longer than you planned.

Do you have to sell your first home at all?

Not always. If the numbers work, your first home can become a rental and keep building wealth while you move up. Do runs those numbers next to what selling would leave you, and your accountant confirms the tax side. More on that here: Should You Keep Your First Home as a Rental When You Move Up?

Who can help you plan the order?

Do Bae is a Realtor with eXp Realty in Vancouver and Burnaby. He studied civil engineering at UBC and worked in project management before real estate, so he plans a move like a project, with the order and the numbers settled before anything is listed. Book a call to work out your order before you list. Service in English and Korean.