If you’re looking to buy a larger house, you need to sell your old home. But, which should come first? Should you buy the home and then sell or should you sell your old property first and then buy your new home?
It’s an interesting question, and both options have advantages and disadvantages that we are going to discuss below.
The first option is to house hunt, find your new dream home, put down an offer and then quickly hurry to sell your old home. Selling your home is usually crucial to ensure that you have the money you need to pay the more substantial deposit for the new property.
Unfortunately, this can lead to many issues. Since buyers are in such a rush to sell their old home, they often accept offers that are a great deal less than what their home is worth. This leads to a domino effect because the money they get for their home is not enough to pay for the new property.
To avoid this, you need to make sure that purchasing your new property is conditional on you selling the old one. That way, you won’t get trapped in the middle which can be an expensive prospect.
There are a few advantages of buying your home before you sell. You can get the high ground through negotiating with possible buyers and a great opportunity to formulate deals with vendors. Since you have a place to stay, you will also be able to avoid renting while looking for your new home.
You have to be aware of two issues when buying first. You need to keep an eye on home prices and make sure that you don’t miss out on the chance to sell your home for the price you want.
Secondly, you need to keep a check on the market. Is the market slow? In 2017, the answer has been yes, but it is on the road to recovery. As such if you buy your new home you could still be stuck with the old one for a while.
A cautious homebuyer will sell their property first and then move on to looking for a new property. Although, this can take some time it’s not the ideal option if you need to move quickly.
It does, however, allow you to know exactly how much money you can spend on your new home and get a negotiating advantage because you can secure the quick sale home sellers love.
Of course, there are a few disadvantages. Firstly, you may have to take out a loan, and it can be quite expensive to go down this route. Also, you have to watch out for the mortgage. If you can’t pay it off before you sell, you could be in trouble.
Ultimately though, you do need to keep a check on the market when deciding which route to take. So, what’s the home market like in Dubai right now?
According to agents, the property market is hot right now with 6000 homes sold in the first half of the year, a 6% gain. The market is no longer stagnant. House prices are low right now too, and it might be better to sell before you have purchased in a buyers market.
Furthermore, it’s cheaper to buy than to rent in Dubai right now. By keeping your home until you find a new property, you can avoid the expense of renting a place while searching for a new property.
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