Selling and Buying a House at the Same Time in Colorado: The Four Sequences, Priced

The short answer

The sequence is decided by three facts: whether your equity is the down payment, whether the house you want will wait, and how much upheaval the household takes. A buyer with a baby due in March and a 4-bedroom under contract buys first. A buyer with no rush and a hot listing sells first. The numbers behind both start with the Smart Pricing Report on home valuation and the pre-approval on mortgage pre-approval.

Where the money goes

The proceeds are not the equity: 8 percent of the price leaves at the sale closing for commissions, the buyer's title policy, the state documentary fee, prorated taxes and repairs. What is left pays off the old loan, and the remainder is wired to the purchase closing as the down payment. On this home, $102,000 is left after a 20 percent down payment on the next one, which is the reserve the lender wants to see and the money for the move. The equity side alone is on home equity.

The four sequences, priced

The same-day double closing

1. Three weeks out: both contracts carry the same closing date, the purchase contract says it closes only if the sale closes, and one title company handles both files.
2. One week out: the buyer's lender clears to close on your sale; your lender clears to close on the purchase. Movers booked for the next morning.
3. 9:00: sign the sale. 11:00: the buyer's lender funds and the sale records. 13:00: proceeds wire to the purchase file. 14:00: sign the purchase; your lender funds. 16:00: keys.
4. The night in between: a one-night rent-back on the old home written into the sale contract, so the truck loads the next morning.

The rules that break the timeline

• A rent-back past 60 days. The buyer's conventional lender treats the home as a rental. Plan 60 or plan a short rental.
• A new equity line after listing. Open it first; lenders decline a line on a listed home.
• Two payments in the ratio. Until your sale is under contract with contingencies cleared, your lender counts the old payment too.
• The appraisal on the sale side. A low appraisal on your buyer's loan cuts your proceeds and your down payment the same week. Price from the report, not from the portal.
• Wire timing. Proceeds wire after recording; a 3:00 sale closing cannot fund a 4:00 purchase. Morning sale, afternoon purchase.

Who is selling and buying at once

Questions people ask about selling and buying at the same time

Can you sell and buy a house at the same time?

Yes, and in Colorado it happens as a same-day double closing: the sale signs in the morning, the title company wires your proceeds to the afternoon purchase, and you get both sets of keys the same day. The purchase contract carries a clause that it closes only if the sale closes. How the contracts are written is on making an offer on a Colorado home.

What happens when you sell a house and buy another?

The sale pays off your old loan and the costs, the rest wires to the next closing as your down payment, and anything above the down payment lands in your account. On a $600,000 sale with a $300,000 loan that is $252,000 of proceeds, $150,000 of it the down payment on a $750,000 home. The equity math is on home equity.

Should I sell first or buy first?

Sell first when your equity is the down payment and you can live with a 60-day rent-back or a short rental. Buy first when you have an equity line or a bridge loan and the house you want will not wait. The buy-first money is on bridge loans in Colorado; the whole decision is on buying a bigger home in Colorado.

Do I pay taxes when I sell my house and buy another?

Not on the first $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing together, when you lived in the home two of the last five years. The gain is the sale price minus what you paid and what you put into it, not the proceeds. Buying another home does not change the exclusion; the old rollover rule ended in 1997.

How much equity do I have in my home?

Today's value minus every loan on it, and the value comes from the last 90 days of sales within a mile. Get it on home valuation, or by city: Parker, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Aurora, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs.

What is a rent-back and how long can I stay?

You close the sale and rent your own home back from the buyer, up to 60 days when the buyer has a conventional loan, at a daily rate tied to the buyer's payment. It costs about $5,500 for two months on a $600,000 home and it removes the double move. It is written into the sale contract before you accept the offer.

Can I make my purchase contingent on selling my home?

Yes. A home-sale contingency says the purchase closes only when your sale closes. On a listing that has sat 30 days or more it costs you nothing; on a fresh listing with other offers it loses to a clean offer, so we pair it with a kick-out clause and a 48-hour response. The structure is on making an offer.

Signs you need a bigger house: when is it time?

A bedroom doing two jobs, a dining table that is also the office, a garage you cannot park in, and a parent or a baby on the way. The bigger-home search by bedroom count: Aurora 4-bedroom homes, Denver 5-bedroom homes, Colorado Springs 5-bedroom homes, Arvada 5-bedroom homes, Littleton 6-bedroom homes, Fort Collins 6-bedroom homes.

Can I get a mortgage while on parental leave?

Yes. Lenders count your regular salary during leave when the employer confirms your return date and the leave income plus savings cover the payments until then. Timing the move before the due date is the reason buyers go buy-first; the timeline is on bridge loans in Colorado.

How much more house can I afford than the one I have?

Take your current payment, add the equity you walk away with as the new down payment, and run the new price at today's rate. A $300,000 loan at 3 percent becoming a $600,000 loan at 7 percent raises the payment from $1,265 to $3,992; the numbers are on the mortgage calculator and Can I afford a home now?.

My house is not selling. What do I do about the purchase?

Price it from the last 30 days of sales, not the last 90, and ask the seller of the new home for a 30-day extension in exchange for a larger earnest deposit. If it still sits, a cash offer closes in 10 days: Denver cash home buyers. Why Colorado homes sit is on why a Colorado house is not selling.

What are the closing costs on each side?

Selling: commissions, title insurance for the buyer, the state documentary fee, prorated taxes and HOA, about 8 percent all in. Buying: lender fees, title, prepaid taxes and insurance, 2 to 3 percent, and the seller of the new home pays some of it when you ask. Both lists are on closing costs in Colorado and what follows the contract on after your offer is accepted.