Signature Solution
Make a Non-Contingent Offer Without Selling First.
The classic move-up trap: you cannot buy until you sell, and you cannot sell until you know where you are going. Buy Before You Sell breaks the loop by letting you make a strong, non-contingent offer on the next house first.
Buy Before You Sell: What You Need to Know
A home sale contingency is the weakest thing you can attach to an offer. When a seller compares your contingent offer against a clean one at the same price, yours loses — every time. Buy Before You Sell removes the contingency, so you shop with the strength of a cash-like buyer, move once, and sell your current home empty and staged instead of scrambling.
Who This Is For
- Move-up buyers with substantial equity in a home they need to sell
- Families who cannot manage a double move or a temporary rental with kids and pets
- Buyers relocating into Texas on a compressed timeline
- Anyone competing in a market where contingent offers are routinely passed over
- Downsizers who want to secure the right smaller home before listing the family house
The Problem
Why Contingent Offers Lose
A home sale contingency tells the seller that your ability to close depends on a transaction that has not happened yet, with a buyer who does not exist yet, on a house they have never seen. From their side, it is not an offer — it is an option.
So when two offers land at the same price and one has a contingency, the contingent one loses. Sellers will frequently take less money for more certainty, which means your contingency is costing you real negotiating power, not just convenience.
The alternative most families fall into is selling first, moving into a rental, and moving again months later. Two moves, a lease, storage, and shopping under a deadline — all to avoid one contingency.
What Sellers Actually Rank
- 1 Certainty that the deal will close
- 2 Closing timeline that matches their move
- 3 Price
- 4 Concessions and repair requests
- 5 Everything else
Notice that price is third. Remove the contingency and you are competing on the two things that outrank it.
How It Works
Your Buy Before You Sell Roadmap
No mystery steps, no waiting a week to hear back. Here is exactly how the process runs from first call to closing table.
- 1
Evaluate both properties
We look at your current home’s value and mortgage balance alongside your target purchase price to confirm the equity math works and determine your program options.
- 2
Get your approval and offer strength in place
You receive an underwritten approval that lets your agent write a non-contingent offer. Your agent can show the listing side documentation that supports your certainty of closing.
- 3
Close on the new home and move
You purchase and take possession of the new home. Your current home’s equity is bridged so the down payment does not require you to have sold first.
- 4
List, sell, and settle up
With your family already moved, the old home hits the market empty. When it sells, the bridged amount is repaid from the proceeds and the transaction closes out.
Key Benefits
Why Borrowers Choose This Program
Your offer competes on equal footing
Listing agents rank offers by certainty. Removing the sale contingency moves you from the bottom of the pile to the top, often without raising your price.
Move once, not twice
You close on the new home, move in, then list and sell. No interim rental, no storage unit, no two moves in ninety days.
Sell from a position of strength
An empty, staged, professionally photographed home shows better and negotiates better than one you are living in while fielding showing requests. Sellers who are not under pressure make better decisions.
Your equity unlocked early
The program lets you access the equity in your current home for the down payment on the new one before that home has actually sold.
Contingent vs. Non-Contingent
The Same Buyer, Two Very Different Offers
| Factor | Contingent Offer | Non-Contingent Offer |
|---|---|---|
| How the listing agent ranks it | Bottom of the stack | Competitive with cash |
| Negotiating leverage | Minimal — you often pay full price and still lose | Strong, including on price and repairs |
| Number of moves | Two, if you sell first | One |
| Interim housing | Rental or family, often for months | None |
| Selling your current home | Occupied, staged around your life, under time pressure | Empty, staged, and shown without pressure |
| Risk of losing the house you want | High in any competitive market | Low |
Eligibility & Costs
- Equity required in current home
- Typically 25%–30% or more
- Credit score
- Generally 680 and above
- Property types
- Most single-family and townhome purchases
- Bridge period
- Commonly up to 6 months
- Program fee
- Disclosed in writing before you make an offer
- Carrying cost
- Short-term, tied to how long the bridge stays outstanding
Start before you tour, not after
The most common mistake is calling about this after finding the perfect house. Approval moves quickly, but you want it in hand before your agent writes anything, so the offer goes out clean on day one.
Program terms, fees, and eligibility vary by structure and are disclosed in writing before you commit. This is not a commitment to lend, and all financing is subject to underwriting approval.
At a Glance
The Numbers, Plainly
Guidelines shown are general and current as of publication. Program availability varies by state, property, and borrower eligibility, and all loans are subject to full underwriting approval.
- Contingency required
- None — offers are written without a home sale contingency
- Equity needed in current home
- Typically 25%–30% or more
- Typical credit score
- 680+
- Bridge period
- Usually up to 6 months
- Cost structure
- Program fee plus short-term carrying cost; disclosed in writing up front
- Moves required
- One
Myths & Misconceptions
Things People Believe That Cost Them Money
You have to qualify for both mortgage payments.
Depending on program structure, the departing residence payment may be excluded or offset, which is exactly what makes this work for households that could not carry both on paper.
It is only for wealthy buyers.
What it requires is equity, not a large income. Homeowners who bought five or more years ago in Central Texas frequently have more than enough.
It costs so much that it wipes out the benefit.
There is a real cost and I disclose it in writing before you commit. Weigh it against what you lose by making a contingent offer that gets rejected, or by selling first and paying rent plus two moves.
Client Experience
“The best mortgage experience we have ever had.”
Move-Up Buyer
Georgetown, TX
Testimonials reflect individual experiences. Results vary and are not a guarantee of future outcomes.
Not sure this is your program?
That is what the free strategy call is for. Twenty minutes, no obligation, and you leave knowing which financing path actually fits your situation.
Book a Free Strategy CallQuestions
Buy Before You Sell FAQs
Generally 25% to 30% or more, though it depends on both property values and the specific program. The fastest way to find out is a ten-minute call where we look at your balance and an honest estimate of your home’s value.
Programs include a defined bridge period, typically up to six months. We talk through the contingency plan and the carrying cost before you commit, so a slow sale is an inconvenience rather than a crisis.
There is a program fee and short-term carrying cost that varies by structure and by how long the bridge stays outstanding. You get the numbers in writing before you make an offer — no surprises at closing.
It is a modern version of the same idea, with less friction. Traditional bridge loans often required qualifying for both payments and carried heavy costs. These programs are structured specifically around removing the sale contingency.
Approval typically moves at the same pace as a standard preapproval — often within a couple of days once documents are in. The right time to start is before you tour homes, not after you have found the one.
Let’s Solve Your Mortgage Situation.
Apply online in about 12 minutes, or grab a free 20-minute strategy call. Either way, you’ll leave knowing more than you do right now.