Selling and Buying at the Same Time: A Plain-Words Guide for Your Next Home
How to know your numbers, which comes first, and how to line up two moves as one plan, one step at a time.
Two Moves, One Plan
Most people ask the same two questions. What if we sell and have nowhere to go? What if we buy and our home doesn't sell in time?
Those questions have real answers, and they depend on your numbers. This guide puts the steps in order, in plain words. It comes from Mike and Claudia Webb of The Mike Webb Team, with RE/MAX Allegiance. We have more than 34 years in real estate, and we treat your sale and your purchase as one plan.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. A lender, a Virginia attorney and a CPA can tell you what applies to you.
Call or Text 703-350-3884
Step 1: Know Your Numbers
Start with the home you own.
- What could it sell for? We can walk through it with you. There's no cost and no obligation.
- What do you owe? Ask your lender for a payoff amount, including any home equity line. Your payoff is usually a little more than your statement balance.
- What would you have after the sale? That's the sale price, minus your payoff and your costs to sell. Virginia's grantor tax is one of those costs, 50 cents for each $500 of the price, paid by the seller unless you and the buyer arrange otherwise. Your settlement company's estimate will show every tax and fee.
Then talk with a lender about the next home. A preapproval letter says a lender is tentatively willing to lend you a set amount. It isn't a guaranteed loan, it may expire, often in 30 to 60 days, and it doesn't commit you to that lender.
Ask this question directly: "Will my current payment count against me?" Under Fannie Mae's rules, if your home will still be yours when you close on the next one, the lender generally counts both payments. There's an exception when your home has a signed sales contract and the buyer's financing contingencies are cleared. Not every loan follows these rules, so ask yours.
Step 2: Pick Your Path
There's no one right order. We decide case by case, based on your numbers.
Buy first, then sell. You find the right home, move in, and then we sell the one you left. You may need money for the down payment before your sale. Ask a lender about:
- A bridge loan. It's short-term money for the gap. Fannie Mae generally counts it as debt when you qualify.
- A home equity line of credit. You borrow against your current home as you need it. The CFPB says your home is the collateral, so you could lose it if you can't repay. The line generally has to be paid off when you sell.
- A smaller down payment, then a recast. You put more toward the loan after your home sells and ask the lender to lower the payment. Not every loan allows this, so ask first.
Sell first, then buy. You know exactly what you have to spend. You may need a short-term place to live in between.
Do both at the same time. We work on both sales so they line up. Two contract terms can help, and either one needs the other side to agree in writing:
- A sale contingency. Your offer depends on your current home selling. In the standard Northern Virginia contract, your purchase doesn't depend on selling another home unless a written contingency says so. A seller can say no.
- Staying after settlement. You sell your home and stay for a short time by written agreement with your buyer.
Step 3: Get Your Current Home Ready
If you're selling a condo or townhouse and buying a detached home, you may be in two different markets. In September 2026, NVAR reported condo and townhouse listings up 49.7% from a year earlier across its Northern Virginia region, while detached listings rose 5.7%. That region does not include Loudoun or Prince William.
That can mean selling where buyers have more choices and buying where you have fewer. On the selling side, how your home is priced and how it shows matter. On the buying side, having your financing ready lets you act when the right home appears.
Getting it ready. Every seller who lists with us gets The White Glove Home Sale Method at no additional cost, whatever the price or type of home. It covers painting and repairs, physical staging, deep cleaning, carpet and window cleaning, caulking, power washing, landscaping, removing unwanted items and furniture, and taking donations to the charity you choose.
Bigger projects. If the home needs new flooring, a new kitchen or other big-ticket work, ask us about Concierge Services: renovate now, pay at closing.
As it is. Sometimes that's the right choice, especially when time is short. We can show you what the home could sell for prepared and what it might sell for as it is, and you decide. Either way, we list it, market it and handle the sale.
Step 4: Buy the Next Home
Sign a buyer agreement first. Virginia law requires a written agreement before an agent shows you homes. It must state the fee, how and when it's paid, the services you get and an end date. If no end date is written in, it ends after 90 days. Pay is negotiable and not set by law.
Check the home yourself. Virginia's disclosure statement tells buyers the owner makes no promises about the home's condition, and advises buyers to do their own checking, including a home inspection.
Buying into a condo or HOA? You get a resale certificate with the rules, the budget and the fees. Virginia law gives you time to cancel after you receive it: whatever your contract says, or three days if it doesn't say.
Step 5: Line Up the Two Closings
- Set both settlement dates with your lender and settlement company, so the money from one sale is ready for the other.
- By law, you must get your Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Compare it with your Loan Estimate.
- Before you wire money, call to confirm the instructions using a number you saved earlier. Never follow instructions in an email.
Step 6: Know the Tax Basics
The IRS lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain on your main home, or up to $500,000 on a joint return, if you meet its tests. In general, you must have owned and lived in the home for at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale. You generally can't use the exclusion if you used it on another home in the 2 years before. Buying another home isn't one of the tests.
Ask a CPA before you list, especially if you plan to rent the home out for a while instead of selling.
When You're Ready to Talk
Tell us what you own, what you want next and any date you're working around. We'll help you map out both moves. Nothing happens without your say.
Have a question, even an early one? Call or text us at 703-350-3884. If your next home is somewhere we are not licensed, we can connect you with a trusted agent there.
Mike and Claudia Webb
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