When someone is selling a home, they are frequently going to buy a home. It would certainly be nice if the world of real estate allowed these two transactions to easily occur on the same day, but most often this is simply not the case. In fact, creating a reasonable harmony between the two events can be time consuming and difficult. There are no universal answers – no special tricks to make it all happen perfectly. There are, however, some helpful things to keep in mind if your real estate experience calls for both selling and buying.

Most sellers are not in a financial position to move into a new home, until their present home is sold, and has closed. It is not until the closing that the seller fully realizes his previous investment, and has funds to direct at the new home.

Only on the very rarest of occasions can you find a home or property for sale by someone who is amenable to accepting a contingent offer – dependent on the sale of the potential buyer's current home. Sellers, almost universally, prefer to leave their home on the market, 'gambling' that their property will sell first. This is a very understandable posture, all things taken into account. [For simplicity of discussion, let's say you are selling home A, and are going to buy home B.] The seller of B does not control anything to do with the time it will take to sell A. In fact, the agent or agency selling A might not be very proficient; the market for A may be down; the price of A may be too high; and so on, and so on. Further, if a contingency deal is made, and it has a time limit, selling A may not yield the highest possible return on the initial investment. Frequently, selling a home for the maximum yield takes a little extra time, and the pressure of a time limit could be excessively detrimental to the bottom line. As you can readily see, contingency real estate arrangements carry a high probability for negative aspects to both parties involved.

Generally speaking, the best approach to this dilemma is to get A sold before buying B. Your RealEstate.com agent will gladly review your individual situation, and render an opinion based on your specific financial situation, and all of the pertinent real estate market factors. The real estate market in Tucson moves very quickly, and the unique circumstances created by the market's dynamic sometimes afford approaches and solutions that would not otherwise be practical. One problem with buying before selling is having to make dual house payments. Many buyers overlook this, thinking only about coming up with the necessary deposit. Almost surely, you are better off renting briefly than making two house payments.

While A is on the market, B can certainly be looked for. And if B is to be a newly constructed home, this is a good time to really consider and review possible upgrades. It's also a good time to cruise neighborhoods, and the areas surrounding neighborhoods. At RealEstate.com, REALTORS® we try to get buyers to spend some time driving around the neighborhood they are interested in moving into. There's a lot of construction going on in the Tucson area, especially in the northwest. The clearing of land for a new mall or housing development or apartment complex can greatly affect the direction the area is going to take. Such area changes will affect numerous things, not the least of which will be your anticipated investment.

Window shopping is different from buying in really just one respect: you are not in position to make an offer for B – unless you are going to try to get the seller of B to agree to a contingency arrangement of sale. As mentioned earlier, the probability of this occurring is slight, indeed. By the way, when you're window shopping for a new home, pick up the flyer for the home, and make notes. It always seems to buyers that they will remember which house is which, but by the third one, almost all buyers become (quite understandably) confused about which house had which feature, or which downside. Further, your final decision may well come down to some minute point or two – and it's good to have notes so that you're sure about everything.

If you're going to buy a resale property, you can relatively easily negotiate a longer escrow period than if you are buying a newly built home. This is one of the elements to consider in the decision making equation. Another option to create often needed time is to lease back your newly sold home for 30-60 days. Many new owners are agreeable with this arrangement.

Finally, some buyers want to have their own, custom built new home. This is to say that they want to have a home of their own design constructed from start. This is quite different from buying an almost completed home that is merely awaiting new owner selected option decisions and upgrades. If you're having your dream home built from foundation on up, the completion date will almost surely be later than expected – which can cause difficulty with the timing of selling your current home. New homes are most often delayed by things which are beyond the builder's or developer's control. These include material shortages, weather, and labor strikes. Also there are potential problems with discontinued items, items that are received broken or damaged, such as doors, special tiles, cabinets, and windows.

One final consideration that needs to be mentioned is the "personal factor." If you attempt to both buy and sell simultaneously, there is a great potential for stress. Any additional stress during either transaction is certainly not good. There is usually enough inherent stress in simply completing either transaction successfully. But when you add stress to both situations, the results can be quite negative. To keep your real estate experience as positive as possible, be sure to consider all the necessary factors before deciding to attempt to both buy and sell homes at the same time.

Remember to contact your RealEstate.com, REALTOR® agent for any input or advice about your real estate transactions. A large part of being a member of the RealEstate.com, REALTOR® Team is constant study of the real estate market in Tucson. And since RealEstate.com, REALTORS® takes the team approach to providing real estate services, you'll get the benefit of a vast pool of knowledge, and decades of experience. Call toll free anytime 1-866-797-1771.