How to Coordinate Selling your Santa Cruz Home &
Buying a New Home Simultaneously
Are you feeling cramped in your Santa Cruz home, like you’re just bursting at the seams and need a little bit or a lot more space? Is this new normal causing you to yearn for an at home office or maybe even two? Are you wanting a “man” or “woman” cave or a little bit more space outside, so that you can run around and play? Is your kitchen table like mine and covered with your work, schoolwork, and the mail? Is the family room crowded with toys, laundry, and school supplies? Are you thinking that your family just needs more space inside and out?
Trust me, I totally get it. Since the pandemic, my office is now my dining room, is my kitchen, is my laundry room. They all just seem to blend together.
Hi, I’m Shemeika Fox, your Santa Cruz real estate expert. If your new normal has you holding your plate because there is just no space left at the table to eat. Or if you’re feeling crowded in the clutter and unable to focus on work, because of all the distractions, maybe it is time to find a new Santa Cruz home. You might need a home with an office, or maybe an additional room that could be set up for that Zoom room with all the learning supplies. Maybe you need a Santa Cruz home with a little land, so that you can run and play outside in the fresh air, or maybe even a swimming pool.
Trouble is, you aren’t the only one feeling like you need more outdoor space and extra rooms. The National Association of Realtors is showing a trend of people moving out of their smaller homes in the city and into larger homes in the suburbs or in the country. There is still very high buyer demand, especially in Santa Cruz, so creating an offer that will be accepted in a competitive market is imperative.
And if you have a Santa Cruz home to sell, it is important to strategize and time the closings, so that you aren’t homeless in between both transactions.
So the question is, how do you coordinate selling your Santa Cruz home and buying a new home at the same time? Should you list your Santa Cruz home for sale first or should you find a new home first?
I’ve been helping people sell their Santa Cruz homes and buy in the Santa Cruz area for more than 17 years, and have helped many clients successfully navigate transactions just like this.
In a seller’s market, sellers will most likely prefer a non-contingent offer, especially if your current Santa Cruz home isn’t even listed yet. And let’s be honest, you didn’t even know you wanted to sell your Santa Cruz home until you stumbled upon an open house that just happened to take your breath away. And well, now it’s go time. Not to worry though, here at Fox Realty Group, we have an expert team in place that can help get your home ready for the market and on the market in no time at all. With professional cleaning, staging, photos and videos.
However, if this fast paced marketing plan stresses you out and just doesn’t feel like the right strategy for you, we have alternative plans that can still help you achieve your goal of upsizing into a larger Santa Cruz home. As a seller, have you considered a leaseback? This would allow you to stay in your Santa Cruz home after closing for a negotiated amount of time, so you can find and close on your new Santa Cruz home.
Another strategy is to extend the escrow period, meaning close in 60 days instead of 30 days, to give you a little more time on the buying side. And yet another option, some of my clients choose, is to do a bridge loan, which would allow you to own both homes simultaneously until the home that you’re selling closes.
There are many ways to accomplish the goal of upsizing, while both selling and buying simultaneously. If you would like more information or to run some scenarios that may suit your needs, please feel free to reach out. I’m Shemeika Fox, your Santa Cruz real estate expert, and, as always, I’m here to help.
