A Cheatsheet for Buying & Selling Your Home with Less Stress in NYC

With so many residents sharing a metropolis where space comes at a premium, New York City is known for having an active real estate market. New properties are listed all the time, and sellers find it easy to draw attention to their NYC listings if they know what steps to take. Nevertheless, buying and selling a home at the same time in a city that never sleeps can be a stressful process. Consider the following tips that will help you manage, mitigate, and minimize stress as you buy and sell homes in NYC.

When you’re selling a home, staging is a must. In addition, first cleaning, decluttering, and depersonalizing your home in preparation for staging is a must. Depersonalizing is the process of removing personal items, like monogrammed towels or family photos, so prospective buyers can more easily fall into the fantasy of owning your home, and this is what staging is all about.

Staging entails bringing in furnishings (or, in some cases, leaving existing furnishings in place) to help give prospective buyers a feel for your home. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released some compelling statistics that demonstrate why you should stage your home. A majority of buyers’ agents recently surveyed by the NAR could attest that staging helps homes to sell faster and for more money in their experience. Think of staging as analogous to marketing or merchandising for your home; it has a powerful psychological effect that goes beyond logic. Staged homes have an emotional impact on the buyer, and buyers who can feel something when they walk into a home are more likely to seal the deal. In most areas, curb appeal is important to consider as part of staging, but this isn’t applicable to many NYC homes, given the prevalence of condos and co-ops.

In a perfect world, you would always be able to buy a home with the proceeds from selling your existing one. However, the NYC real estate market is a world of its own, and you need to be prepared for the unexpected. You may find a home you want to buy before you have the proceeds from your home sale. You may be upgrading to a bigger property that can’t be covered just with those proceeds. Other delays, unexpected surprises, or contingencies may pop up with your purchase or your sale.

As far as preparing for any issues that may arise, the best strategy when buying and selling a home at the same time is to plan out anything and everything that is within your control. A realtor can help in the process. As part of your financial planning, you can use a home valuation tool to get a realistic estimate of your property’s value. Please note that tools are a general estimate which is why The Living New York provides a free value analysis and pricing strategy for clients. To obtain a free precise valuation and pricing strategy with no obligation click here.  Then, get pre-approved for a mortgage, which will help you set a realistic budget for purchasing a home. It is best to shop a little below your budget because then you will have room for negotiation and the ability to respond to counteroffers.

If you want to use the proceeds from the sale of your current home in order to pay for the purchase of another home, you may be able to do so even before your home is sold. One way to accomplish this is by taking out a bridge loan (sometimes called a bridging loan). This is a type of loan that allows you to do just this. Buyers with a variety of financial circumstances find that they can make the process of buying and selling at once manageable. Before settling on what is or isn’t possible for you, consult with a realtor and ensure you have thoroughly explored your options.

New Yorkers tend to be busy, and the fact is that most people in the city are looking for move-in ready properties, as well as homes that would be referred to colloquially as “turnkey properties.” A move-in ready home is ready for occupancy on day one without further repairs, renovations, or remodeling. Going beyond that, a property is generally considered turnkey if it’s furnished when the buyer moves in.

If you want to be proactive about at least the basics of your property, you can get a pre-listing inspection of your home. Otherwise, be ready to make concessions during the negotiations if something in your home needs to be fixed. Buyers need a home they can move into right away, so you will sell your home with less stress if you’re ready to provide that.

The number one way to buy and sell your home with less stress in NYC is to work with a skilled realtor who has accumulated experience in the area. The Hay & Holt Team at Compass are top real estate agents in NYC and work with local NYC buyers and sellers to meet a variety of real estate needs, including buying and selling a home at the same time. Hay & Holt can get you into the best neighborhoods in the city, whether you’re looking for a condo, a co-op, or any other type of property on the market. Reach out to the Hay & Holt Team for your next purchase and your next sale in NYC, and put the power of an experienced local team to work for you.