How to sell your Las Vegas home and buy the next one without carrying both
The sequencing, the contingencies, and the rent-back, explained once and plainly.
Who this guide is for
This guide is for the Las Vegas family that has to sell a home to buy the next one and cannot carry both. You are probably in a starter home in the southwest, Henderson or North Las Vegas, bought five to nine years ago, with real equity in it now and a house that stopped fitting a while ago. You are looking at Summerlin, Anthem, Southern Highlands or newer Henderson, and you are running school boundaries next to price. And the thing keeping you up is not the price. It is the picture of selling first and having nowhere to go, or buying first and carrying two payments while the old house sits.
What you get here is the sequencing, plainly: the three ways to do this, what each one costs you, how to decide with your numbers instead of your nerves, and the mistakes that cost move-up families the most. I have sold homes across the Las Vegas valley for 20 years, and selling-and-buying is the transaction I do most.
Get the real number on my current home
The sell-and-buy process in Las Vegas, step by step
Step one: the real number on the house you are leaving. Everything is built on it. Not the number that makes the next house look affordable, the one the recent sales around you actually support. If that number is lower than you hoped, better to know now than six weeks into a listing that is not moving.
Step two: the whole payment on the next one. Principal and interest, taxes, insurance, the HOA dues most of the newer communities carry, and what the house costs to cool in August. A lender pre-approval is not required to start, but I recommend it strongly, because a move-up family on a school-year clock cannot afford to lose a house over paperwork.
Step three: choose the sequence. Selling first is the cleanest: your house closes, you know your number to the dollar, and you buy as a non-contingent buyer, which is the strongest kind. The fear of having nowhere to go is usually solved with a rent-back, a negotiated stretch after closing during which you stay in the sold house while you close on the next one. Buying first with a contingency means your offer depends on your current house selling; it keeps you in one move and costs you strength against a clean offer, and it works best on a house that has been sitting. Bridging the gap is the third route: a short stretch of two payments if the numbers allow, a loan against your equity, or a lender's buy-before-you-sell program. Some cost real money and some are worth every dollar.
Step four: launch the sale. On my listings the marketing starts on day one and everything is running within the first 7 days, because in a sell-and-buy the two weeks a listing gets the most attention are also the two weeks your purchase timeline depends on. The Week One Launch is written out in full.
Step five: write the offer knowing where the sale stands. Earnest money on the offers I write is typically about 1 percent and negotiable. The due diligence period is usually 10 calendar days to two weeks and negotiable. Every date on both calendars gets watched by one person, and the two closings get lined up, often with the rent-back doing the work of the gap.
Mistakes to avoid
Starting with the new house. Houses are the fun part, which is why people do them first and fall for something before they know what the current house nets them. Start with the number.
Pricing the current house off what the next one requires. The market does not know what you need. A house priced high in this valley does not get negotiated down; it gets skipped, and the eventual cut tells every buyer it sat, which is exactly the delay a sell-and-buy cannot absorb.
Making a contingent offer on a house that has three clean offers. Contingencies work on houses that have been sitting. On a fresh, well-priced listing, a clean offer wins and you lose the house. Know which situation you are in before you write.
Forgetting the HOA package. If either house is in an association, Nevada requires the seller to provide the resale package, and a late one is one of the most common reasons a closing slips. On a sell-and-buy, a slip on one side can break the other.
Two agents on two ends of one move. Two people who each know half of your move are two people who cannot line up the closings. The same person should run both sides.
How I help, and your next step
I am John Arendt, a Realtor with Compass Realty & Management, and I have sold homes across the Las Vegas valley for 20 years, in Henderson, Summerlin, Southern Highlands, Anthem, Boulder City and North Las Vegas. Because I work the whole valley, I run both ends of a sell-and-buy myself: I know exactly where your sale stands when I write your offer, and exactly what your offer needs when I price your sale. You get 100 percent of my attention on both, and nobody gets handed off.
Your next step is the first one in the guide. Send me the address and get the real number on the house you are leaving, with no obligation and no follow-up campaign. Or call or text 702-881-6562, tell me the address you are in and where you are hoping to go, and I will tell you which sequence I would choose with your numbers. How I handle trading up across the valley and the full article on sequencing are here too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a rent-back?
A negotiated stretch after your sale closes during which you stay in the sold house, usually paying the buyer a daily or monthly amount, while you close on the next one. It is the most common answer to the fear of selling first and having nowhere to go.
Will a seller accept an offer contingent on my house selling?
Sometimes, most often on a house that has been sitting. On a fresh, well-priced listing a clean offer usually wins. I will tell you which situation you are in before you write.
How much does bridging the gap cost?
It depends on the route. A short stretch of two payments costs you those payments. A loan against your equity costs interest and fees. A lender's buy-before-you-sell program has its own pricing. Some are worth every dollar for the peace of mind, and I lay out the real cost of each with your numbers.
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Ready to make your move with John Arendt, Realtor?