Corie Adams
Lending Team
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Pennsylvania · A scenario tool

Can I buy before I sell?

Enter what you know. You will see your equity position, the cash a sale could free up, and which broad routes are worth reviewing. Nothing here is an approval, and nothing is hidden behind a form.

Your numbers

Your assumptions

You have real equity. The question is how to reach it before the sale closes.

Most of the money for your next purchase is sitting in the house you still live in. Your cash alone does not cover what you had in mind for the down payment, so the structures worth reviewing are the ones that let equity move ahead of the closing date. Each one has costs and conditions, and none of them is automatic.

Equity today
$215,000
Estimated net proceeds after selling costs
$181,000
Cash available before the sale
$45,000
Cash available after the sale
$226,000
Down payment percentage buying now
5.2%
Down payment percentage after the sale
38.1%
Illustrated payment on the next home
$3,296
Both payments together
$5,146
Cost of 4 overlap months
$20,585

These figures are illustrations built from what you entered. They are not an approval, a pre-qualification, a quote, or a statement that any program is available to you. Selling costs, closing costs and rates are your assumptions.

Routes worth reviewing

Listed in the order that tends to fit the numbers above. Each one has conditions, and none of them is decided by a calculator.

  • Sell first, then buy

    The least expensive path and the one people dismiss too quickly. You know exactly what you netted, you shop with real money, and your offer is not carrying a condition. The cost is convenience, because you may need a short rental or a rent-back from your buyer.

  • Bridge financing

    Short-term financing that reaches your equity before the sale closes, so the offer on the next house does not need a contingency. It is not right for everyone and it is not automatic. Whether it fits depends on your equity, your income, and how your current home is positioned, which is a review rather than a calculation.

    Read more about buying before you sell

  • A home equity strategy

    A line or loan against the home you still own can supply the down payment on the next one, then get retired at your sale. Availability and terms depend on the lender and on where your current home stands, so treat this as a question to ask rather than a plan to count on.

  • An offer that depends on your sale

    A home sale contingency lets you write on the next house while the current one is still working. Sellers weigh it against your price, your timeline, and how far along your sale is. It is stronger than people assume when the house is already listed and priced well.

    How buying and selling at the same time actually works

For the longer explanation of buying before selling in Pennsylvania, read can you buy your next home before this one sells.

Keep these numbers

Your results are yours already. If it helps, send them to yourself, or have Corie look at the same scenario and tell you what she would change.

Ready now? Get Pre-Approved (opens in a new tab)

Questions people ask about this tool

Does this tool tell me if I am approved?
No. It is a scenario tool. It does arithmetic on the numbers you enter and points to the structures worth discussing. Approval depends on a full review of income, credit, assets and the properties involved.
Do I have to give my email to see the results?
No. Every number appears as soon as you enter your figures. Sending the results to yourself is optional.
Where do the selling cost and closing cost estimates come from?
They are adjustable placeholders, not quotes. Change them to whatever your agent and your own research suggest, and the results update immediately.
What if the tool says buying first is not the strongest option?
Then that is the honest answer for the numbers entered. Selling first, or writing an offer that depends on your sale, is often the better sequence and costs far less.