What is a lateral move?

We continue to experience a lot of “lateral movement” in our marketplace.  This is when a homeowner sells a home and moves to another that better suits their needs.  This is a sign of a maturing market because it indicates that homeowners feel it is both a good time to sell as well as a good time to buy.  We have helped many clients do this successfully.

After a number of years in the same home, some clients have new additions to their families and need a larger home.  Some clients are empty-nesting or retiring so need to downsize.  Some are relocating to meet changing work and lifestyle needs, while others are simply ready for something new. 

Buying a home is a major task on its own, something that most people only do a few times in their life.  Adding to it the task of also selling a home at the same time, and it can become very daunting.  Often it is difficult to make a change without knowing how it can be done.

We provide solutions to our clients to help them achieve this successfully.  No two situations are identical. We custom-tailor plans depending on each family’s unique circumstances. Here are a few ways that a lateral move can be approached:

1) BUYING FIRST:

For most, the preference is finding the new home first.  That is the main driving force for the move after all.  There are many advantages to going this route.  For clients who were able to purchase first, they moved into the new home and turned the prior home to us to market and sell.  They didn’t have to deal with showings and related hassles.  This is the easy route.  However, this requires having the funds to purchase the new home, or the ability to qualify and carry two mortgages, or other creative financing options such as a bridging loan.

2) SELLING FIRST:

For many, the selling of the current home must happen first to obtain the proceeds for the purchase of the next home.  This can be done several different ways, such as:

  1. Achieving contracts on both the buying and selling side and coordinating same-day closings. This is one of the most complex maneuvers in residential transactions because many things involving multiple parties must align flawlessly.  This avoids “moving twice”.
  2. The use of short-term housing and storage to bridge the duration between the selling and the buying.  Some prefer the straight-forward nature of this approach.
  3. Negotiate a lease-back from the buyers after selling.  In the current low-inventory market, we effectively negotiate multiple options to meet our clients’ needs.

There are many more permutations of how lateral moves are accomplished.  It’s helpful to have the same team involved in both sides of sale contingency transactions to oversee the process in its entirety.  Despite the difficulty of lateral moves, our team has the experience and capability to handle these transactions and have done so many times over.

Give us a call for a personalized consultation.  We will discuss the best strategies for you!

Until next month, take care!

Your Neighbors in Stoneybrook,

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