“I’m a serial homebuyer,” laughs Claribel Solis, a homeowner in Arlington, Texas. “I’ve moved many times and have worked from home on and off for about 20 years.”

While having to spend time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t exactly new territory for Solis, she did feel her walls slowly starting to close in as the days slipped away.

“I felt almost caged because there were limitations on where I could go outside and who I could interact with,” Solis recalls. “I needed something to entertain myself because otherwise I’m stuck here and I go grocery shopping and then I come back home and that’s it.”

Solis’ decided that she wanted a pool. After all, what could be better than a personal backyard oasis for exercise and relaxation?

“I remember looking online and I found a sweet little home — I’m used to buying new construction but this was an older house — so I clicked on it and the agent called me and we started talking,” says Solis.

When she explained that she didn’t have a lot of cash to buy a home, the agent recommended HomeLight Trade-In as a way to tap into her existing home’s equity.

No cash? No problem with HomeLight Trade-In and Cash Offer

The HomeLight Trade-In program allows sellers to unlock their equity and become buyers first by making a guaranteed offer on the original home. Not only does this free up funding to shop for a new property, but it also eliminates the sales contingency and allows buyers and their agents to write highly competitive offers. And there’s no uncomfortable transition period between homes because moving only happens after the new home has closed.

“This program just makes sense,” says Solis. “HomeLight approved me in less than a week and said, ‘You can afford this much, and you can use this cash buying offer, too.’”

With the additional purchasing power of HomeLight Cash Offer — a program that effectively removes the financing contingency and allows for a no-frills cash offer using HomeLight’s money — Solis was ready to find her perfect pool.

Since a pool was Solis’ primary objective, she was able to be selective and hold out for just the right home. And despite her usual tendency toward new construction, she knew it would be easier — and far more affordable — to purchase an existing home that already had a pool in place.

“My agent and I started looking at houses in early December 2021 and eventually found this one a few weeks later. We made an offer and within about a week it all came together. It was a whirlwind,” she says.

With the strength of HomeLight Trade-In and Cash Offer behind her, Solis’ competitive offer included an unbeatable eight-day close.

“It was just nice to have the assurance that I could definitely get a pool,” says Solis. “With new construction, I would have had to hire a contractor to put in a pool. And in the home I had before, I couldn’t have even built a pool if I’d wanted to because there was an easement for a sewer line. I needed to move to an existing home in an established neighborhood.”

Swimming in success, thanks to HomeLight

While the HomeLight Trade-In and Cash Offer programs helped Solis stand out from the competition and secure her preferred pool, HomeLight kept both her and her agent in the loop at all times with transparent communication.

“HomeLight has a great team,” says Solis. “Everyone was super nice, super knowledgeable, and there was always someone to make sure I had peace of mind and explain what we were doing and why we were doing it. Everyone was so patient with me.”

The last step of the process was to sell Solis’ initial home — a successful effort that brought in 12 offers in just three days. It ultimately sold for $13,000 above list price.

Now that she’s happily settled into her new home with a pool, Solis is more grateful than ever for her HomeLight Trade-In and Cash Offer experience.

“I highly recommend HomeLight for people wanting to switch homes like I did. It’s really the way to go.”