When real estate agent Peter Abdelmesseh met his clients, Eric and Samantha Johnson, he knew the couple would need a creative solution to make their move a reality.

“Samantha stays home with their two little kids, and Eric is a government employee with a crazy schedule,” says Abdelmesseh. “It seemed like it would be a lot more difficult to put them through the stress of having a sales contingency and trying to work around their schedules, making sure the house stays clean for showings and so on — it would really inconvenience their lives.”

Any agent who has helped a family sell one home to buy another has watched their clients navigate this scenario. It’s stressful for parents and children alike to have strangers coming in and out of the house, trying to keep things tidy while beginning the process of organizing and packing. And then there are the challenges of trying to make a sales-contingent offer on a new home in a bustling seller’s market.

But the Johnsons had outgrown their home in Riverside, California, and needed to find a new place to live.

HomeLight Trade-In: An agent’s best friend

Fortunately, Abdelmesseh had just the right solution in mind: He introduced his clients to the HomeLight Trade-In program.

HomeLight Trade-In makes it possible for sellers to become buyers first by making a guaranteed offer on the existing home. This removes the sales contingency and frees up cash for clients to find their perfect new home and quickly submit an ultra-competitive offer — no contingencies necessary. Agents stay involved throughout the entire process, and the original house is only put on the market once the clients have moved into their new home.

In short? There are no showings to interrupt daily life, no need to stress about cleaning and repairing a lived-in home, and no burden of a sales contingency.

“The Trade-In program made things a lot easier for the Johnsons,” says Abdelmesseh. “They didn’t have to worry about cleaning up and stepping out of the home. And with Samantha doing so much by herself because Eric was at work all the time, it was just so much easier for them — both the convenience aspect and how much easier it was to get a competitive offer going.”

A competitive offer becomes a winning offer with Trade-In

When the Johnsons found a great new home for their family, Abdelmesseh was able to help them write an irresistible offer thanks to the flexibility afforded by HomeLight Trade-In.

“It was a multiple-offer scenario and we had to get very competitive with our terms,” Abdelmesseh recalls. “What helped us was being able to waive our appraisal and being able to waive our loan contingency thanks to the online approval process.”

Ultimately, the Johnsons’ lack of contingencies — neither sales nor financing — beat out the competition and won them their happy home.

Once they moved out, Abdelmesseh was able to put their former home on the market under the prime conditions of showing a clean, market-ready, vacant property. The home was only on the market for five days and sold for $47,000 over their asking price. Between Abdelmesseh and the HomeLight team, the Johnsons didn’t have to worry about anything more with their previous house, and could instead focus on settling into their new home.

HomeLight Trade-In: A lifesaver for top real estate agents

His experience with the Johnsons was Abdelmesseh’s first time using HomeLight Trade-In with clients, but he says he’s used the program several times since then. Abdelmesseh credits the ease of use and clear communication from the HomeLight team — both with his clients and directly with him as the agent — for making the program an asset to his business.

“I just 100% highly recommend the HomeLight Trade-In process. It’s so smooth and it helps me a lot. As an agent, it’s stressful having a contingency sale anyway, and in this market — when looking for replacement properties — having a contingent offer just really doesn’t go a long way.

“Having the HomeLight Trade-In option has been a lifesaver.”