When the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a job shift for Ryan McCann’s husband, the couple found themselves seriously considering a change in location to decrease his commute.

Though it didn’t take them long to agree that moving from their Pinole, California home would be their best option, they weren’t quite sure how to best navigate the process.

“When you consider selling your house, you can’t really prep it and sell it when you’re living in it,” says McCann. “It’s best if you can spruce it up and not be there and then sell it. But where do you go in the meantime?”

The temporary rental dilemma…

McCann says that neither she nor her husband was interested in moving into a temporary rental — and thus having to move twice — just to go through the process of selling their home.

“With most rental situations, it’s not just a month-to-month,” says McCann. “You don’t just go in there and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to rent for a couple of months and when we find a new house to buy we can jump out of the rental.’ You’d probably be locked into an annual lease.”

Especially in the midst of job changes, the couple was already dealing with enough. Potentially being on the hook for the expenses of both a rental property and the mortgage on a new home was not going to work for them.

But, in a competitive market — and with particular criteria on the must-have list for their next house — the McCanns knew that it would be impossible to predict exactly when they would find a suitable property.

“It’s very difficult to finalize and complete a purchase because of competition,” says McCann. “You might find a house that fits your needs, yet your offer might not be accepted. So how do you become a better-qualified buyer?”

… solved by HomeLight Trade-In

As soon as she and her husband decided to move, McCann kept a close watch on her local real estate market. Her research led her to HomeLight Trade-In. She knew right away it would be the perfect solution to their dilemma.

HomeLight Trade-In helps sellers become competitive buyers by making a guaranteed offer on the first home, which removes the sales contingency and frees up cash to make an enticing, no-strings-attached offer. Even better, there’s no need for temporary accommodations; the original home isn’t put on the market until the next home is purchased and the moving process is complete.

“There were a lot of great benefits that HomeLight Trade-In provided that worked with the situation we were dealing with within this housing market,” says McCann. “And it made us a better option for the seller, too.”

The McCanns are motorsports enthusiasts and wanted a home with a big yard and ample driveway space. Though she knew finding their perfect home might take some time, McCann began searching in earnest as soon as she filled out the paperwork for HomeLight Trade-In.

“I was already looking for houses with the anticipation of being approved,” McCann remembers. “I’m always the person who knows what’s on the market. I’ve always been that person to watch real estate, so I knew what was available. I knew what the pricing was like.”

Sure enough, within just a couple of days of her HomeLight Trade-In approval, the McCanns landed on a home they deemed worth an offer. And thanks to their lack of sales or financing contingencies, the seller accepted their offer within just a couple of days.

A successful sale for $100K over list price

Prepared as ever, McCann initiated a two-day moving window for herself and her husband to transition between homes before returning to their first property to prepare it for market and finalize their HomeLight Trade-In experience.

“We refinished the oak flooring, painted everything, and did a lot of refreshes because it was a 1962 house and we wanted to make sure it was move-in ready,” says McCann. “We wanted it to be easy for someone to say ‘yes, this is the house for me’ without needing anything beyond personalizing.”

The McCanns’ agent listed the home and they reviewed offers a week later. The winning offer came in nearly $100,000 over list price in just nine days — a happy conclusion to an already satisfying process.

“The normal thought process is that you sell your house and then you buy another one. HomeLight Trade-In allows you to reverse that and say, ‘You know what? I’m going to buy a house and move and then I don’t have to deal with selling my house first,’” says McCann.

“Trade-In gets people out of the box of thinking you have to sell a house to buy a house. It removes the inconveniences and really makes for a refreshing and enjoyable process.”