Can I Make a Non-Contingent Offer Without Selling First?

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You’ve found a new home, but your purchase offer contains a home sale contingency; you can’t afford to buy it unless your current house sells. This clause weakens your offer, and now you’re afraid someone else will win the home. But can you make a non-contingent offer without selling first?

While making a non-contingent offer without selling your current home is possible, it’s a strategy often fraught with financial risks. An offer with no contingencies can make you a more competitive buyer, but it exposes you to the potential burden of owning two homes at once.

Fortunately, innovative programs like HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell provide a secure path to making a strong, non-contingent offer by eliminating the need to juggle two mortgages or rush through a stressful home sale.

Yes, You Can Buy Before You Sell. Why Move Twice?

Through our Buy Before You Sell program, HomeLight can help you unlock a portion of your equity upfront to put toward your next home. You can then make a strong offer on your next home with no home sale contingency.

Can you really make a non-contingent offer without selling your current home?

Yes, it is possible to make a non-contingent offer on a new home even if your current home hasn’t sold yet. This approach removes the home sale contingency from your offer, which signals to the seller that the purchase is not dependent on your ability to sell your existing property.

This is a common strategy used in competitive real estate markets to make an offer more attractive to sellers. A non-contingent offer tells a seller that your transaction is less likely to fall through, potentially giving you an edge over other interested parties.

However, the potential financial and logistical pitfalls are serious and require careful consideration before you commit. To address these challenges, HomeLight offers a modern solution specifically designed to mitigate the risks associated with buying and selling at the same time. First, let’s look at the contingencies you might be dealing with.

What is a non-contingent offer in real estate?

A non-contingent offer is a purchase agreement that is not dependent on specific conditions being met for the sale to proceed. These conditions, or contingencies, are clauses in a real estate contract that protect the buyer. Common contingencies include the successful sale of the buyer’s current home, a satisfactory home inspection, the property appraising at or above the sale price, and the buyer securing financing.

Waiving one or more of these contingencies signals to sellers that you are a serious, well-prepared buyer and that the transaction is more likely to close without delays or complications. In a market with multiple offers, a non-contingent offer can be a powerful tool to make your bid stand out. Sellers often favor these offers because they represent a smoother and more certain path to closing.


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