When the Riveras got married, they wanted a home that wasn’t just his or hers, but something that was truly theirs — a home they could choose together, decorate together, and enjoy together.

That meant it was time for Manny Rivera to sell the home he already owned, but in the bustling Bay Area market, trying to buy a new home at the same time simply wasn’t going to work.

“The only option we knew of would be to write a contingency offer, and we know that would be challenging to get accepted due to all the competition,” says Manny.

A sales contingency would also mean navigating the inconveniences of selling a home while still living in it — strangers coming and going, trying to keep a clean home while simultaneously packing, and then likely having to store furniture and other belongings while temporarily renting between homes. Not ideal.

Fortunately for the Riveras, they were working with Sean Proctor, a broker associate with 18 years of experience and a clever idea.

Wanting his clients to be as competitive as possible in a cutthroat market, Proctor introduced the couple to HomeLight Trade-In.

The HomeLight Trade-In program offers a seamless path for sellers to become buyers. HomeLight makes a fair offer (with no hidden fees) on the existing home and provides a guarantee to buy. Homeowners then receive 90% of the property value, effectively eliminating their sales contingency while shopping for a new home — which means buyers can make a competitive, stand-out offer in even the hottest market.

And as an added bonus? There’s no need to move until the next home is purchased and keys are in hand.

“It’s truly unmatched,” says Proctor. “HomeLight Trade-In really helped the Riveras. The program freed them up to write a strong offer on the new house — and ultimately get it.”

Overpaying in a competitive market? Not with HomeLight Trade-In

Proctor knows that writing an offer with a sales contingency sometimes leads to a buyer having to overpay for their new house in order to be competitive in a multiple-offer scenario.

But this wasn’t one of those times. In fact, the Riveras saved a significant amount of money — even though they were buying in a hyper-competitive market.

“Because we didn’t have to write a contingent offer, I was able to negotiate a great price on their new house,” he says. “We were able to save them about $100,000.”

Selling for maximum profit? Absolutely

Thanks to HomeLight Trade-In, the savings for the Riveras didn’t stop with the purchase of their next property. Once they closed on their new home, it was time to put their previous house on the market — but only after they’d moved out.

“Properties that are vacant and staged sell for more money than a house that is owner-occupied,” says Proctor. “A lot of buyers don’t like walking into a home that someone is living in because they see other people’s furniture and get a little weirded-out.”

With a now-empty home to work with, Proctor was able to get to work making the Riveras’ former home market-ready. And his efforts paid off in spades.

“We had 52 showings in four days — every half-hour someone was looking at this house. We received 22 offers and we sold for $175,000 over the asking price,” Proctor reports.

Since HomeLight Trade-In returns those additional earnings to the seller — with nominal adjustment for program fees — the Riveras enjoyed a generous payday on the sale of their former home.

“We were extremely pleased,” says Diana. “This wouldn’t have happened had we tried to sell the home while still living in it. When we found out about HomeLight Trade-In, it was a no-brainer. It just made so much sense.”

That’s a total value of $275,000 — between purchase savings and sale profits — made possible with HomeLight Trade-In.

HomeLight Trade-In: Solutions made simple

Experienced agents know that a home is the largest purchase most of their clients will ever make. Until, of course, they go to buy their next home.

“It’s a very stressful situation by nature,” says Proctor. “A lot of banks make it difficult, but HomeLight is the complete opposite. They’re always available to talk about what needs to happen, they walk you (and your clients) through the process — they’re very friendly. The user interface is great, the website is phenomenal.

“To have people that are on your side like this, it just goes to show that you really don’t want to go anywhere else besides HomeLight.”