Selling a house or a flat only after one has already found a new home of one’s own is an understandable consideration. However, the implementation of this idea often fails in reality due to the scarce supply of suitable alternatives and the complex nature of real estate transactions.
A multitude of prerequisites must be fulfilled so that a purchase or sale can be carried out smoothly and in a legally controlled manner. From securing financing to any necessary renovations to insurance issues, every detail should be meticulously clarified in order to prevent unpleasant surprises afterwards.
Keeping track of all the criteria for a successful real estate transaction and fulfilling them within a given timeframe is an extremely demanding challenge. Carrying out two transactions, a purchase and a sale, with the same diligence is all the more delicate and, from experience, difficult to manage. The intention of simultaneity can create pressure to make decisions on one or both transactions and thus harbours the danger that ill-considered compromises have to be made due to time constraints.
With a well thought-out contract, the course can be set in good time during the sale so that no time pressure arises during the purchase of the new home. In any case, the seller (owner) should be prepared to accept an interim solution, e.g. temporarily renting a flat until the “right” one is found and ready for occupancy. Only those who can act without pressure are able to reach the best possible result.
This text by Beat Hürlimann, CEO of Wüst und Wüst, was published a few days ago as a column at CH-Media Zentralschweiz.
