The One-Move Sequence: Buying When You Have to Sell First

Path 5 of 5 in the Your Way In series.

This one stalls more Marin and Sonoma move-up buyers than any rate or any price: you own a home, you need its equity to buy the next one, and you can't figure out which domino falls first. So none of them fall.

Here's the reframe: this isn't a luck problem, it's a sequencing problem — and the sequence gets locked in writing before we tour a single home.

Path 1: Buy first (if you can carry both, even briefly)

A bridge loan or a HELOC against your current equity can unlock the purchase before you sell. You buy on your schedule, move once, then we list your old home vacant and staged — which, not coincidentally, is exactly how homes show best. This path costs some short-term interest; it buys certainty and a single move.

Path 2: Sell first, with a rent-back

If carrying both isn't realistic, we flip the order — and fix the "homeless in between" fear with a rent-back: your sale closes, the equity lands in your account, and you stay in your home 30–60 days while we shop. You're now the buyer every seller wants: cash-strong, no sale contingency, flexible close. (This is the same tool I use on the listing side — I've seen it win from both directions.)

Path 3: The contingent offer — still alive in the right segment

Conventional wisdom says contingent offers are dead. In hyper-competitive segments, mostly true. But on dated homes, longer days-on-market listings, and with sellers who value certainty over speed, a well-built contingency wins: your home already listed or in escrow, priced right, with proof. We make the contingency attractive instead of apologizing for it.

The finish line

Whichever path fits, it's chosen and papered before the first tour. The sequence is the whole game — and it's a game you can win on purpose.

That's the series. All 5 path charts — the payment, the losing streak, the waiting math, the down payment, and this one — free: text PLAN to 415-246-4346 or visit nmcrealestate.com/BuyerSolutionsRequestForm.

Nick McNaboe | REALTOR® | DRE #02106027 | COMPASS | 415-246-4346 | nmcrealestate.com. Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01527235. Informational purposes only.