How to Sell Your House and Buy Another in Des Moines
Most Des Moines homeowners who need to sell and buy at the same time should begin by estimating likely sale proceeds, reviewing financing options, and creating a timeline that coordinates both transactions. Whether you sell first, buy first, or work both sides at the same time depends on your available equity, financing options, housing inventory, timing needs, and comfort with risk.
| Strategy | Advantage | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Sell First | Know exactly what you can spend | Temporary housing may be needed |
| Buy First | Secure your next home sooner | Financing may be more complex |
| Simultaneous Close | One move | Requires careful timing and terms |
Download the step-by-step planning guide used by homeowners coordinating a sale and purchase at the same time.
Start with the questions that shape both sides of your move.
If you’re wondering:
- How much equity you’ll have after selling
- Whether you should sell first or buy first
- How much home you can afford next
- How to avoid carrying two mortgages
- How to coordinate closing dates
- What backup plans you should have
You’re in the right place.
Use one roadmap to keep both sides of your move in view.
The details will change as homes, financing, and dates become more concrete. This order keeps the important conversations from getting lost while you make decisions at the same time.
- 01Estimate equity
- 02Review financing
- 03Build the timeline
- 04Search homes
- 05Prepare your current home
- 06List your home
- 07Review offers
- 08Align closing dates
- 09Move into your next home
Selling and buying are connected, even when the dates are not.
A sale can affect the down payment, financing, offer terms, and timing of the next home. A purchase can affect how much certainty you need from your sale, whether temporary housing is workable, and which deadlines deserve the most attention.
Some people need the confidence of a sale before making an offer. Others find the next home first and need to understand the terms and timing that could make the purchase workable. The right path depends on the homes, your finances, and your comfort with uncertainty.
The useful first step is putting the real questions in one place before the calendar forces a decision.
Three common ways a sell + buy move can unfold.
Each option brings different benefits, pressures, and backup questions. The goal is to understand the trade-offs before you become committed to one route.
Sell first
Starting with the sale can make the available proceeds and timing clearer. It can also create questions about temporary housing, storage, and how quickly the next purchase needs to happen.
Buy first
Finding the next home first may protect the opportunity to purchase, but it can introduce more financing, offer, and timing considerations while your current home is still part of the plan.
Work both sides
Some households move forward with sale and purchase plans at the same time. This can preserve flexibility, while asking for careful attention to dates, written terms, financing, and Plan B options.
What does your current home need to make possible?
A likely sale price and usable proceeds are different questions. The sale may need to account for the work you choose to do, costs connected with selling, timing, and the role the proceeds will play in your next purchase. A practical conversation starts with the home you have, then makes room for the home you want next.
A lender can help you understand qualification and loan scenarios. Ratliff Real Estate Group can help keep the real estate decisions visible alongside that conversation, including which homes to compare, how an offer may fit your priorities, and what dates or terms need attention.
Understand home-sale proceeds →Get Your Sell + Buy Game Plan
Share your details, then download a practical guide for thinking through the sale, purchase, dates, and fallback options in one place.
Prefer to talk through your situation? Call 515-943-0219.
Keep the move workable when the details change.
Closing, possession, funding, and moving are not always the same date. A completed plan makes room to ask what happens if a closing date changes, an inspection raises a new question, the right home appears later than expected, or a financing detail requires another look.
That is why a home sale and purchase should not be treated as unrelated transactions. The home you are leaving, the home you are considering, the dates on both sides, and the people involved all affect the choices that are genuinely available.
Natasha leads the selling conversations around pricing, preparation, marketing, offers, and timing. Ken helps buyers compare homes and neighborhoods, prepare offers, and keep the next-home side of the move in view. Together, they help families sort out what needs attention next.
Get the Sell + Buy Game Plan before the next decision feels urgent.
Use the guide to gather the sale, purchase, financing, timing, and backup questions that matter to your household.
Clarity comes from naming the questions, not pretending the details are simple.
Every Sell + Buy plan has a few practical questions underneath it. How much time does the current home need before it is ready to show? What does a realistic sale timeline mean for the next purchase? Could you stay with family, rent temporarily, or store belongings if the dates do not line up? Which options would feel manageable and which would create too much pressure?
There may also be a difference between the plan that looks easiest on paper and the plan that fits your household. A family with school schedules, pets, work travel, or a specific area in mind may need different guardrails than someone with flexible dates. The point is not to eliminate every unknown. It is to recognize the meaningful ones early enough to make thoughtful decisions.
As offers and homes become real, the written terms matter. Financing, inspection, appraisal, contingencies, closing, possession, and any commitments connected to the next home should be reviewed carefully with the right professionals. The Game Plan helps you keep the questions organized, then bring the right question to the right person when it matters.
A few details can make the next conversation much more useful.
You do not need a perfect spreadsheet or every answer in hand. It helps to know what you would like your next home to change, the timing you hope for, whether your current home needs preparation, and any purchase or sale questions that already feel urgent. Those details give the discussion a practical starting point.
It is also worth separating facts from assumptions. A lender can confirm financing information. Written contracts control deadlines and obligations. An inspection or contractor can answer technical questions about a particular home. A Sell + Buy plan helps you hold those pieces in view, so an answer in one part of the move does not get lost while you are focused on another.
Selling and buying a home in Des Moines
Should I sell my house before buying another one?+
There is no single right order. The workable choice depends on likely sale proceeds, financing, the homes available, your timing, and how much uncertainty you are comfortable carrying.
Can I buy a home before selling my current home?+
Sometimes. A lender can explain qualification and loan scenarios, while the sale, offer structure, and backup housing options need to be considered before you rely on a particular path.
What happens if my current home sells before I find a new one?+
That is a useful possibility to plan for early. Possession terms, temporary housing, storage, and the timing of your next purchase all deserve a clear backup plan before your sale is under contract.
How much equity do I need to move?+
There is no single number. What matters is the likely amount available after your mortgage payoff and selling costs, and how that amount may support the down payment, closing costs, and reserves for your next home.
How long does selling and buying at the same time take?+
The timeline depends on how much preparation your current home needs, available homes, financing, inspections, contract terms, and the dates both parties can support. Starting the planning before a deadline gives you more options.
What financing options are available?+
A lender can explain qualification, loan scenarios, and the cash needed for different paths. Those conversations are most helpful when they are considered alongside the likely proceeds, timing, and terms of your sale.
What backup plans should I have?+
Think through temporary housing, storage, flexible possession dates, a wider home search, and what you would do if a closing date or financing detail changes. The right backup plan is the one your household could actually carry out.
How do I avoid carrying two mortgages?+
Start by understanding likely sale proceeds and discussing qualification with a lender before you make assumptions. The order of your sale and purchase, offer terms, possession, and a realistic backup plan can all affect the risk of overlapping payments.