Move-Up Homebuyer Guide
Your Next Home Starts With a Smart Plan.
Plan the sale of your current home, explore your next purchase, and bring both moves together.
A clear path, one step at a time
Bring your sale and purchase together.
Start with your current home, then plan your next one. Open any step you need. Save useful tasks to your checklist and download it when you’re ready. Your selections are separate from the First-Time Homebuyer Guide.
Choose “Add to My Checklist” beside any task to save it. Open My Checklist to review your choices and download a PDF. No account or contact information needed.
By Troy SchurichtSales Manager · NMLS #262655
Ten steps. Two moves. One plan.
Open any step. Go at your pace.
01Assess Your Current Home’s Condition
Learn what needs attention before deciding what to repair or improve.
What to know
Walk through your home as if you were seeing it for the first time. Look for visible leaks, damaged surfaces, worn systems, and unfinished maintenance. Make a list instead of trying to fix everything at once.
Separate essential repairs from optional updates. A safety concern or active leak deserves a different discussion than paint colors or new counters. Ask your agent which items may affect buyer interest, inspections, or the type of financing a buyer can use.
Get written estimates for work you may do. A bigger project does not always lead to a higher sale price, and you may not recover what you spend. Gather warranty, repair, permit, and maintenance records. Ask your agent about required disclosures; do not hide known problems.
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02Interview Real Estate Agents
Compare how each agent would handle your sale and your next purchase.
What to know
Talk with more than one agent about homes like yours in your area. Ask how they chose a suggested price, which recent sales they used, and what could change their recommendation. The highest suggested price is not a promise of what a buyer will pay.
Compare marketing plans, photos, showing arrangements, communication, services, and proposed fees. Fees and services should be discussed and agreed to; this guide assumes no standard commission. Ask who will handle daily questions and how you will receive updates.
Review the proposed agreement before signing. Ask about its length, duties, costs, and what happens if plans change. If different agents handle your sale and purchase, ask how they will share deadlines and work with your lender and closing teams.
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03Estimate What You’ll Walk Away With
Separate the value in your home from the money you may receive after selling.
What to know
Equity is an estimate of your home’s value minus the loans secured by it. It is not the same as cash in your bank account. Net sale proceeds are the money left after the sale pays off those loans and other selling costs.
Ask your loan servicer, the company that collects your payments, for payoff information for the expected closing date. A payoff amount can differ from the balance on a statement because it may include interest and other amounts due. Include any second mortgage or home equity line of credit in the review.
Estimate agreed agent fees, closing expenses, and other selling costs with your team. Add repairs or seller concessions, which are amounts you agree to pay toward a buyer’s permitted costs. Count each expense once. Update your estimate when the price, contract, payoff date, or fees change.
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04Build Your Next-Home Budget
Plan a comfortable payment and the cash needed for both moves.
What to know
Choose a monthly housing cost that fits your life. Include the loan payment, property taxes, homeowners insurance, any mortgage insurance, and homeowners association dues. Leave room for utilities, maintenance, other bills, and savings.
List your available savings separately from estimated sale proceeds. Equity may not become usable cash until the sale closes and funds are released. Ask your lender and closing team when money can be used for the purchase; do not assume both closings make it available instantly.
Estimate the down payment, purchase closing costs, moving costs, and cash left afterward. Reserves are savings you keep after closing; a lender may also require them. If you may own both homes at once, allow for both payments, insurance, taxes, utilities, and any short-term financing costs. Discuss financing before shopping.
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05Decide Whether to Sell or Buy First
Compare the timing, money, and housing risks of each sequence.
What to know
Selling first can make your sale proceeds clearer before the next purchase. It can also mean moving twice or arranging temporary housing if you have not found your next home. Plan where you would stay and how you would store belongings.
Buying first may let you move before showing or selling the current home. You may need enough cash and financing to own both homes for a period of time. Your current mortgage payment is not automatically removed from the lender’s review just because you plan to sell.
A sale contingency is a contract condition tied to selling your current home. It may provide protection, but a seller may decline it. Buy-before-you-sell or short-term financing options may be available, subject to lender, property, and program rules. Ask about repayment, fees, deadlines, and what happens if the sale takes longer. Projected proceeds are not immediately usable funds.
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06Prepare and List Your Current Home
Focus your preparation, pricing, and showing plan before the listing goes live.
What to know
Agree with your agent on a short list of preparation priorities. Choose which repairs to complete, which optional updates to skip, and how much time and money to spend. Schedule work so it does not delay photos or an agreed listing date.
Declutter, clean, and make rooms easy to view. Staging means arranging a home to help buyers see how its space can be used. It may involve small changes rather than new furniture. Ask about the cost before agreeing to a service.
Review the photos, listing description, proposed price, and showing instructions with your agent. Plan for pets, valuables, work schedules, and notice before visits. Decide how you will review feedback and whether pricing needs a later discussion. Preparation does not guarantee a sale price or a quick offer.
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07Find Your Next Home
Choose a home that fits your next chapter and the timing of your sale.
What to know
Decide what your current home no longer gives you. More space, fewer stairs, a different location, or less upkeep may matter more than a larger floor plan. Separate must-haves from things you could change later.
Compare the full cost of each home, including taxes, insurance, association dues, utilities, and likely repairs. Ask about property condition and any restrictions that could affect your plans. A similar purchase price does not mean a similar monthly cost.
Before an offer, ask your agent and lender to review how that home fits your financing and sale timeline. Discuss deposits, conditions, closing dates, and possession terms. Do not assume your current sale and new purchase will close in the order you hope.
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08Coordinate Both Transactions
Keep the contracts, financing, and deadlines for both homes in view.
What to know
Keep one shared calendar for the sale and the purchase. Include deposits, inspection windows, appraisal requests, financing conditions, closing dates, and possession dates. A contingency is a written contract condition; ask your agent what must happen and by when.
An inspection reviews property condition. An appraisal gives a lender an opinion of value. A repair issue, low appraisal, or new document request on either home can change the plan for both. Send timeline changes promptly to both agents, the lender, and the closing teams.
Confirm how sale proceeds will reach the purchase closing. Ask who releases funds, what proof the lender needs, and how long transfers may take. Closing appointments on the same day do not guarantee funds will be ready in time. Have a backup if the sale, financing, or transfer is delayed.
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09Coordinate Your Move
Arrange the practical move before closing, using the agreed possession dates.
What to know
Start arranging the move before closing. Compare written mover estimates, services, possible extra charges, and change policies. Plan packing, storage, and how you would handle a schedule change. Avoid assuming a closing appointment is a confirmed move-in time.
Possession means the right to occupy the home under your agreement. Signing, funding, recording, and possession can happen at different times. Confirm when you must leave your current home and when you may enter the next one before making firm moving plans.
Schedule utilities, mail and address changes, and any temporary housing. Plan for pets, children, medicines, important documents, and items you need on the first night. Keep essentials with you rather than in a truck or storage unit you may not be able to reach.
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10Close and Get Your Keys
Review the final details and confirm when each handoff can happen.
What to know
Schedule final walkthroughs with your agents. Check the condition of the homes, agreed repairs, and items included in the contracts. Raise concerns with the right team before closing instead of assuming they can be fixed afterward.
Review the sale settlement statement, which lists money paid and received in the sale, and the purchase closing documents. For most home purchase mortgages, you must receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Compare the purchase terms and costs with your Loan Estimate and ask about changes. Confirm the sale payoff and estimated net proceeds with the closing team.
Before sending money, call the closing company at a trusted phone number you already verified. Confirm payment instructions directly. Stop and check again if an email suddenly changes the account or payment method.
Confirm appointment details, required identification, signing options, and what happens after signing. Funding means the loan money is released. Recording means the sale paperwork is entered in local public records. These steps and the release of keys depend on your contracts and closing process. Do not assume signing alone gives immediate possession. Have both teams confirm when funds and key handoffs are complete.
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Your mortgage guide
Troy Schuricht
Sales Manager, NextGen Financial Services
Individual NMLS #262655 · Company NMLS #1686419
25+ Years of Mortgage Experience.
1,500+ Homebuyers Helped
Team production under Troy’s management as Sales Manager.
Need help with your next step? Talk with Troy.
Talk with Troy