Residential Realtor Somone Wilder is a Top 40 Under 40 Realtor in Maricopa County with a track record of selling more than 500 homes in just the past 5 years. Featured on NPR and in Bloomberg Magazine, she has positioned herself as an expert in her industry. She’s warns potential homebuyers making this crucial mistake when getting into the 2024 market—not putting one’s current home up for sale while searching for a new home.

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Here are some reasons why it is so important:

  1. The seller may view this offer as less serious because the buyer’s current home isn’t being marketed, let alone sold.
  1. If a contract on the new home is accepted, the buyer may feel pressured to take less for their current home in order to work within contingency timeframes.
  1. The buyer may have to offer more than they really want to or would have to in order to account for the fact that they are flat-footed with the seller.

This is a challenging situation because many people don’t want to sell their current home unless they find their new dream home. However, Wilder notes it’s important to differentiate selling versus marketing a home. 

She notes two key aspects for those that want to search for a new home but are hesitant to put their current home on the market:

  1. If a buyer truly wants the home, the seller can build clauses into the contract allowing ample time for them to search for their new home while still remaining in their current one.
  1. If the seller doesn’t find their dream home, they can stipulate in the contract the ability to cancel without penalty.

“By thinking a little outside the box, you can be better prepared for when ‘the one’ appears—while not risking your home in the process,” she adds.

Wilder is well-versed in creative strategies to help her clients both on the selling and buying side have successful transactions. She is available for news story interviews and television segments during which she can further detail how to avoid this mistake when looking for a new home this year. 

For more about Wilder, visit moniewilder.com.