Buy before you sell
Buy first or sell first? Run the numbers.
If you already own a Utah home and you are moving up, you face one question with no obvious answer: sell first, or buy first? This tool lays out what each path actually costs: the contingent-offer discount, double moves, and temporary housing against a coordinated buy-first plan. Every result is an illustrative estimate with the assumptions shown.
Compare your two paths
What each path really costs.
Enter your current home, your next home, and how long you expect to own both. The comparison updates as you type. Defaults use current Southern Utah averages; change any field to match your situation.
Your numbers
Your current home
What it would sell for today.
What you still owe.
Full principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. Drives the overlap carrying cost.
Your next home
What you plan to spend next.
Cash on hand, separate from home equity.
Timing
How long you expect to own both homes, or be in temporary housing, during the move.
Financing the gap
Plus a one-time HELOC setup cost.
Cost assumptions
Sell-first means two moves.
Applied to your target price in the sell-first path.
About these estimates
Estimates only. This is not a quote, offer, pre-approval, or commitment to lend. Figures are illustrative and depend on the assumptions you choose.
This tool is for general information only. It is not legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Equal Housing Lender. Scott Buehler NMLS #1794818, Guild Mortgage Company NMLS #3274.
Want numbers tailored to you? Let's talk.
The bottom line
Estimated difference
Enter your numbers to see which path costs less, and by how much.
Estimates only, not a quote, offer, pre-approval, or commitment to lend. Talk to Scott for your actual terms.
How to read your results
A plain-English guide to the numbers driving each path.
- Accessible equity
- Roughly 80% of your current home's value, minus what you still owe. It is what you could tap with a HELOC or bridge loan to buy first. Thin equity here is the most common reason the buy-first path will not pencil.
- Carrying cost
- What it costs to own both homes for a stretch: your current payment during the overlap, plus interest and a one-time fee on the money you borrow to bridge the gap.
- Contingent-offer discount
- What sellers typically knock off when your offer depends on your old home selling first. Research puts it at 2% to 4% of the price, which is why selling first is rarely free.
- Friction cost
- The sell-first total: temporary housing, two moves, storage, and the contingent-offer discount added together.
Want the mechanics of a HELOC or bridge loan? See the mortgage guides on this site.
Work with Scott
Selling and buying? Let's map it together.
Scott Buehler is a dual-licensed Utah REALTOR and mortgage lender based in Cedar City. He can list and sell your current home, line the timing up with your next purchase, and walk both paths against your real equity, budget, and rates. No guaranteed-price or best-agent claims, just a straight read on your specifics.
He takes only one role on any single transaction, never both on the same home, and you are always free to choose your own agent and lender.
Limited equity in your current home
Your balance is close to or above your home's value, so once it is measured against the 80 percent combined loan-to-value cap there is little or no equity left to tap for a bridge or HELOC. There are still strategies that can work, including down-payment assistance and recasting the new loan. Let's look at what fits your situation.
Talk it through with ScottIf you sell first
Sell your home, find temporary housing, then shop with cash in hand.
What sellers knock off when your offer depends on your old home selling first.
Sellers routinely accept non-contingent offers at a 2% to 4% discount to avoid the risk of a deal falling through. On a $0 home, that is $0 left on the table.
Source: Han, L., & Hong, S.-H. (2024). Cash is king? Understanding financing risk in housing markets. Review of Finance, 28(6), 2083 to 2118.
If you buy first
Tap your equity, buy the next home non-contingent, then sell on your timeline.
Carrying cost is what it costs to own both homes for a little while: the extra payments plus interest on the money you borrow to bridge the gap.
Lenders usually let you borrow against your home up to 80% of its value. Subtract what you still owe, and that is what is left to tap.
This assumes you tap your full available equity for the whole gap. If you borrow less, or sell sooner, your real interest is lower.
Your offer on the next home is non-contingent and competitive. You move once, on your timeline, with the equity from your current home already working for you.
Buying first means qualifying to carry both payments at once, at least for a while. Most lenders cap your total monthly debt near half your gross income, so if both payments together would push you past that, the buy-first path may not be approvable even when it pencils out cheaper here. Let's check your real numbers before you count on it.
How the gap changes the math
Each path's total cost as the months you own both homes grow from zero to twelve. Where the lines cross, the cheaper path flips.
| Months owning both | Sell-first total | Buy-first total |
|---|
How to use it
Make the inputs yours.
The defaults are current Southern Utah averages so the comparison is useful the moment it loads. It gets sharper the more you tailor it to your equity, your timeline, and the home you are actually weighing.
Start with your current home
Value, balance, and your full monthly payment set your equity and the carrying cost while you own both homes.
Pick how you would fund it
Switch between a HELOC and a bridge loan, then edit the APR to match what a lender quotes you. The financing fee updates with your choice.
Slide the timeline
Drag the months you expect to own both homes and watch the break-even chart show where the cheaper path flips.
Want to understand how a bridge loan or HELOC works in detail? See the mortgage guides on this site. This page is a calculator, not a loan-type explainer.
Decision framework
When each path makes sense.
The math is only half the decision. These are the conditions, framed by your equity, your budget, and the inventory in your price band, where each path tends to fit.
Buy first when
- You hold enough equity that your combined loan-to-value stays near or below 80 percent after tapping it
- Inventory in your target price band is moving quickly and a contingent offer would compete poorly
- Your income supports both payments briefly, or your current home can be listed with a firm timeline
- Moving twice, renting in between, and putting belongings in storage is a cost you would rather not pay
Sell first when
- Accessible equity is thin once your balance is measured against the 80 percent combined-LTV cap
- Your target price band has steady inventory, so a contingent or delayed purchase is workable
- Carrying two payments at once would stretch your budget further than you are comfortable with
- You would rather know your exact sale proceeds before you commit to the next purchase
Selling the home you are in
Selling your current Utah home as part of the move?
List it with Scott Buehler and get it featured on Moving Utah. You get an honest plan for the sale, coordinated with your next purchase so the timing actually works. Commissions are always negotiable, and there are no guaranteed-price or best-agent claims here, just real numbers.
Scott Buehler is licensed in both real estate and mortgage lending and takes only one role on any single transaction, never both on the same home. You are always free to choose your own agent and your own lender. See How I Work.
Common questions
Buying and selling, answered.
Can I buy a home before selling my current one in Utah?
Yes, and plenty of Utah move-up buyers do. The two common ways to fund the next purchase before the old home sells are a HELOC (a line of credit against your current equity) or a bridge loan (a short-term loan built for the gap). A third path is qualifying for both mortgages at once if your income supports it. Which one fits depends on your equity, your timeline, and current rates.
How much equity do I need to buy before selling?
Most lenders let you borrow up to a combined loan-to-value of about 80 percent of your current home's value, minus what you still owe. So the more equity you hold, the more you can put toward the next home. If your balance is close to that cap, accessible equity gets thin and bridge financing may be limited. This calculator shows the accessible-equity figure for the numbers you enter.
What is the difference between a bridge loan and a HELOC?
A HELOC is a revolving line of credit against your current equity, usually cheaper, but it can take a few weeks to set up. A bridge loan is a short-term loan made specifically to cover the gap between buying and selling; it tends to close faster but carries a higher rate and a one-time origination fee. This tool lets you compare both, using editable Utah rate assumptions. For how each loan type works in detail, see the mortgage guides on this site.
What is the 2 to 4 percent contingent-offer discount?
Research by Han and Hong (2024), published in the Review of Finance, found that sellers routinely accept non-contingent offers at a 2 to 4 percent discount versus offers that depend on the buyer first selling another property. Sellers price in the risk that a contingent deal falls through. On a higher-priced home that discount can be a five-figure cost, which is why the sell-first path is rarely free.
Are the rates and costs in this calculator a quote?
No. The financing APR, rent, storage, and moving figures are editable assumptions pre-filled with current Southern Utah averages from a shared data file, not an offer or a forecast. Bridge and HELOC rates move with the market, and your actual numbers depend on your credit, your property, and the lender. Change any field to match your situation, then talk to Scott for figures built around your move.
Which path does this calculator recommend?
Neither, on its own. It lays out what each path actually costs for your inputs: the sell-first friction (temporary housing, two moves, storage, and the contingent-offer discount) against the buy-first carrying cost (overlap payments plus bridge or HELOC interest and fees). The right answer depends on your equity, your timeline, and how much certainty matters to you. Walk through your real numbers with Scott before you commit.
Looking for the rest of the suite? Browse all calculators or head back to resources.
Want to map this against your real numbers?
This tool is a starting point. When you want a plan built around your equity, your timeline, and current rates, let's walk through which path actually works for your move.