A Lenexa, KS family needed a larger home but didn’t want to leave their school district. In a competitive market, buying their next home with a sale contingency wasn’t likely to work. We created a plan that allowed them to buy first, prepare and pre-market their existing home, and price it strategically. The result? Three offers above list price, an accepted offer in five days, and no double mortgage payment.
One of the biggest worries I hear from homeowners who need more space is surprisingly simple:
“What if we sell our house before we find another one?”
But sometimes the opposite question is even more important:
“Could we buy our next home first — and then sell?”
That’s exactly the situation one Lenexa family I worked with faced.
They had outgrown their three-bedroom home. Both parents worked from home and needed real office space. They wanted more room for their family, more living space, and a yard for their dogs.
But there was one thing they didn’t want to change:
Their school district.
Their children still had years of school ahead of them, so moving farther away simply to find a bigger house wasn’t the solution.
They wanted to stay close to home in Lenexa.
And that made the strategy much more interesting.
The Problem Wasn’t Just Finding a House. It Was Figuring Out How to Buy It.
We eventually found a home in Lenexa that checked the important boxes.
Four bedrooms. A finished basement. Separate living and family rooms. A screened-in porch. A yard for the dogs.
Most importantly, it gave both parents room for their own offices while allowing the family to stay in the school district they already loved.
There was just one problem.
They still owned their current home.
In the market we were competing in, I could see that sellers had options. Homes in their price range were attracting multiple buyers.
That meant an offer contingent upon my clients selling their existing home first was going to have a difficult time competing against buyers who didn’t have that contingency.
So instead of repeatedly writing offers that weren’t likely to win, we looked at the problem differently.
Could we create a plan that allowed them to buy first and sell second — without taking more financial risk than they were comfortable with?
Buying First Doesn’t Mean Ignoring the Risk
This is where I think experience matters.
I would never tell every homeowner, “Just buy the next house first.”
That’s not a strategy.
For this family, the biggest concern was carrying two mortgage payments.
They also planned to use a loan against their 401(k) to help bridge the financial gap between purchasing the new home and receiving the proceeds from the sale of their existing home.
So every extra week mattered.
Their goal was to keep any overlap to one month at most.
That meant we couldn’t wait until after they bought the new house to start thinking about selling the old one.
The sale plan needed to be built before we ever wrote the purchase offer.
We Worked Backward From the Result They Needed
First, we worked closely with their lender to determine whether they could qualify to purchase the new home without making the offer contingent upon selling their existing home.
They could.
That gave us the ability to compete for the house they really wanted.
But getting the new house under contract was only half of my concern.
I was already thinking about the house they needed to sell.
Before their new-home closing, we were preparing their current home for sale so it could be ready to hit the market quickly.
I also began pre-marketing their home before their purchase closed so we could start creating buyer interest instead of waiting until listing day to begin from zero.
We addressed repairs that could potentially become distractions during showings or inspections.
And then came one of the most important decisions:
The price.
I Didn’t Want to “Test the Market” With Their Price
When sellers need a quick sale, it can be tempting to think:
“Let’s start high. We can always come down.”
I didn’t think that was the right strategy here.
Our goal wasn’t simply to put their house on the market.
We needed to create enough buyer interest to generate strong offers quickly while also being careful not to push the price so high that we created an appraisal problem later.
That’s an important distinction.
A high offer isn’t particularly helpful if an appraisal issue threatens the transaction three weeks later.
So we priced the home to be competitive.
Then we let the market respond.
The Market Responded Quickly
They received three offers.
All three were above the list price.
We selected the offer that met the family’s bottom-line goals and gave us the terms we needed to keep the rest of their move on track.
Their home went from listing to accepted offer in five days.
Twenty-five days later, it closed.
And the double mortgage payment they had been so worried about?
They never made one.
What I Think Homeowners Should Take From This Story
Buying before selling isn’t automatically better than selling before buying.
And I don’t recommend a non-contingent purchase simply because it makes an offer look stronger.
The right strategy depends on your finances, your existing home, the market you’re buying in, the market you’re selling in, and how much risk you’re comfortable taking.
But there’s something I’ve learned from helping homeowners navigate moves like this:
The best time to figure out how you’re going to sell your current home is usually before you fall in love with the next one.
That’s when we have options.
We can talk with the lender.
We can estimate your proceeds.
We can look realistically at what your current home may sell for.
We can decide what needs to be repaired — and what doesn’t.
We can talk about timing.
And we can determine whether buying first, selling first, or using a contingency makes the most sense for you.
In this family’s situation, buying first worked beautifully.
But it worked because there was a plan connecting the purchase and the sale.
It wasn’t two separate transactions.
It was one move.
Are You Wondering How You Could Buy and Sell at the Same Time?
If you own a home in Overland Park, Prairie Village, Lenexa, Mission, Roeland Park, or elsewhere in Johnson County and you’re wondering how you could possibly coordinate selling one home while buying another, you don’t need to have the answer before we talk.
That’s the part I help you figure out.
We can look at your current home, what you hope to buy, your timing, and the different ways the two transactions might fit together — before you make any decisions.
Ready to Talk Through Your Specific Situation?
Call or text me at 816-520-0917 or schedule a free 15-minute consultation to get started.
About Suzanne Hinton
Suzanne is a real estate agent with RE/MAX Premier Realty specializing in Overland Park and Northern Johnson County, KS, including Prairie Village, Mission, and Roeland Park, and licensed in both Kansas and Missouri.
With 30+ years of experience, 750+ families assisted, and a background as a licensed, non-practicing real estate attorney, she brings contract insight and market knowledge that goes well beyond the typical transaction.
Suzanne works directly and individually with every client and has earned the Five Star Agent Award for Customer Satisfaction every year from 2005 through 2025.
Direct: 816-520-0917
RE/MAX Premier Realty: 913-652-0400
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