Selling the home you have and buying the one you need — at the same time, in the same market — is the hardest move in real estate to time. Here's how I sequence it so you don't end up carrying two mortgages or living in a rental between homes.
Selling first locks in your exact budget, but if the timing doesn't line up you may need a short-term rental or a long closing. Buying first means you never move twice, but you risk carrying two properties if your home sells slower or for less than planned. When homes like yours are selling slowly, selling first — or buying with a condition on the sale of your home — is usually the safer order. When they're selling quickly, buying first can work if your financing is set up for it. I'll tell you which way the market is leaning for your specific home and price point, not the city as a whole.
It's an offer to buy that only becomes firm once your current home sells, within a set number of days. Sellers often accept it with an escape clause: if they get another offer, you're given a short window — commonly 24 to 72 hours — to remove your condition or step aside. It protects you from owning two homes, but it makes your offer weaker than a firm one, so it works best on homes that aren't drawing multiple offers.
Bridge financing is a short-term loan that lets you use the equity in your current home before its sale closes — typically to fund your down payment when your purchase closes before your sale. Most lenders want to see a firm, unconditional sale agreement on your current home first. It costs interest for the days it's outstanding and sometimes an admin fee, so confirm your lender's terms before you set closing dates that depend on it.
Often, yes. Many mortgages are portable, meaning you can move your existing rate and balance to the new property and avoid a prepayment penalty — usually within a set window between the two closings, and usually subject to requalifying. If you need to borrow more, lenders typically blend your existing rate with the current rate on the new money. Ask your lender for your porting terms and your payout penalty before you list, because the difference can be thousands of dollars.
Your down payment on the next home comes from the equity left after you sell — the sale price minus your mortgage payout, any prepayment penalty, commission, legal fees and moving costs. The minimum down payment rules are the same as for any purchase: 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the portion above that for homes up to $1.5 million, or 20% above $1.5 million. Putting 20% or more down avoids mortgage default insurance. Start with a valuation of your current home so the plan runs on a real number.
Three come up most: land transfer tax on the new home, with no first-time buyer rebate this time; the prepayment penalty if you break your mortgage instead of porting it; and the cost of any overlap between closings, whether that's bridge interest or two sets of carrying costs. Add two sets of legal fees and moving costs and the total is easy to underbudget.
Same-day closings are common in Ontario, but they leave no margin: the money from your sale has to reach your lawyer in time to fund your purchase the same day, and any delay on the sale side holds up the purchase too. Closing your purchase a few days after your sale, with bridge financing if needed, gives you room to move and clean. Have your lawyer and lender sign off on the gap before you commit to it in an offer.
The hardest part of moving up is committing to a purchase before you know how your current home will sell. Under the Guaranteed Sale Program, we agree on a price and closing date for your home up front, and if it doesn't sell on those terms, I buy it — so your purchase isn't riding on an open-ended sale. Terms apply, and the program is not intended to solicit sellers already under contract with another brokerage. Ask me for the full written details for your home.
*Terms apply — not intended to solicit buyers or sellers already under contract with another brokerage. Price and closing date must be mutually agreed upon. Ask me for full written program details.