Sometimes when trying to sell a house you find yourself in a sticking point. You’ve got a person who’s ready to sell their house, but they only want to sell if they find the right place for themselves. The seller wants to be confident that their new house is out there. These situations can be quite challenging. Thankfully, I’ve got a great strategy, called the reverse contingency, to help get these people off the fence so you can increase your real estate sales this year.

What is a reverse contingency?

You’ve probably heard of a contingency where it’s like, we’re going to buy that house contingent upon selling this house. This is just that but in reverse. You tell the buyer that you’ll sell to them, but only if the seller can get a new house within a few months, or whatever window you agree on. This can help get some momentum going, and even sometimes help you convert cold real estate leads.

Could doing a reverse contingency hurt my chances of selling the home?

In the short term, yes. A lot of buyers want to have moved into their new home yesterday, so you might have to compromise a bit. Maybe you list the property 5% below the market to sweeten the deal.

What if the seller can’t find a house?

Well, in this case, since there would have been a reverse contingency in place, if the seller doesn’t find a house they want to move into the deal would be a no go. However, a lot of times, it ends up being easier for the seller to find a new house if they have the confidence of knowing that their house has been sold. This sometimes frees them up emotionally and mentally to be realistic about things. Maybe that house doesn’t have the perfect countertops, but it has the extra bedroom that they need. Plus, at the end of the day, there’s no pressure because they can bail on the contract if they don’t find a place they like.

I hope this helps. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. I would be happy to meet up or chat about this or any other questions you might have.