top of page

SERVICE DETAIL — MOVE-UP

How I run two transactions at once without dropping either one.

This page is about how I actually run a move-up: the way I think about coordination, the conversations that prevent problems before they happen, and the work my clients don't usually see. 

HOW I WORK

Four things I bring to every move-up.

A move-up is two deals running in parallel, often connected by a single thread of cash flow. That changes how I work — every decision on one side affects the other, and the planning has to reflect that.

"I lead with math, not emotion."

Before we tour a single home, we run the numbers.
​

I see too many move-up buyers fall in love with a house first and then try to make the math work. I run it the other way around. Equity, net proceeds, new mortgage scenarios, and monthly cash flow at the new place. We're tour-ready when you know — to the dollar — what you can spend without straining the rest of your life.

"Both sides of the deal get equal attention."

I don't treat the sale as the easy half.
​

In a move-up, the home you're selling matters just as much as the home you're buying. A weak listing strategy can sink the whole transaction. I handle both sides with the same commitment, intensity — same prep work, same analysis, same communication.

"I plan for what could go wrong, not just what should go right."

Plan B exists before we need it.
​

The buyer of your old home loses financing. The seller of your new home gets cold feet. The appraisal comes in low. These things happen. I think through the failure modes before we're in escrow, so we have an answer ready, not a panic.

"You'll always know what's happening."

Communication is part of the job, not a courtesy.
​

You'll get a status update from me at least weekly during the active period — more often when something needs your attention. No surprises. If I haven't called you in three days, it's because nothing has happened that you need to know about.

BEHIND THE SCENES

What two-transaction coordination actually looks like.

Handling a sale and a purchase at the same time means twice the moving parts. Here's the work happening during a typical move-up — most of it invisible to the client.

  • Cross-deal scheduling
​

I'm tracking two escrow timelines side by side — your sale closing and your purchase closing — and watching for any drift between them. When one slides, I'm on the phone with both sides figuring out whether we can pull the other one into alignment or extend.

  • Listing agent calls before we offer
​

Before we write an offer on a home, I call the listing agent to find out what's motivating their seller. What's the rent-back situation? What other offers do they have? The information shapes how we structure the offer — sometimes it's the difference between winning and losing.

  • Backup-buyer conversations
​

When your home is in escrow, I'm not done. I keep relationships warm with the agents whose buyers were the runners-up. If the primary deal falls apart, I want to be back in contract within 48 hours, not back on the open market.

  • Lender and title coordination
​

Two transactions mean two lenders, two appraisers, and often two title companies. I work with them all — making sure document timing lines up, that funds will be wired in the right order, and that nobody is waiting on someone they didn't realize they needed.

  • Repair negotiation on both sides
​

You'll likely have to negotiate repairs as the seller of your old home and inspect the new one as a buyer. I handle both negotiations with the same eye — what's reasonable to ask for, what's reasonable to credit, and where to push back. The two negotiations inform each other.

  • Closing-day choreography
​

Funding order. Wire timing. Possession schedules. Movers. Utility transfers at two addresses. The last 72 hours of a move-up have more happening at the same time than any other point in the transaction. I keep an active checklist and work through it with you in real time.

NEXT STEP

Let's run the numbers.

bottom of page