Buying Before You Sell in North Texas: Four Ways to Do It
Contingent offers, bridge loans, buy-before-you-sell programs and a leaseback. What each costs, and which one your equity and your timeline actually allow.
This is the hardest ordinary problem in residential real estate, and it is not really about houses. It is about the fact that the money for the next one is locked inside the current one.
The Problem, Stated Precisely
Two constraints that pull against each other:
- The equity constraint. The down payment for the next house is inside the current one and cannot come out until it sells.
- The qualifying constraint. Even if you have the cash, a lender counts the existing mortgage against your debt-to-income ratio until it is gone.
Some households face only the second, which is a much easier problem. Work out which one you have first, because it eliminates two of the four options immediately. Ask a lender to run both scenarios: qualifying with the current mortgage in place, and qualifying without it.
One: The Contingent Offer
You make an offer on the new house conditional on selling your current one, using the promulgated addendum for a sale of other property.
Cost: competitiveness. A seller comparing your offer to a clean one is comparing certainty, and yours has a condition attached.
What makes it work: the further along your existing sale is, the less contingent your offer actually is. There is a large difference between:
- Not yet listed. Very weak. Most sellers will decline.
- Listed and showing. Still weak.
- Under contract, option period expired, financing approved. Nearly as good as a clean offer, and worth saying explicitly in the offer.
Which produces the practical advice: get your house under contract before you write on anything. The order matters more than the tactic. And be aware that the addendum typically contains a kick-out provision letting the seller continue marketing and give you a short window to remove the contingency if a better offer arrives. How offers get compared.
Two: Sell First, Lease Back
You sell your house, and stay in it for a defined period after closing, renting from the new owner. In Texas this is documented with a promulgated addendum and it is entirely routine.
Cost: rent for the period, plus the risk that you have not found the next house by the time it ends.
Why it is usually the best answer: it solves the equity constraint and the qualifying constraint at once. You have the cash, you have no second mortgage, and you are the strongest possible buyer, which in a competitive situation is worth more than the rent costs.
Two practical limits:
- Length. Lenders generally limit how long a leaseback can run before the property is no longer treated as owner-occupied for the buyer. Short leasebacks are routine; long ones are not.
- The buyer has to agree, which is easier when they are not in a hurry themselves, and is a legitimate thing to negotiate for.
Three: Bridge Financing
Short-term borrowing secured against the equity in your existing home, used for the down payment on the next one and repaid when the old house sells.
Cost: a higher rate than a mortgage, origination fees, and the requirement to qualify carrying both payments. Not cheap.
What it buys: a clean, non-contingent offer and complete control of timing. You move once, on your schedule, and sell the old house empty and well presented, which usually sells faster and better. Why an empty, prepared house shows better.
The risk to be honest about: if the old house does not sell as quickly as you assumed, you are carrying two properties on expensive money. Before taking this route, work out how many months of dual carrying cost you could absorb, and compare that to a realistic market time for your house. How long it actually takes.
A related note specific to Texas: home equity lending here has constitutional restrictions that do not exist in other states, including on how much can be borrowed against a homestead and how quickly. Ask a lender specifically about Texas rules rather than assuming a product you read about is available.
Four: Buy-Before-You-Sell Programs
Several companies now offer variations on the same idea: they buy your existing home, or guarantee to, so you can make a cash-equivalent offer on the next one. Some also make the offer on your behalf.
Cost: a program fee, often several percent, plus in many cases a lower net on the house they buy from you.
What it buys: the ability to make a genuinely non-contingent offer without bridge debt and without qualifying for two mortgages.
Four things to establish before you sign:
- The total fee, expressed in dollars rather than percent
- What happens if your house does not sell on the open market within their window
- Whether their backstop offer is binding, and how it is calculated
- Whether you are obliged to use their lender or their agent
These are legitimate products solving a real problem, and they should be compared net to net against the alternatives rather than accepted on the convenience argument. How to run that comparison.
Choosing Between Them
| If this is you | Start with |
|---|---|
| Your equity is the down payment and your timeline is flexible | Sell first, lease back |
| You can qualify for both and have cash for the down payment | Buy first, sell after |
| Your house is already under contract | Contingent offer, and say how far along you are |
| You have equity but not income headroom | Bridge financing, if you can absorb the risk |
| You need certainty above all and will pay for it | A buy-before-you-sell program |
| Nothing above works | Sell, rent for a period, buy properly |
That last row deserves more respect than it usually gets. Selling, renting for six months and buying without pressure is not a failure. It is the option that produces the best outcome on both transactions, and the only cost is one extra move.
Whichever route you take, start with the numbers rather than the tactic: what your current house nets in the net proceeds calculator, and what that supports in the affordability calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you buy a house before selling your current one in Texas?+
Yes, through four ordinary routes: a contingent offer, selling first with a leaseback, bridge financing, or a buy-before-you-sell program that buys your existing home. Which is available depends on your equity, your income and whether you can qualify carrying two mortgages, and each has a real cost.
Do sellers accept contingent offers in North Texas?+
It depends on the market and on the strength of your existing house. A contingent offer on a house that is already under contract and past its option period is nearly as strong as a clean one. A contingent offer on a house not yet listed is much weaker, and in competitive situations it will usually lose.
What is a bridge loan and how much does it cost?+
It is short-term financing secured against your existing home's equity, used for the down payment on the next one and repaid when the old house sells. It carries a higher rate than a mortgage plus origination costs, and you generally have to qualify carrying both payments. It buys certainty and it is not cheap.
What is a leaseback in Texas?+
It is an agreement in which the seller stays in the house after closing, renting it from the new owner for a defined period. It is common, it is documented with a promulgated addendum, and it is the simplest way to sell first without being homeless. Lenders limit how long a leaseback can run before the property is treated differently.
Is it better to buy first or sell first?+
Selling first is financially safer and logistically harder. Buying first is logistically easier and carries the risk of owning two houses. If your equity is the source of your next down payment and your timeline is not flexible, selling first with a leaseback is usually the cleanest answer.
Run Your Own Numbers
About the Author
Licensed Realtor · DFW North Texas
Specializing in Plano, Frisco, McKinney, and Allen. Helping buyers and sellers navigate North Texas since 2015, with honest advice, deep local knowledge, and no pressure.
You Might Also Like
Assumable Mortgages in Texas: Real, Rare, and Slow
FHA and VA loans can transfer with the house at their original rate. What that is worth, what it takes to close one, and the equity problem nobody solves.
· 6 min read
Title Insurance in Texas: The One Policy the State Prices for You
Texas sets the premium by rule, so shopping it is pointless. What to shop instead, what the owner policy covers, and what the endorsements are worth.
· 6 min read
The Appraisal Came In Low. Now What? (North Texas, 2026)
What the lender will and will not lend against, the four ordinary ways out of a gap, and how the appraisal addendum you already signed decides which ones you have.
· 6 min read