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b'With\\xa0Terry Story, 27-year veteran Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton, FL

Caught in the middle of selling your old home and buying a new home?\\xa0 A common situation for many of us who aren\\u2019t in the position to pay two mortgages. With 27 years of experience under her real estate belt, Terry has a formula to meet this challenge:

* Before putting your home on the market, carefully research where you want to live and have a general idea of prices in that area.
* If you get an offer on your home before you find your new home, state that the sale is contingent upon finding that home within a certain time frame.
* Establish an extended closing period of up to 90 days instead of the usual 45.
* Be prepared to go into temporary housing, whether with a family member or into an apartment or short-term rental, if necessary.

In Terry\\u2019s experience, rarely does it come to this last situation since, she says, something always seems to work out, perhaps because once you have a buyer, the motivation to find a new home ramps up.
We spoke with Terry recently about pricing your home so that you receive multiple offers from which to choose. If you happen to be one of those potential buyers who placed an offer in this scenario and you really want to win at this, what can you do?\\xa0 Terry advises employing a bit of psychological warfare\\u2014in a friendly way, of course\\u2014by:

* Obtaining pre-approval before submitting your offer. Turn in your tax returns, bank statements, all necessary financial requirements.
* Setting up a shorter inspection period in the contract.
* Putting down as large a down payment as possible.
* Making your offer not contingent upon appraisal, if you really want the property.

Timing isn\\u2019t always everything when buying or selling real estate. As Terry will tell you, a little creativity and flexibility need to go into the mix as well, whether you\\u2019re a buyer or a seller.
Read The Entire Transcript HereCollapse Transcript
Steve Pomeranz: It\'s time for Real Estate Roundup.\\xa0 This is the time every single week we get together with noted real estate agent Terry Story. Terry is a 27-year veteran with Coldwell Banker, located in Boca Raton, Florida.\\xa0 Welcome back to the show, Terry.
Terry Story: Thanks for having me, Steve.
Steve Pomeranz: Hey, Terry, if I\'m in a position where I want to buy a new home, but I haven\'t sold my current home, how do I handle this difficult positioning of buying a new home at the same time I\'m trying to sell.
Terry Story: Sure.\\xa0 Let me tell you, this is a challenge.\\xa0 It can be done.\\xa0 There\'s a couple of different ways you can do it.\\xa0 What I tell my customers is, first, when you decide to make that decision and you know that you have to sell your house first and you\'re not quite sure where you want to go, begin shopping the general area.\\xa0 Decide you want this part of town, you want that part of town.\\xa0 Maybe what particular neighborhoods you want.\\xa0 Have an idea in mind as to where you want to go.\\xa0 If you feel that you can find something in that area, then go ahead and put the home on the market.\\xa0 While you put your home on the market, keep an eye on these particular areas that you\'re looking at.\\xa0 What happens is you get the offer on the house and now you have to panic because you\'re like, "Oh, my gosh.\\xa0 I\'m going to sell my house and I have no place to go."
Steve Pomeranz: Right, exactly.
Terry Story: That\'s what everyone does.\\xa0 First, try to get the buyer to give you so many days contingent upon you being able to find a house.\\xa0 That would be plan A.\\xa0 Plan B, maybe give yourself an extended closing.\\xa0 Say, maybe instead of 45 days, make it 60 or 90 days, if the buyer buying your home is willing to do so. Plan C is the most important.'