Buying and selling a home at the same time in Utah and Idaho

Most people who own a home and want another one face the same problem. The money for the next down payment is tied up in the current house, and the lender may not approve two mortgage payments at once. There are four common ways to handle it, and many moves combine two of them.

Before you choose, talk to a lender about whether you can qualify for both payments. Then work out your expected proceeds from the sale. The net sheet and cost breakdown at /selling-costs/ shows what typically comes out of a sale price in Utah and Idaho.

Most Utah home sales use the Real Estate Purchase Contract (REPC) approved by the Utah Real Estate Commission and the Attorney General. The current version is effective Dec. 4, 2024. Section 2.2, "Sale of Buyer's Property," asks whether the buyer's ability to buy, get the loan or come up with the cash "IS" or "IS NOT" conditioned on selling real estate the buyer owns. If the buyer checks IS, "the terms of the attached subject to sale of Buyer's property addendum apply."

The REPC doesn't spell out the contingency itself. The details are in that addendum: how long the buyer has to sell, whether the buyer's home must already be under contract, and what happens if it doesn't sell. The Utah Division of Real Estate's list of state-approved forms has no sale-of-buyer's-property addendum. It lists the REPC, a general Addendum, and addenda for seller financing, FHA/VA loans, assumptions, lead-based paint and title company earnest money.

Utah Code § 61-2f-306 generally limits licensees to forms the Commission and Attorney General have approved. However, if no approved form exists for the situation, a licensee may fill out forms prepared by legal counsel, including counsel the brokerage retains for that purpose. In practice, the addendum you see will be your agent's or brokerage's attorney-prepared form, or terms written into the state-approved general Addendum. Read its deadlines as carefully as the REPC's own.

• Check how the contingency interacts with the REPC's four deadlines in Section 24: Seller Disclosure, Due Diligence, Financing & Appraisal, and Settlement.
• Earnest money can become non-refundable under the REPC's own terms. Know which deadline protects you if your home doesn't sell.
• If the addendum lets the seller keep marketing the home and accept a backup offer, find out how much notice you get to remove the contingency or cancel.

For a section-by-section guide to the rest of the form, see /utah/sell-by-owner/repc-explained/.

Idaho has no state-approved purchase contract. Most offers use the RE-21 Residential Purchase and Sale Agreement published by Idaho REALTORS®, a trade association. Its forms page says the forms "cannot be used by anyone" who is not an active REALTOR® member, so the full current text isn't public. What we can confirm comes from the association's own Legal Hotline summaries, which quote the form.

The key provision is Section 4. In the 2021 version quoted by the Hotline, every contingency in the agreement and in any counteroffers or addenda must be "satisfied, removed or exercised" no later than a set number of business days before closing (five if the blank is left empty). If a buyer misses that deadline, the contingency is waived and the earnest money becomes non-refundable except if the seller defaults. Contingencies can be excluded only by writing them into the blank lines of Section 4.

The Hotline applied this to a buyer whose offer was contingent on selling his other home. He couldn't sell, but he cancelled after the Section 4 deadline. The Hotline said he was unlikely to get his earnest money back. If your purchase depends on your sale, have your agent list the home-sale contingency as an exception in Section 4 or keep a close eye on that date.

Idaho REALTORS® also publishes the RE-27, "Seller's Right to Continue to Market Property." According to the Hotline, a seller can always keep marketing a home under contract. The RE-27 goes further and gives the seller the right to make the buyer remove a contingency. When the buyer waives contingencies under the RE-27, the buyer must also deliver an agreed amount of additional non-refundable consideration, which is credited toward the price at closing. The forms are revised from time to time, and these quotes come from older versions, so have your agent confirm the current wording.

For more on how the RE-21 works from the seller's side, see /idaho/sell-by-owner/purchase-agreement/.

From the seller's side, a home-sale contingency adds a second home the seller doesn't control. If that sale falls through, so can theirs. That's why many sellers prefer, and sometimes take a lower price from, a buyer without one. How much it matters depends on the local market and how long the home has been listed.

• Your home is already under contract. A contingency on a sale that's already pending, ideally past its inspection and financing deadlines, is a much smaller risk than one on a home that isn't listed yet.
• You offer a right to continue marketing. In Idaho that's the RE-27. In Utah it would be terms in the contingency addendum. The seller can keep showing the home and ask you to remove the contingency if a better offer comes in.
• You show a lender's preapproval that covers the scenario, and a realistic list price for your current home.
• You keep the contingency window short and put down a meaningful earnest money deposit.

If you're the seller receiving a contingent offer, ask for the buyer's current listing or sale contract, their lender's letter, and how the contingency deadline lines up with your own closing date.

Staying on after closing, often called a rent-back or post-closing occupancy, lets you sell first and still move only once. You get your proceeds at closing and have a few days or weeks to close on your next home and move.

Utah: Section 3.3 of the REPC sets when the seller must deliver physical possession: on recording, a number of hours after recording, or a number of calendar days after recording. It also says any "contracted rental of the Property prior to or after Closing" between buyer and seller must be in a separate written agreement, and that buyer and seller are each responsible for any insurance they think they need, including for personal property. Those terms survive closing. The REPC also requires the seller to deliver the home in broom-clean condition, free of debris and personal belongings, and to repair moving damage (Section 10.3).

Idaho: the Hotline quotes RE-21 Section 37 (2019 version) as giving the buyer possession "upon closing" or at a stated date and time. Closing is when the documents are recorded or accepted by an escrow agent and the sale proceeds are available to the seller. A rent-back means filling in a later date and putting the occupancy terms in writing.

Whatever the state, a written occupancy agreement usually covers:

• The move-out date and time, and a daily charge if you stay past it.
• Rent or a per-day fee, and any deposit or holdback from your proceeds.
• Who pays utilities, and who is responsible for repairs and damage while you're there.
• Insurance: you no longer own the house, so check with your agent about coverage for your belongings and liability.
• The condition the home must be in when you hand over the keys.

The buyer's lender may limit how long a seller can stay, because the buyer's loan usually assumes they'll live there. Settle the length of any rent-back with the buyer's lender and title company before you count on it. For longer stays, talk to a real estate attorney, because the arrangement can start to look like a landlord-tenant relationship.

If you want to buy first and need the equity in your current home for the down payment, the two usual tools are a bridge loan and a home equity line of credit.

A bridge loan (or swing loan) is short-term financing secured by your current home. The CFPB's official commentary to Regulation Z describes a temporary or "bridge" loan of 12 months or less, for example to buy a new home when you plan to sell your current one within 12 months. Bridge loans of 12 months or less are exempt from the federal ability-to-repay rule. In practice, the lender is often relying on your home selling rather than on your income to repay it. Expect higher rates and fees than a regular mortgage, and ask what happens if the house hasn't sold when the term ends.

A HELOC is, in the CFPB's words, an "open-end" line of credit that lets you borrow repeatedly against your home equity. Most HELOCs carry a variable rate, so payments can change from month to month. The lender can freeze the line if your home's value drops significantly or your finances change. The CFPB's HELOC booklet also points out that if you sell, you generally must pay off the HELOC in full immediately. So if you're likely to sell soon, weigh the up-front costs of opening one. Lenders may also be reluctant to open a new line on a home that's listed for sale, so if you go this route, set it up before you list.

Most conventional loans follow Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, and it addresses this situation directly. Under B3-6-06 (Sept. 2, 2026 version), if your current home is pending sale but won't close before you close on the new home, the lender must qualify you with both the current payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA dues) and the proposed one. The exception: Fannie Mae doesn't require the current payment to be counted if the lender has the executed sale contract on your current home and confirmation that any financing contingencies in it have been cleared.

Fannie Mae accepts a bridge loan as a source of funds if it isn't cross-collateralized against the new property and the lender documents that you can carry the payments on the new home, the current home, the bridge loan and your other debts (B3-4.3-14). B3-6-05 says the bridge loan creates a contingent liability that counts in your debt-to-income ratio, unless the lender has the signed sale contract and confirmation that its financing contingencies have cleared.

If you plan to keep your current home as a rental, B3-6-06 sends the lender to separate rules on rental income from a departing residence (B3-3.8-05) and on reserves. FHA, VA and portfolio lenders have their own rules, so ask your loan officer which ones apply to you.

The practical takeaway: getting your current home under contract, with the buyer's financing contingency cleared, before you close on the next one can make it much easier to qualify for the new loan.

When the two closings depend on each other, the dates in both contracts have to work together. Here's how the Utah REPC defines the key steps:

• Settlement (Section 3.1) happens by the Settlement Deadline in Section 24(d). It's complete when both sides have signed the required documents and delivered the money they owe, other than loan proceeds.
• Closing (Section 3.2) also requires the loan funds to be delivered and the documents recorded. Those steps must happen within four calendar days after Settlement.
• Possession (Section 3.3) is tied to recording, not to signing, unless you agree to a delay in hours or days.
• The buyer's final walk-through can be no earlier than seven calendar days before Settlement (Section 11).
• Deadlines fall at 5:00 PM Mountain Time, and days are calendar days counted from the day after the triggering event (Section 21).

In Idaho, the RE-21 (as quoted by the Hotline) defines closing as the date the documents are recorded or accepted by an escrow agent and the sale proceeds are available to the seller. Remember the Section 4 contingency deadline counts back from the closing date.

• Set the sale's closing a day or more before the purchase closes. Same-day closings work, but leave no room for a recording or funding delay.
• Tell both title companies that the purchase depends on the sale proceeds, and confirm how the funds will move between them.
• The CFPB says the lender must give you the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you close your new loan. Build that into the purchase timeline.
• Use delayed possession on the sale, or a rent-back, so you're not out of your home before you can get into the new one.

Sometimes the cleanest financial option is to sell, move into a short-term rental or stay with family, and buy once you have cash in hand. It costs more in moving and storage and is more disruptive. But it removes the contingency from your offer, avoids carrying two mortgages, and you buy knowing exactly what your sale netted.

• Price the move both ways: two moves plus storage and rent versus bridge loan or HELOC costs plus carrying two homes.
• Look for month-to-month or furnished rentals so you aren't locked into a lease when the right home turns up.
• Pack and store what you won't need first. That also helps the home show better while it's listed.
• Keep your loan preapproval current and avoid new debt in between.

JupiDoor represents buyers and sellers in Utah and Idaho, so one team can handle both your sale and your purchase and coordinate the dates between them. Seller packages appear on this page. On Utah purchases, buyers can get cash back under the terms at /cashback/; it isn't offered in Idaho. See /buy/ for how buying with JupiDoor works.