How Do You Buy a Home Before Selling Yours in San Antonio?
Move-up buyers in San Antonio's luxury market have three main options: a home sale contingency, a bridge loan, or a buy-before-you-sell program. Contingency offers are almost universally rejected when sellers have non-contingent alternatives — and in Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Olmos Park, they often do. Bridge loans run 8.5%–10.5% in annual interest plus 1.5%–3% in origination fees. Buy-before-you-sell programs cost 1.9%–3.5% of your home's value and remove the contingency without the open-ended interest risk. Which path fits your situation depends on your equity position, your current home's likely sell time, and your cash reserves.
By Caroline Decherd & Susanne Marco| August 13, 2026
You find the right home in Alamo Heights. The lot is right, the bones are right, the timing feels right. There's just one problem: your equity is sitting in the house you haven't sold yet.
This is the move-up dilemma, and it's one of the most common situations we navigate with buyers in the Tri-Cities. You need the proceeds from your current sale to fund the down payment on the next one — but timing two transactions is harder than it looks, and the wrong move can cost you the house you want or leave you carrying two mortgages longer than you planned.
There are three paths through this. Here's what each one actually costs and when it makes sense.
The Contingency Offer — and Why It Usually Loses
A home sale contingency means your purchase of the new property is conditioned on your current home selling first. It sounds logical. In practice, in San Antonio's luxury market, it's almost always the weakest offer on the table.
When sellers in Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, or Olmos Park receive a contingent offer alongside a non-contingent one, they almost universally take the non-contingent one. A contingency introduces a chain of risk they can't control — your buyer could fall through, your appraisal could miss, your financing could stall. They don't get paid unless your entire transaction works. For a seller who has a clean alternative, that's too much to ask.
Most sellers who accept a contingency at all do so with a kick-out clause. They keep marketing the property, and if another offer comes in, they give you 72 hours to either remove your contingency or walk away. Which means your "accepted" offer can be displaced at any time, after you've already invested emotionally and financially in the process.
Where contingencies do sometimes work: when the seller is a motivated mover — estate, relocation, divorce — who values certainty of timeline over offer security. Or when the property has been sitting long enough that the seller has no competing interest. In those cases, a well-structured contingency with a short window — 30 days or less — can get you to the table. Our post on seller flexibility with pricing and contingencies covers when sellers are actually receptive to them.
The current San Antonio market creates a nuanced environment. With inventory elevated and San Antonio classified as one of the most buyer-favorable markets in the country, sellers in the Tri-Cities are more open to contingencies than they were in 2021–2022 — but only when they don't have a clean alternative. At the luxury price points where Park Properties operates, motivated buyers are still out there, and your contingency is still the weakest card in the deck.
The Bridge Loan — What It Really Costs
A bridge loan is short-term financing secured against your current home's equity. It gives you the liquidity to close on the new home before your existing one sells, making your offer non-contingent.
In 2026, Texas bridge loans typically carry:
- Interest rate: 8.5%–10.5% annually
- Origination fees: 1.5%–3% of the loan amount
- Term: 6–12 months
- Equity requirement: 20% minimum; most Texas lenders prefer 30–40%
- Reserve requirement: 6 months of combined payments — current mortgage, new mortgage, and bridge loan — held in liquid savings
For buyers in Alamo Heights or Terrell Hills, where existing homes frequently range from $800K to $2M+, that payment stack matters. If your current mortgage runs $3,000/month, your new home mortgage is $6,000/month, and the bridge loan adds $2,500/month, you're looking at $11,500/month until your current home closes. Plan for at least 30–60 days of overlap — San Antonio's luxury market is running in that range for days on market in 2026.
The math is most favorable when your current home sells quickly. If you price it strategically and it moves within 45–60 days, the total bridge loan cost is often $8,000–$20,000 in combined interest and fees on a $500,000 bridge — uncomfortable but manageable relative to the purchase you're protecting. If it drags to six months, those costs compound significantly.
There's also a Texas-specific alternative worth considering: a HELOC (home equity line of credit). Under Texas law, home equity loans and HELOCs are capped at 80% combined loan-to-value. If your home is worth $900K and you owe $400K, you can access up to $320,000 in a HELOC. The rate is typically prime + 1–2% with no origination fees at the scale of a bridge loan. The catch: Texas law requires a mandatory 12-business-day cooling-off period after you apply before the HELOC can close — so you need to start the process well before you need the funds.
Buy-Before-You-Sell Programs — The Middle Option
If the interest exposure of a bridge loan feels like too much risk, buy-before-you-sell programs offer a different structure. Companies like Homeward, HomeLight, and Knock advance you a portion of your estimated home equity so you can make a non-contingent offer, then you repay when your current home closes.
The cost: typically 1.9%–3.5% of your current home's value as a flat fee. On an $800K existing home in Alamo Heights, that's $15,200–$28,000 — a real number, but predictable and without rate risk. You know the cost upfront and it doesn't grow if your home takes 90 days to sell.
The trade-off: these programs involve a third-party provider with their own approval process and their own valuation of your home, which may differ from your asking price. Unlike a bridge loan — where you work directly with your own lender and retain full control of your sale — the program adds another layer to the transaction that some buyers find constraining.
How to think about which path fits:
- Bridge loan — if you have strong liquidity, can carry combined payments, and your current home is likely to sell within 60–90 days
- HELOC — if you have significant equity and time to open the line before you need it; lowest fee option
- Buy-before-you-sell program — if you want flat-fee cost certainty over rate risk; no interest accrual regardless of how long your home takes to sell
- Contingency — only when the seller is motivated and has no competitive offers, or the property has been sitting
The right path depends on your equity, your current home's likely pace, and your cash position outside of the homes. There's no universal answer — but there is a right answer for your specific situation, and the time to figure it out is before you make an offer, not after.
If you're thinking about upsizing within San Antonio and want to map out how the timing and financing work together, schedule a call with Caroline or Susanne. We've guided buyers through all three of these approaches in Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Olmos Park — and the planning conversation is always easier before you're under pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use a HELOC instead of a bridge loan in Texas?
Yes, but Texas has stricter home equity rules than most states. Under the Texas Constitution, HELOCs are capped at 80% combined loan-to-value on the property — and there's a mandatory 12-business-day cooling-off period after you apply before the line can close. The upside: HELOCs typically carry no origination fees at the scale of a bridge loan and charge roughly prime + 1–2% variable interest. If you have time to open the line before you need it, a HELOC is often the cheapest way to access your equity.
How long does it take to sell a home in Alamo Heights or Terrell Hills in 2026?
Most luxury homes in the Tri-Cities at the $700K–$1.5M price point are spending 45–90 days on market in 2026. Well-priced, well-presented homes in move-in condition can still move in 3–4 weeks. Overpriced or condition-challenged homes can sit for 90+ days and face price reductions. When you're modeling bridge loan costs, 60 days of overlap is a reasonable base case — budget for 90 days if you want a conservative cushion.
Will a contingency offer always be rejected in San Antonio's luxury market?
Not always. In the current buyer-favorable market, motivated sellers — those in estate situations, relocations, or with properties sitting 60+ days — will sometimes consider a contingency. The key factors are a short contingency window (30 days or less), clean financials, and a listing price on your current home that signals you're serious about selling. Your agent should read the seller's situation before deciding whether a contingency offer is worth attempting.
Can I qualify for two mortgages at the same time in Texas?
Yes, though lenders will include both mortgage payments in your debt-to-income calculation. If the new purchase pushes you above $806,500 in Bexar County — jumbo territory — stricter DTI and reserve requirements apply on top of the bridge loan's own reserve requirement. Most Texas bridge lenders want to see you can handle all payment obligations simultaneously for at least six months. Getting pre-qualified for the bridge loan and new mortgage together, ideally with the same lender, avoids underwriting surprises mid-process.
What's the biggest mistake move-up buyers make when timing two transactions?
Starting in the wrong order. The common mistake is finding the home you want first, making an offer, then scrambling to figure out the financing. The right sequence: assess your equity and reserve position → model the bridge loan or HELOC math → pre-qualify with a lender → then start seriously looking. That way you're ready to move when the right property appears — rather than losing it while you're still figuring out how to fund the deal.
About Caroline Decherd & Susanne Marco
Caroline Decherd and Susanne Park are luxury real estate specialists serving Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Olmos Park, and San Antonio's historic central neighborhoods. With deep roots in the community and decades of combined experience, they guide buyers and sellers through one of Texas's most distinctive luxury markets.
