How To Buy A Bigger House When You Already Own a Home?

Buying a bigger house when you already own a home in this high interest rate market can be tough. But our clients just bought a bigger home while owning a home. This is their story.

We are so lucky to be a part of Ashley and Aaron’s journey. This year we helped them buy a bigger home while they still owned their start house. Then we sold the starter house.

There were a few big wins in this process:

First, we helped them buy their dream Mid-Century Modern home, and we negotiated to get them an under asking price.
Ashley and Aaron moved out of the smaller home and moved up to their brand new home.
Team Diva got to work to prep their home for sale.
We sold their original smaller home in just 7 days.
The home received 10 offers and sold for $120,000 over the asking price!

Before we start check out the content that really helped Ashley and Aaron to buy a bigger home while owning their starter home:

Here is the full story for you to use as a reference when you buy a bigger home while still owning and living in your original starter house.

Kim and Donna Helped Our Clients Buy a Bigger Home While Still Owning Their Starter Home

Ashley and Aaron originally found Team Diva online in 2019 and we loved them from the moment we met them. The fact that they were super cool and cat lovers was definitely a plus! Back then, they were first-time homebuyers and we found an adorable home (but definitely not their forever home) in Arbor Heights. After owning their first Arbor Heights home for a while, they came to us in 2025 when they were ready to sell it and ready to buy a bigger home. Here’s the story of how it all happened.

Identifying Their Dream Home Wants & Needs

After living in Arbor Heights in West Seattle for 6 years, Aaron and Ashley were definitely attached to the neighborhood. They wanted to find their new home in the same area—ideally Arbor Heights, Fauntleroy, or somewhere near Lincoln Park.

Bigger Home Wants and Needs

Their dream was to find an Mid Century Modern (MCM) home in West Seattle. They love Mid-Century Modern homes and were kind of looking for a project.

Ashley and Aaron were open to a cosmetic fixer with a solid foundation—a home they could move into but still update over time. Getting more space was also important. They were missing having another room for guests and family visits, and another space for projects. Finding an mid-century modern home with less of a yard than they had in their first home was also on the list. And a cool view would be great, too!

Pro-Tip: Check out our blog and video about Buying a Mid-Century Modern Home in Seattle. Not to brag but we are aficionados of Seattle area mid-century modern homes.

Finding Our Diva Dwellers The Perfect Mid-Century Modern Home

We did not actually have to search for their dream home for long. Ashley and Aaron only had to offer on one other home before we found The One. I think they knew as soon as they saw this home that it was exactly what they were looking for. We had our eye on it, but it was a bit higher than their desired price. When it didn’t make the offer review date, Donna immediately took them to see it and they fell in LOVE.

Making an Offer on the Seattle Mid-Century Modern Home aka A Bigger Home!

When we toured the mid-century modern home at an open house, we were the only ones touring. This gave the agent hosting the open house a chance to talk to our clients at length. In the end, he helped advocate for Aaron and Ashley to the seller.

This bigger home for Ashley and Aaron had been on the market for awhile. Kim and Donna were able to come in under asking and get the offer signed.

It was all pretty painless.

Winning The Mid-Century Modern Home

Ashley and Aaron got their mid-century modern view home in Arbor Heights at their price point. It was a complete win! This is the perfect home for them and we know they will make it super special and love living there. And so will their cat Penny, who is enjoying her new Diva catnip toy and loving all the new space to romp around!

We met for the first time in mid-January 2025, AND were closed on their new home by March 14th. When you know what you want and go for it, magic happens!

And BONUS, this home has the most stunning view of the Puget Sound. Not a bonus any of us thought we would find. Beyond the view, this home hit the marks: It’s the right size, a Mid-Century Modern, and move-in ready, but there’s also tons of room for them to update and make it their own over time.

Luckily, with the sale of their first home (keep reading—we’re telling that story next!), we were able to get them $120,000 over the asking price. So they had even more funds to put towards updating their mid-century modern home, which they started doing by adding a fabulous main floor bathroom).

Selling Ashley & Aaron’s Mid-Century Modern Starter Home

Congrats to Ashley and Aaron for also selling your first home! We were honored to be your listing agents and buyer agents. The Diva Dwelling we sold for them received 10 offers and sold for $120,500 over the asking price in just 7 days.

Here’s how it happened:

Prepping The Starter Home to Sell

Since Ashley and Aaron were buy-up buyers, they had already purchased and closed on their new home and moved before we listed. That meant their home was empty and ready for some minor refreshing and professional staging. It is always ideal for home sellers to move out of their home when we’re prepping and listing the home.

Ashley and Aaron’s home was already in great condition. They had painted the home’s exterior, painted the kitchen cabinets, and added a patio out back. All this home needed was some new interior paint and minor exterior touch ups. We also decided to re-paint the front door this cool butter yellow color.

Our sellers had already bought a new fancy stove hood that needed to be installed, and one room needed new carpet. There were also a few closets with no doors, so we purchased gorgeous wood beaded curtains and had them professionally installed. The sellers did all of the major landscaping and we purchased some beautiful pots and flowers to plant for photo day!

The Home Listing Marketing Strategy aka The Diva Difference

This home got the Diva treatment—after getting the home picture-perfect, we rolled out our extensive marketing strategy. We especially highlighted the “buy up process” as part of the marketing. We also made a fun Instagram Reel highlighting the home’s best features.

Choosing the Best Offer

We received 10 offers. It was a 2025 record! There were 2 offers that really stood out and we chose one of them. But we appreciated all the offers we received; it showed our clients how much folks loved this home.

The Big Win

Closing was smooth as silk. The agent thanked us for a terrific transaction. There were no issues at all. Our darling sellers were the best throughout the entire buy-sell process. The win was definitely getting $120,500 over asking in just 7 days. They were thrilled!

Selling and Buying Your Home at the Same Time is Easy When You Start With One of These Guides

We love helping our buy-up buyers and sellers navigate the entire process, from selling your home and buying your next home. It’s never too early to reach out and make a plan.

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Ready to Start Your Seattle Home Buying and Selling Process?

Everyone’s home selling and buying path is different. Is it time for you to book an appointment with Kim? Call Kim directly at 206-850-3102 or send her an email at kim@teamdivarealestate.com to chat!