Allison Mireau of Real Connect Group helping a relocating Staten Island seller plan the right order of selling and buying

The Relocation Mistake That Costs Sellers Thousands

Relocating to New Jersey
May 04, 2026•4 min read

Planning to sell your Staten Island home and move out of state, or across the bridge to New Jersey?

There is one mistake I see relocating sellers make over and over.

It is not pricing. It is not staging. It is not marketing.

It is timing.

Specifically, the order in which they do things.

I am Allison Mireau with Real Connect Group. Let me walk you through it.

The mistake

It usually starts the same way.

A new job. A school decision. A family change. Something kicks off the move.

The seller flies out, tours the new area, finds a home they love, and writes an offer. They go under contract on the new place before they list the old one.

Now the clock is running.

They rush back, throw the SI home on the market, and pray it sells fast enough to fund the next purchase.

That is where the money disappears.

What actually happens when you list under pressure

A seller working against a deadline loses leverage in three places.

1. Pricing

Pressure pushes sellers to either overprice and hope, or underprice and panic. Both cost money.

Overpriced homes sit. Sit too long, and you reduce. Reduce too late, and you sell for less than a properly priced listing would have netted from day one.

Underpriced homes sell fast, but you leave thousands on the table because you did not have the time to wait for the right buyer.

2. Negotiation

Buyers can smell urgency.

If your home is on the market and you have already committed to a closing date out of state, every buyer who walks through your door knows you need to sell.

That changes the offers. They come in lower. Inspection requests get bigger. You concede things you would not have conceded with time on your side.

A relaxed seller negotiates from strength. A pressured seller gives ground.

3. Presentation

Sellers in a rush skip prep.

They list before paint touch-ups. Before the front yard gets cleaned up. Before professional photos. Before staging.

Buyers in 2026 scroll past unprepared listings without a second thought. The cost of skipping prep often runs $10,000 to $30,000 in final sale price.

The right order

Here is what I tell relocating sellers before they fly anywhere.

  1. Get your SI home valued honestly. Real comps. Real conditions. Real net.

  2. Decide your minimum acceptable timeline. When do you absolutely need to be out?

  3. Prep, list, and price right at home first. Or at minimum, get it listed before the new purchase contract.

  4. Coordinate the next purchase around that data. Knowing what your SI home will likely sell for and when shapes everything in your new market.

  5. Build flexibility into the new offer. Sale contingencies. Rent-back options. Extended closing dates. All negotiable.

The sellers who plan it this way close clean. The ones who flip the order pay for the lesson.

What to do if the order is already flipped

Sometimes life does not give you the choice. You already wrote the offer in NJ or out of state. You already committed.

Here is how to limit the damage.

  • Price the SI home aggressively but honestly. Not low. Not high. Sharp.

  • Skip the optional renovations. Focus only on the three repairs that actually move the needle. Paint, basic curb appeal, anything an inspector will catch.

  • Negotiate hard with your new contract. Most sellers on the other side will agree to extensions or contingencies if they like your offer otherwise.

  • Consider a bridge loan or rent-back if needed. Talk to your lender. Talk to your attorney. Do not freelance this.

I have helped many sellers recover from this position. It is fixable. It just costs more than getting the order right.

What I will not pretend to advise on

I am not a CPA, attorney, financial advisor, or mortgage lender. Bridge loans, sale contingencies, tax timing, and capital gains questions all need the right professional. I can refer trusted ones on both sides of the bridge.

All of our work follows the Fair Housing Act, RESPA, the NAR Code of Ethics, and the real estate commission guidelines for New York and New Jersey.

Before you list anything, anywhere

If a relocation is on the horizon, the first call is not to a moving company or a search site.

It is to a Realtor who works both ends of the move and can map the order with you.

That is what I do, every week, for SI sellers heading to NJ, the suburbs, the South, and beyond.

Have questions about selling your home or relocating? Reach out to Allison today.

Call: 646.266.0188 Email: [email protected] Website: www.rconnectrealty.com

Contact Allison today to sell your home in SI and plan your next move the right way.

relocation mistakes home sellersStaten Island relocationsell home Staten Islandexpert relocation RealtorStaten Island real estate experthome selling tips in Staten Islandmoving out of Staten IslandSI to NJ relocationsale contingencyReal Connect GroupAllison Mireau Realtorrelocating seller advice
Bringing extensive knowledge and experience of the Real Estate market, Allison offers her clients an outstanding level of service. Honesty and integrity are two characteristics that have helped Allison build a business of repeat clients and referrals. She has been selling Real Estate since 2014 and became a Top Producer in 2016. Allison's hard work and dedication to her clients have consistently Tripled her amount of Business every year. She specializes in helping people making a local move, selling their current home and purchasing another, but likes working with first time buyers as well since she can relate to them! While the process can be stressful, Allison focuses on making the transition as smooth and stress free as possible by getting to know her clients and meeting their needs. She always works with one goal in mind: to better serve her clients using the latest technology & marketing strategies, but without forgetting that "old-fashioned" values like professionalism and morals still matter to people, a lot. During a transaction as emotionally and financially important as buying or selling a home, the person who holds your hand during the process needs to be an expert, but also genuinely care about their client's and their families best interest. When Allison is not selling Real Estate, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also Volunteer's at local charities and fundraisers.

Allison Mireau

Bringing extensive knowledge and experience of the Real Estate market, Allison offers her clients an outstanding level of service. Honesty and integrity are two characteristics that have helped Allison build a business of repeat clients and referrals. She has been selling Real Estate since 2014 and became a Top Producer in 2016. Allison's hard work and dedication to her clients have consistently Tripled her amount of Business every year. She specializes in helping people making a local move, selling their current home and purchasing another, but likes working with first time buyers as well since she can relate to them! While the process can be stressful, Allison focuses on making the transition as smooth and stress free as possible by getting to know her clients and meeting their needs. She always works with one goal in mind: to better serve her clients using the latest technology & marketing strategies, but without forgetting that "old-fashioned" values like professionalism and morals still matter to people, a lot. During a transaction as emotionally and financially important as buying or selling a home, the person who holds your hand during the process needs to be an expert, but also genuinely care about their client's and their families best interest. When Allison is not selling Real Estate, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also Volunteer's at local charities and fundraisers.

Back to Blog