On this page
- Sell first or buy first – which is safer?
- Sell first, buy first or both at once – what should you watch for?
- How do the sale and the purchase fit together safely?
- How do a rent-back and a handover by agreement work?
- How does bridging finance (interim financing) work?
- Do I pay property gains tax if I buy a new flat?
- Buying a flat in later life: what does the bank calculate?
- To be honest
- Frequently asked questions
It often starts like this. The children moved out long ago. The garden takes more work every summer; the stairs feel steeper every winter. At some point, one of you says what you have both long been thinking: the house has grown too big. Straight after comes the question that blocks everything: where do we go? The obvious thought is this: we need the new flat first, or we end up on the street. That very thought can lead to a purchase under time pressure, or to running two households at once. Yet you can plan the order before your house is advertised anywhere.
And what if the new flat is not found in time?
Sell first or buy first – which is safer?
No order is always right. Raiffeisen: «There is no standard solution» (translated, as of September 2026). UBS: it depends on your wishes and the market. The move is safe when your sale does not depend on your purchase.
Buy first, and for a while you carry two mortgages. If the money from the sale is not there yet, you need bridging finance (Überbrückungsfinanzierung). Sell first, and you know your budget before you sign. You need a plan for the time in between.
The obvious worry is: «Then we end up on the street.» It need not come to that. The purchase contract can set a later handover date. Or you rent your house back for a fixed term (Code of Obligations, Article 255). Both need the buyers’ consent.
What this means for you: set your goal and budget first. The budget comes from your net proceeds after tax and costs. Then choose the order. Our principle: «Your sale is never made to depend on a quick decision to buy.»
The three sequences
Sell first, buy first or both at once – what should you watch for?
Each sequence has its own risk. And for each risk, there is a solution you can plan early.
| Sequence | Risk | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Sell first | Temporary home needed if nothing new has been found yet | Later handover date or fixed-term rent-back, with the buyers’ consent |
| Buy first | Two mortgages at once; bridging finance at a higher interest rate | Clarify your own funds (Eigenmittel) with the bank early |
| Both at once | Dates at the notary and the bank must fit exactly | Prepare a rent-back as an option in the sale contract |
The safe home move
How do the sale and the purchase fit together safely?
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Your goal
Where do you want to go? What size, which location, with or without a lift?
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Budget from your net proceeds
What remains after property gains tax, paying off the mortgage and selling costs is the figure you build your search on.
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Search before the sale
You look around early. You only sign a binding contract once your budget is fixed.
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Handover by agreement or rent-back
Handover by agreement (Antritt nach Vereinbarung) means the buyers take over the house on a later, agreed day. Or you rent it back for a fixed term. Either way, you can live there until the new flat is ready, if the buyers agree.
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Replacement purchase
If the proceeds go into your new home in time, property gains tax can be deferred. This is called a replacement purchase (Ersatzbeschaffung). We plan the sale and the purchase so that you know your canton’s deadline.
What you can afford depends on the net proceeds from your house, not on the sale price. Look for the new flat at the same time: create a search profile for your new flat.
How do a rent-back and a handover by agreement work?
Both let you stay in the house after the sale until the new flat is ready. With a handover by agreement, the contract sets a later handover date. With a rent-back, you rent your sold house from the buyers for a fixed period. It ends on the agreed day without notice (Code of Obligations, Article 255).
The buyers must agree. The rent should be at market level, so it is not a hidden part of the purchase price.
In hardship cases, a court can extend even a fixed-term tenancy of a home, by four years at most (Articles 272 and 272b). A tenant cannot validly waive this right in advance (Article 273c, as of September 2026).
What this means for you: put the date and the rent in the purchase contract. For the new flat, an option to buy (Kaufsrecht) or a preliminary contract (Vorvertrag) needs a notary. Only a public deed (öffentliche Beurkundung) makes it valid (Code of Obligations, Article 216).
How does bridging finance (interim financing) work?
Bridging finance is an extra mortgage for the time between purchase and sale. The bank lends you the money for the new flat until your house is sold. Banks also call it interim or double financing. It is usually repaid when your house is sold.
This bridge has its price. According to Raiffeisen, the interest is «usually somewhat higher» than on a regular mortgage (translated from German), because the loan is only short-term. We deliberately give no interest figure. It depends on your bank and on the timing.
UBS also names conditions. The higher mortgage must remain affordable. For your house, there must already be a possible buyer or a draft sale contract. And the sale must go through within a set period (as of September 2026).
What this means for you: apply for bridging finance early. First check whether a later handover date or a rent-back makes it unnecessary. Interest and conditions are best clarified with your own bank.
Do I pay property gains tax if I buy a new flat?
Not straight away, if the proceeds go into a new home of your own in Switzerland in time. Property gains tax is then deferred, but not waived. This is known as a replacement purchase (Tax Harmonisation Act, Article 12).
The condition: you lived in the sold house yourself, permanently and solely, and you live in the new home yourself. Holiday and second homes do not count. If you put less into the new home than the sale brought in, part of the gain is usually taxed at once.
The canton also sets the deadline. In the Canton of Zurich, it is usually two years before or after the sale. In Schwyz, it is usually four years (as of September 2026).
What this means for you: in all eight cantons in the table, buying before the sale also counts. Clarify the deadline and the figures with the tax office before you sign. The property gains tax calculator for your canton shows the tax without deferral.
| Canton | Buying before selling | Buying after selling |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich | usually up to 2 years | usually up to 2 years |
| Zug | usually up to 2 years | usually up to 2 years |
| Schwyz | usually up to 4 years | usually up to 4 years |
| St. Gallen | up to 1 year | 3 years, extension by at most 1 year possible |
| Lucerne | up to 2 years | 2 years, up to 4 years in justified cases |
| Aargau | up to 2 years | up to 3 years |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden | up to 1 year | 3 years, can be extended |
| Appenzell Innerrhoden | up to 1 year | 3 years, can be extended |
Buying a flat in later life: what does the bank calculate?
A mortgage in retirement is possible. The bank checks affordability (Tragbarkeit): whether your income can still carry the mortgage. Income then means your pensions, no longer a salary.
Banks do not all calculate the same way. Depending on the bank, housing costs may take up no more than 33 to 38 per cent of your pension income. The bank uses an assumed interest rate of around 5 per cent, not today’s rate. The loan-to-value (Belehnung), the share the bank finances, is also lower in later life. The mortgage is then usually at most two thirds of the value. The second mortgage (zweite Hypothek, the part of the loan above two thirds of the value) must be paid off by retirement (UBS and Raiffeisen, as of September 2026).
Two rules apply at every bank. At least 10 per cent of the lending value (Belehnungswert), in simple terms the purchase price, must be your own funds (Eigenmittel). These may not come from your pension fund (Pensionskasse). This is set out in the Swiss Bankers Association guidelines, recognised by the financial market supervisor FINMA. When you move home, this money can come from the net proceeds of your house. And you can only draw pension fund money up to three years before your entitlement to retirement benefits (Article 30c Occupational Pensions Act, BVG).
What this means for you: this is usual bank practice and varies from bank to bank. No financing commitment: only your own bank can give you binding figures. For a first check, use the affordability calculator for working life and retirement.
To be honest
When is renting the better answer?
For example, when affordability in retirement becomes tight. When you want to stay flexible. When the net proceeds are not enough for a home in the neighbourhood you want. Or when you want to keep the proceeds for care or for your children.
Then selling and renting is a fully valid option. And sometimes keeping is the right answer. The home check: keep, adapt or sell helps you work out what suits you.
For daughters and sons
For daughters and sons
You often notice the stairs and the garden before your parents do. Show them these three sequences first, not a decision already made. That way, your parents see that nobody is pushing them to move. And you remain the daughter or son who cares, not the person who decides.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to sell before I can start looking for a new flat?
No. You can look around before the sale. You only sign a binding contract once your budget from the net proceeds is fixed.
Can I keep living in the house after selling it?
Yes, if the buyers agree. With a later handover date or a fixed-term rent-back at a market rent, you stay until your new flat is ready.
Selling a house and buying a flat: what do I need to consider?
Four points: your budget from the net proceeds, your moving-out date, possible bridging finance and your canton’s deadline for deferring the tax. The safe home move puts these four points in a fixed order.
Do I need interim financing if I sell the house and buy a flat?
No, not necessarily. If you sell first and stay in the house until the move, you do not need it. Interim financing, also called bridging finance, is for those who buy first and do not yet have the money from the sale.
Can we still get a mortgage at 68?
Yes, if affordability works out. The banks then calculate with your pensions. Depending on the bank, housing costs may take up no more than 33 to 38 per cent of them. This is usual bank practice. No financing commitment.
Does the estate agent just want us to sell?
No. Your sale is never made to depend on a quick decision to buy. You receive the free valuation even if you decide to stay in the end.
Buying a flat in later life: what applies?
Two things change: your pensions count as income, and the mortgage is usually at most two thirds of the value. This is usual bank practice and varies from bank to bank.
Sources
- Swiss Code of Obligations (Obligationenrecht), Articles 216, 255, 272, 272b, 273c (SR 220) · retrieved 30.09.2026
- Tax Harmonisation Act (Steuerharmonisierungsgesetz), Article 12(3)(e) (SR 642.14) · retrieved 30.09.2026
- Canton of Lucerne Property Gains Tax Act (Gesetz über die Grundstückgewinnsteuer), § 4 (SRL 647), in German · as of 1 January 2025
- Occupational Pensions Act (BVG), Article 30c(1) (SR 831.40) · retrieved 29.09.2026
- Swiss Bankers Association: Guidelines on minimum requirements for mortgage financing, section 2.1 (recognised by FINMA), in German · version of 13.12.2023
- UBS: Moving home – buying and selling (Immobilienwechsel), in German · retrieved 30.09.2026
- Raiffeisen: Selling a house and buying a new one, in German · retrieved 30.09.2026
- UBS: Keeping the mortgage on your home affordable in retirement, in German · retrieved 30.09.2026
- Raiffeisen: Affordability in retirement (Tragbarkeit im Alter), in German · retrieved 30.09.2026
General information, not individual advice. The law, the tax assessment and advice from professionals for your situation are what count.
