Wondering if it would be better to sell your house for cash to a real estate investor, versus through a realtor? The upside of selling your house through a real estate agent is that it puts your house on the open market so it’s exposed to as many buyers as possible, which means you could potentially sell it for more, if you find the right buyer. What the agent lists it for isn’t a guaranteed price, and there can be a lot of headache and hidden fees involved. In the end, your real estate agent may end up asking you to reduce the price of your home.
Here are four reasons that selling your home for cash to a real estate investor can make for a smoother process:
- No Fees
When you sell your home to a professional home buyer you don’t have to pay realtor commissions (typically 6 – 7%), there are no closing costs or seller concessions, and you don’t have to worry about your home being appraised for below the sale price – expensive wild card.
- Zero Repairs
Speaking of added expenses, when you sell your home the traditional route, you’ll be responsible for taking care of any repairs that come up during inspection. The realtor may also ask you to fix things in order to make the house show better.
Things like replacing electrical or plumbing, repairing AC or HVAC units, mold remediation, or roof repair can get really costly. When you sell your home to a real estate investor they buy it as-is and handle all the repairs for you.
- Takes Less Time
It typically takes three months to year to sell a home through a real estate agent. Plus, it takes another 30 – 45 days to close escrow. Time is money. And while you’re waiting to sell your home there are holding costs such as property tax, utilities, HOA fees, insurance, and mortgage interest. A real estate investor can typically buy a home for cash in 10 – 14 days.
- No People Coming Through Your Home
When you sell your home through a real estate agent you will have people coming in and out of your home constantly, and some will come unannounced. And since there will be a sign placed in your front yard, it will be made public to your neighbors, friends, etc. You also have to worry about keeping your home “show-ready” at all times, which in addition to being stressful, can be costly.
If you have tenants living in the house, it can be difficult to schedule appointment times for the potential buyers to see the inside of the house because the time also has to work for your tenants. And with all your tenant’s stuff in the home, it might not show well.
With a real estate investor there’s absolutely no fuss. They buy your house for cash as-is, and that’s it. It’s a quick and private sale. And they can purchase the house with the tenants still living there so you don’t have to deal with the hassle of removing them.
Want to learn more about how selling your house for cash works? Click here to learn more about the process.