When preparing to sell your home, it can be helpful to understand what the process is and how long it takes. While the timing will depend on the method you choose to use to sell your home and the market conditions, there are some basic parameters that you can expect. Looking into the timing and other information can help you figure out how to make the best decisions.
Time on Market
The time your home spends on the market refers to the amount of time it takes you to accept an offer once you have listed your home. A traditional real estate sale could have your home sitting on the market for an average of 25 days. If the market is hot, it could move faster, but it usually takes a few weeks for people to find your home, do a walk-through, and put an offer in. If your home spends longer on the market, it could actually diminish the value of any offer that you do receive. If you decide to sell your home for cash instead of going the traditional route, you can avoid all of this time spent with your home on the market. Rather than listing your home, you provide the company with some information about your home that will allow them to create an offer for your home.
Closing Process
Once you have accepted an offer for your home, you move into the closing process. This can take anywhere from 30-45 days in a traditional sale. The closing process involves any inspections, negotiations, repairs, and time for the buyer to finalize their financing. This requires a lot of back and forth, which is why it can take so long. The closing process finishes when all of the title paperwork is signed and the deed is officially transferred. For a cash sale, all of these negotiations are not a part of the process. There is no need for repairs or financing, which cuts out the red tape. Because of this, the closing process can move as quickly as one week.
When You Move Out
The official move-out date can be one of the most hotly contested parts of your closing negotiations. You may have a timeline in mind, but your buyer will also have a timeline in mind for when they want to move in. While you may be able to come to a compromise, you don’t have a lot of power in this part of the negotiation. On the other hand, because the company isn’t going to be living in your home, they can be more flexible with your move-out date. It is essentially on your timeline.
The time it takes to sell your home could vary widely, ad the method you choose to sell your home is going to have a huge impact on the timing. If you go with a traditional sale, you could be working on the sale for 3 months or more. If you go to a cash home buying company, you could be done as quickly as a week.
Want to learn more about the cash home sale process? Click here for our walk-through!