Select real estate
markets in the United States will always be hot, but a large number of home
sellers in all of the other markets will inevitably feel like they are going
through a slow death when they try to sell their homes. Selling a home through
traditional channels involves listing the home with a realtor, staging the home
for showings, and waiting for a lender to approve a prospective buyer's
mortgage application. A quicker and more effective home sale strategy is to
sell the home to an investor who buys homes. Locating and
working with a home investor is easier than you may realize.
The real estate
investment community in the United States is expanding rapidly. Investors often
have access to private funds and are able to extend all-cash offers for your
home. The offer price that you receive from an investor will likely be less
than you might ask for the home if you listed it with a realtor, but your net
proceeds after a sale to an investor are usually the same or even more than
your proceeds might be after a sale through traditional channels. Investor
offers often close within thirty days or less, thus reducing the carrying costs
that you would incur while you wait for a sale to close. You will pay no real
estate commissions and will have no obligation to stage the house or to update
or repair any of its systems. In short, you can be out of the house and have
cash in your pocket within a few days or weeks after you sign a sale agreement
with an investor.
Most metropolitan
areas have real estate investment associations that meet at least monthly to
share ideas and sales leads. Your first step toward locating an investor should
be to contact an association in your area. You might also see ads for people
and organizations that buy houses. You should contact more than one of those
organizations in order to get competitive bidding interest in your home.
The investor's
purchase offer will probably look different from the type of purchase offer
that you might receive from a retail purchaser. Investor offer contracts often
include clauses, for example, that allow the investor to assign a contract to
another buyer. The investor might also offer to take over payments and
maintenance on the house in the near term with a final purchase happening at a
later date. Don't be put off by the form of offer that you receive from an
investor. Real estate investors are very creative and will often be willing to
work with you to devise a purchase solution that works for all parties.
At the end of the
day, if you are trying to sell your home and are having no success with
traditional sales channels, selling to an investor who buys homes can be your
best alternative to get out of your home quickly with the largest amount of net
cash proceeds in your bank account.