10 Takeaways: How to Sell Your House Fast For Cash
How to Sell Your House Fast For Cash
Here are ten takeaways when selling your house fast for cash, including information on the advantages and disadvantages!
Selling a house fast for cash is easier than you think. Ensuring you're receiving top dollar is another story. If you're looking for the convenience of selling a home fast for cash, you should solicit offers from a few different buyers. This will help to ensure the price you receive is fair for the convenience of selling your home fast for cash.
There are many reasons why someone would want to sell their home in a hurry for cash, from inheriting real estate to going through a divorce. Cash sales of homes have been declining in recent years, but that doesn't mean plenty of cash buyers are still out there.
There are some serious advantages of selling your house for cash, but they have their fair share of disadvantages.
Does it make sense for you to sell your house for cash?
Let's take a look at what you need to know.
How to Sell Your House Fast For Cash
Chapters
1. Can You Sell Your House For Cash?
The short answer is yes.
Actually, though, the term "cash buyer" isn't entirely accurate. It's illegal in the United States to close a real estate deal using physical cash.
What it means is when somebody buys a house without any financing. They transfer funds with a cashier's check or electronically to close on the purchase.
What kind of buyer purchases a home in cash?
Typically, two different types of buyers make all-cash offers. The first type is individual buyers who plan to live in the house. The second type is real estate investors.
Individual buyers who make all-cash offers have different interests than real estate investors. If you've inherited a home or recently gotten divorced, you might want to sell your house fast for cash rather than going through the long, drawn-out process of putting it on the market. Another reason might be that the property is unique, so it will likely not qualify for traditional financing.
Individuals who plan on living in the home will buy a house with cash to avoid paying interest on a loan, avoid paying closing costs, and make their offer more attractive to sellers. Some people might also be drawn to living a debt-free lifestyle or closing on a house quickly and without hassle.
When real estate investors purchase houses with cash, it's typically to increase their cash flow, speed up the buying process, keep the closing costs low, avoid debt, and hedge against vacancy. Additionally, it gives them more control over the property, they don't have to worry about the risk of foreclosure, it keeps their monthly expenses low, and it can give them a leg up with the sellers.
2. Know the Value of Your Home
It can be difficult to know the precise value of your home. Your house is worth as much as someone is willing to pay.
However, it is possible to identify a range of how much your house is worth. There are multiple websites you can look at that will have estimates for the value of your house. These websites will likely have different amounts, but they can generally give you a ballpark of the value.
Real estate agents determine how much you should list your home for through comparative analysis. In this process, they find comparable houses sold recently in your area. If you are considering using more traditional means and hiring a real estate agent, you can have an agent out to give you a sense of what they think it could be listed for.
When you sell to a home-buying company, they will likely make you an offer on the lower end of the price range. This is because they almost always buy the house 'as-is' and leverage their ability to buy your house fast for a discounted price.
3. Determine If You're Selling It 'As-Is'
As stated earlier, many cash purchases by home-buying companies involve the home being bought 'as-is.' This means that the current state of the home is what the buyer will be purchasing. The seller won't be fixing any problems as a part of the deal.
However, that doesn't mean you are not responsible for disclosing known issues with your house. The laws regarding disclosure differ from state to state. All states do, though, require that the seller be honest in answering questions about the home.
Fixing issues in your home before selling, such as structural issues, asbestos, or a leaky roof, can improve the home's value. This slows the selling process as you must take time to remedy the problems. It also means you'd put money into the home before selling it.
Before listing a house on the market, many sellers will fix big and small problems. They'll also work to ensure their home is well-maintained, often re-paint it, and do some landscaping to boost curb appeal. Some will even hire house-stagers to make the home as appealing as possible to buyers.
If you want to sell your house fast for cash, you can avoid all this hassle and expense. It will, however, be reflected in the purchase price.
4. Look At Your Options
There are several places you can look for cash buyers. You can market your home online, on Facebook, with Realtors, on Craigslist, attend real estate auctions to scout out potential buyers, place a for sale sign on your property, or contact a home-buying company. If speed is essential for you, a home-buying company will likely have the fastest turnaround out of these options.
5. Don't Pay Any Up-Front Costs
Even if a company feels legitimate, never pay any costs up-front. This is a common scam. You should never have to pay an application fee or apply for anything.
6. Research Companies
Not all home-buying companies are the same. Some of them will do their best to take advantage of you. That's why it's important to find a reputable company.
Don't just go with the first place you call. Ask friends and family members for recommendations, and do your research to ensure you're not going with a shady company. Look up all the reviews online that you can find, and even research the company's owners.
7. Cash Sale: The Timeline
The timeline for selling a house is much more condensed than selling to someone receiving financing. It is still a multi-step process and won't happen in one day. The steps in the process are:
- The seller accepts the offer made by the cash buyer
- The seller takes 24-48 hours to verify that the cash buyer has the funds to purchase the house
- The money will be moved into escrow until the deal is done and the title is secured
- A title search is done, which usually takes about three days.
- An inspection is done if the cash buyer doesn't give up the right to it in their purchase agreement
- A home appraisal and the appraisal process is done if the buyer chooses to do so
- A final walkthrough is done for the buyers
- The closing occurs, which goes faster because there isn't mortgage paperwork
As you can see, selling a house for cash doesn't happen overnight. However, it is a much quicker process than traditional means.
8. Advantages of Selling Your House For Cash
Online, you'll find many warnings against selling your house for cash. While it isn't always the best choice for some people, it can make sense in certain circumstances. People who sell their homes for cash often have inherited a property, are going through a divorce, or are experiencing financial difficulties.
You Can Get Offers Fast
When you list your home with an agent on the MLS, you can wait months without getting an offer. If time is of the essence, this can be a real issue.
Even if the home is priced right, you might not immediately get the offer you're looking for.
If you choose instead to sell to a cash buyer, you can get an offer quickly. Some might even come back to you with an offer 24 hours after you reach out.
Your Sale Can Go Through Quickly
If you put your house on the traditional market, selling a house is a lengthy process, even if you don't run into any bumps in the road.
Homebuyers are typically receiving financing to buy a house. Having your house under contract before the closing typically lasts at least two months. Something can go wrong during the process, and the deal can fall through.
On the other hand, when you sell to an investor for cash, the process is much quicker. Each home sale is unique, and nothing is ever guaranteed. That being said, cash sales can often be over and done within a week or two.
You Don't Have to Make Any Repairs
If you can't afford to repair a home or don't want to, selling for cash might make sense.
When you sell your home with an agent through the MLS, buyers will often negotiate with you regarding repairs that need to be made. When you sell a house 'as-is,' you're just selling it exactly as it was when you first put it up for sale.
Making repairs is costly and can take time. Depending on what kind of work you need to have done, it could even set you back to holding the property until the next selling season.
You Can Sell Even in Difficult Circumstances
Sometimes, you have challenging circumstances that traditionally make it hard to sell a house. If your home has large amounts of past due fees and taxes, title flaws, storm damage, code violations, or needs major repairs, finding a buyer who receives funding from a lender will be difficult.
When you take a mortgage out of the picture, it becomes a lot more possible to sell your home in these instances. Home investors are often willing to purchase property and put the money in to fix them up.
There Aren't Usually Contingencies
If you sell your house through traditional means, contingencies likely accompany the sale. This means many little ways a sale can fall through along the way.
9. Drawbacks of Selling Your Home For Cash
While there are benefits to selling your house for cash, there are also several drawbacks.
The Purchase Offers Tend to Be Low
If you are more interested in getting as much money as possible versus having a fast sale, selling your home for cash probably isn't the best route.
When investors purchase homes, they do so to make money by renting them out or reselling them for a higher price. The reason investors are willing to buy imperfect properties is that they are planning to make money off of them.
There's No Guarantee the Sale Will Go Through
A lot less can go wrong with a cash sale, but nothing in this life is guaranteed. The sale could still fall through until the closing documents have been signed and you have the money in your pocket.
Repairs and Improvements Will Be Deducted From the Price
It's nice that you don't have to do the repairs on your home when you sell to a cash buyer, but that doesn't mean it won't cost you something. Cash buyers will factor the cost of the repairs into their offer, meaning that they will make you a low-ball offer to start with and then subtract their projected cost of repairs.
There's Less Competition
In the traditional market, there can be quite a bit of competition. When you sell to home-buying companies or other cash-buyers, the buyers have more leverage. They might have a fairly "take it or leave it" mentality, with you not feeling like you have many other options.
10. Watch Out For Some 'We Buy Houses' Companies
Companies can be shady. People offering to buy houses for cash are worthy of some suspicion. Scam artists and bad companies are willing and able to take advantage of people when they see an opportunity. Don't let them. Sell your house fast for cash to the right company you feel great about.
That said, many amazing and fair real estate investors are out there. Make sure you vet any company or investor that comes your way. If you spot potential red flags, stop and look for another buyer. It should be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
FAQs
Are cash offers for houses legit?
Most companies offering to pay in cash are legitimate and trustworthy but generally will not offer you as much as possible by selling with a real estate agent. If you want the best possible offer, plan to sell on the open market.
What month is the best to sell a house?
The Spring months from March to May are considered the best time to sell a house since Springtime brings warmer weather, longer days, and a boost in curb appeal.
Sell Your House For Cash: Is It Right For You?
There are reasons to sell your house for cash, but it's important to determine if it's your best option. It can be a good idea to consult a real estate agent about what makes sense in your circumstances.
Is it time for you to sell your Raleigh, NC home? Contact us at Raleigh Realty today.
Ryan Fitzgerald
Hi there! Nice to 'meet' you and thanks for visiting our Raleigh Real Estate Blog! My name is Ryan Fitzgerald, and I'm a REALTOR® in Raleigh-Durham, NC, the owner of Raleigh Realty. I work alongside some of the best Realtors in Raleigh. You can find more of my real estate content on Forbes, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and more. Realtor Magazine named me a top 30 under 30 Realtor in the country (it was a long time ago haha). Any way, that's enough about me. I'd love to learn more about you if you'd like to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram or connect with our team at Raleigh Realty. Looking forward to connecting!
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