Listing your property is a burdensome and complicated process. Since property sale transactions are heavily technical, it would be advantageous to know the ins and outs of property selling before giving it a try.
Conventionally, people hire a real estate agent to handle this matter. With their specific and specialized skills in the field, they can make your home selling experience a lot easier. Since their expertise lies in property buying, selling, and everything in between, they require two fundamental things: time and money.
Urgency and High Commissions: the Real Estate Agent Dealbreaker
While real estate agents are best at what they do, it’s not very ideal to hire one if you want to sell your home fast or avoid hefty agent commissions.
Before having your property listed in the market by your agent, you’ll have to go through specific steps when hiring and making an agreement with them. After the listing, your agent will have to compete for your listing, which is disadvantageous for an urgent transaction.
Moreover, the real estate agent and brokerage firm typically score 4–7% of a home’s selling price if the listing has succeeded. Some agents can also make room for negotiations. While it may seem like a small amount, you’ll have to wait until you have the property payment in your hands and have to let go of 4–7% of the sale to them.
Why Not Deal with Investors Instead?
Gone are the days when hiring a real estate agent is only the competitive option for selling your property. If you want to sell a house fast, dealing with an investor is another compelling option.
This article will explore a few reasons why selling your property to an investor may be a better choice for you, and assess if this option is better than listing with an agent.
Negotiating with an Investor: Hit or Miss?
Real estate investors technically serve a different purpose than real estate agents. While agents aim to help you find the best deal for property selling in exchange for commission, real estate investors can directly purchase your property for their investment purposes.
If you’re deciding between these two, it’s crucial to look into the merits of selling your home to real estate investors:
- Sell Your Property as It Is, Fast!
It takes an average of 52 days to sell a property, but this length will vary according to your location, market condition, agent’s capabilities, and more. If the length of selling is one of your biggest dilemmas, hiring an agent may be your last choice. Meanwhile, you can get your property sold in as quickly as seven days by selling it to an investor.
Moreover, you can sell your property to investors in their current condition, eliminating the need for out-of-pocket repair and renovation expenses. If you decide to hire a realtor, they’ll most likely decline to list your property immediately until you address your house’s damage and necessary repairs.
But, if your property has incurred too much damage, it may be unwise to sell it to an investor as they’ll purchase your house under its actual market value. Since they’ll accomplish the repairs themselves, they can get the upper hand in setting the price.
- Receive Your Money in Full
Homebuyers strive to get the best deal possible from their chosen property. While paying in cash makes them an attractive buyer, many homebuyers take advantage of the financial leverage in mortgages. If you’re selling your property to these types of buyers, then you should expect that they won’t purchase your home in full cash.
If you’re in a hurry to sell your house, real estate investors can provide the full payment immediately. Some even accept your own terms, whether you want to be paid in cash or deposited through your bank.
However, keep in mind that not all investors are willing to pay in full as their investing strategy. Several investors may resort to other financing options such as hard money loans, conventional mortgages, or asset-based lenders, so make sure to ask their financing terms first before proceeding with a deal.
- Prevent Property Foreclosure
If you have remaining mortgage payments for your property, you may be forced into foreclosure if you’re unable to secure a buyer before the set deadline, which is typically 90 days.
When listing the property and allowing your agent to compete, it takes an uncertain amount of time to secure a deal. Your transaction with a buyer could be almost finalized, but they can still back out at any minute, leaving you with no other options but to try and find a new buyer before running out of time.
On another end, real estate investors are used to dealing with foreclosure properties and can help you negotiate with your lender. They can assist you in setting up a quick sale and secure the deal before the foreclosure deadline.
- Skip Long Negotiations, Paperworks, and Relisting
Real estate agents help in dealing with your home listing so that you don’t have to allocate a considerable amount of your own time to the process. However, you also have to deal with a lot of paperwork from your agent. If you have a busy schedule and many responsibilities, this setup can be more difficult in the long run.
Also, you never know if you’ll have to relist. Upon hiring an agent, your agreement will detail how much time the agent has to list and find a buyer. If they fail to find buyers during this time frame, you have to restart finding an agent and listing the property.
Since investors aren’t people who find the best deals but rather offer them directly, they can purchase your property directly and as immediately as they can. What happens next to your property after their purchase is out of your picture.
- They Do All the Work, So You Don’t Have To
The market can significantly affect your selling success, and it is deeply inconsistent. Since investors deal with the market 24/7, they’re used to these situations. They can still find their way in despite the rough market. After purchasing your property, the ownership and responsibility will fall into their hands, and they’ll do all the work, so you don’t have to.
Even if the market isn’t a good condition while your property is listed, many investors are still willing to purchase it, and it’s up to them to wait until the market stabilizes.
Key Takeaways
Planning to sell your home in the market while getting the best deal is challenging. Various factors can impact the length of time is takes to sell and the selling price of your property. Despite these challenges of home selling, you can choose from many options to make transactions more comfortable by hiring a real estate agent or selling your property instantly to an investor.
With the help of these reasons discussed, your choice will depend on your circumstances. If you want to sell your property urgently, paid in full, and with less work, investors are a better choice. However, be prepared to compromise with a reduced selling price.
Jane Saucedo
Jane Saucedo has been blogging since she was twenty years old. Now at thirty-two, Jane has become very successful in the industry by writing content about real estate, home improvement and parenthood.
Aside from writing, Jane is also fond of cooking exotic meals at home.