A Less Stressful Approach to Selling Your Home
The Benefits of Working with a Real Estate Investor
A Real Estate Investor is a company or individual who is in the business of buying properties with the intent of either fixing them up and selling for a profit or renting them. So, why would a homeowner decide to sell their home to a real estate investor? This isn’t an uncommon question. Even in today’s current seller’s market, it’s important to remember it still takes time, energy, and resources to go through the traditional process of selling a home. Many homeowners are familiar with the process of working with an agent and listing on MLS where it is necessary to invest time, energy and resources to make repairs and touch ups, spend the time cleaning for listing photos, then deal with showings and open houses where strangers are in your personal living space. Then there is the time and stress of hoping someone likes your home enough to make and offer and then wondering what a home inspection will uncover.
Selling to an investor isn’t traditional, but it’s more common than most people think. So why do some people choose to sell to real estate investors instead of real estate agents? Well, there are an abundance of reasons why selling your home the traditional method might not be the best option for your situation. Whether that be because you need to sell your home fast, you don’t have time for all the cleanings and showings, you don’t have the money or don’t want to spend the money on the necessary repairs and upgrades, or you just simply don’t have the energy or desire to go the traditional route of working with an agent, for many people, selling to a real estate investor alleviates takes the hassles and stress out of selling a home and can save them time and money. It’s a misconception that investors take advantage of sellers who are down on their luck because a quality investor, with a good reputation, is there for quite the opposite reason.
On top of that, negotiating with a real estate investor is far simpler and more efficient than agreeing on terms with a potential homebuyer. With an investor, there are no emotions involved because the investor will not be living in the property.
Of course, with anything, it’s important to do your research when selecting or considering a real estate investor to work with. This guide is designed to provide some insight into selling with a real estate investor, how to assess if working with a real estate investor is a good choice for your situation, and what to pay attention to when selecting one. By giving you these helpful tips, we hope to help you make the best decision for your situation.
Why Sell to a Real Estate Investor?
Most of the time, property that appeals more to an investor than a homebuyer typically isn’t in the greatest condition to try and sell on MLS, as-is. Perhaps the owner didn’t keep up with repairs and maintenance, and it’s usually outdated. Sometimes, the home needs tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of work in order to be sold to someone who plans to live in it. That’s money the homeowner typically doesn’t have, or they don’t want to dump money into a house they don’t plan to continue living in. A homebuyer may not be willing to purchase a home in this condition, but real estate investors prefer to purchase homes as-is.
Sellers also go to investors when they need to or want to be out of the property quickly. For any number of possible reasons, they don’t have time to list it through a real estate agent and go through the long process of selling traditionally, so they go the quick route with a real estate investor.
Should I Sell to A Real Estate Investor?
If your home is outdated or requires significant repairs and maintenance, you might consider selling to a real estate investor. Since investors typically do not plan to live in the house, it doesn’t matter to them whether the kitchen and bathrooms are updated, if the landscaping is top notch, or if you need to close in a specific timeline. In fact, many investors prefer more outdated homes with room for changes and improvements and they are much more flexible with closing times.
You might also consider selling to a real estate investor if you’re unable to or don’t have the time to take on the hassle of cleaning and staging your home for open houses. Preparing your home to show to potential buyers can be an exhausting and time-consuming process. Selling to a real estate investor could save you the added stress and costs.
When you sell to a real estate investor, you can have payment in hand in as little as 1 to 2 weeks. Compare this to a market sale where it takes an average of 30-45 days, sometimes even longer, for funds to arrive in your account. If you need to move out quickly for any multitude of circumstances, selling to a real estate investor is a viable option.
How to Find the Right Real Estate Investor
Once you’ve decided that selling to a real estate investor is a path you want to explore, it’s important to know how to find the right one. To find a reliable and trustworthy real estate investor, ensure that you run a “reputation check” on each potential investor. A good rule of thumb is to look them up on your local Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) to see if they are an accredited business. You should also always check out their Google reviews to see if their past customers recommend them and had a positive experience working with them. Another important step to take is to visit their website and explore the information they have available along with noting how professional their website is because that’ll be a good indicator on how invested they are in their customer experience. If they don’t have a website, that could be a red flag.
An ideal real estate investor has a long list of satisfied clients, is upfront and honest in every conversation, communicates quickly when you have questions or concerns, understands your local market, closes quickly and/or within your time constraints, and won’t make you, as the customer, feel pressured to make any decisions you aren’t comfortable with.
Take Your Time and Read the Purchase Agreement
One final tip: No matter how esteemed the real estate investor you’ve chosen is, always make sure you read the purchase agreement thoroughly, understand and are comfortable with everything it says, before signing it. If any terms are at all unclear to you, ask for clarification. A real estate investor with your best interest in mind should be transparent in the why, when, how and what they’re paying for your home.
What Does Homestead Road Offer?
At Homestead Road, we understand there are many real estate companies to choose from to sell your house fast for cash. We know there are companies that like to use these misleading catchphrases to grab your attention and many others who use vague and often confusing terms such as “guaranteed offer” or “preliminary offers” yet be warned of the fine print that may be associated with those initially appealing statements. Our advice, again, is to do your homework to fully understand all the details because your home is likely to be your biggest asset.
At Homestead Road, we are very proud of our BBB A+ accreditation and our 150+ 5 star reviews so we hope you’ll consider us when it comes time to sell your home, especially if you are interested in working with a values-based company which there’s no fine print but instead a streamlined and transparent process where you’ll be working personally with one of our home sales advisors who live in and know your local community. Homestead Road puts you in control of the selling process with our Feel the Joy of selling as is experience.
If you are interested in learning more or selling your home through Homestead Road, please check out our website at homesteadroad.com or give us a call at 612-979-2725.
