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Should I Sell My House to a Home Investor?
Does the idea of selling your house with a realtor or FSBO stress you out? Good news: You can avoid the hassle and complication of a traditional real estate transaction by selling your house to a home investor.
Selling to a home investor offers you several advantages. You’ll circumvent the inspection and appraisal process, sidestep lengthy negotiations, avoid paying pricey realtor commissions, and so much more. But taking this route isn’t right for everyone, and if you’re considering it, there are a few things you should know to determine if it’s a good choice for your needs.
Read on to learn about the pros and cons of selling your house to a professional home investor or cash buyer.
Pro: You Can Sell Your House As Is
Does your house need work? Perhaps you need a few major repairs you’re not willing to invest in? Maybe your home is straight out of the ‘70s and needs some serious renovations? Then selling the traditional way might be an insurmountable challenge. But selling to a home investor, on the other hand, is simple and easy.
No matter how much work your house needs or how dated it currently looks, a home investor (aka cash buyer) will purchase your property. Home investors have the capital and resources to renovate and repair even seriously damaged homes. If you need to offload a house that needs work, selling to an investor is the best way to do that.
Pro: Your House Can Sell in Record Time
Selling your house to a home investor who’s willing to pay cash is the fastest way to sell a property. In Ohio, the average time it takes to sell a home with a realtor on the open market is about 75‒90 days. Selling to a cash home buyer, on the other hand, takes only a few weeks maximum.
In most cases, home investors can make you an offer within 24 hours and close on the home in less than two weeks. If you need to sell quickly, that timeline can even be shortened — some cash sales close in less than a week!
Pro: There’s Minimal Preparation Required to Sell
Selling the traditional way requires a ridiculous amount of preparation. You have to clean, fix things, stage the place, take photos, get an appraisal, get an inspection, sit through showings — the list goes on. When you sell your house to a home investor, however, you don’t have to do any of those things.
The investor will perform a brief, in-home assessment to evaluate the current condition of the property, and that’s it. After determining the fair market value of your home, the investor will make you an offer (usually within a day), and then all you need to do is decide whether to accept or decline it.
Pro: Minimal Risk of the Sale Falling Through
Home investors don’t need to apply for financing since they already have the capital on hand. That means there’s far less of a chance the sale will fall through at the last minute. When you sell to a traditional buyer, on the other hand, the sale might flop for a variety of reasons, including appraisal problems, mortgage application denials — the list goes on.
Pro: You Save a Ton of Money
When you sell a home with a realtor, you’ll have to pay 5%‒6% of the home’s sale price in commission fees and then another 1.5%‒3.5% in closing costs. Depending on the value of your home, you could end up forking over tens of thousands of dollars just to pay those fees.
When you sell to a home investor, on the other hand, the offer you see is the amount of money you’ll get. You’ll be paid in cash when you close, and you won’t lose any money off the top of the sale in commission fees or hidden fees.
Con: If Your House Needs Work, the Investor’s Offer Will Reflect That
If your house needs a lot of work, and you want to sell it to a home investor, it’s important to understand that the offer you receive will reflect any repairs the property requires. Since a cash buyer will invest time, money, and other resources to fix the place up after the sale, they have to consider those expenses when making you an offer.
Curious About Selling Your Cleveland House to a Home Investor?
Are you ready to find out how much cash you can get for your Cleveland-area home? Get in touch with our team at We Buy Houses Cleveland to find out! We’re a real estate investment group, and we’re passionate about helping homeowners and improving properties throughout the Cleveland metro area. To get your cash offer, feel free to give us a call at 216-303-8558 or request an offer online, and we’ll be in touch promptly.
