PROS AND CONS OF SELLING YOUR HOME TO COMPANIES THAT BUY HOUSES

When walking or driving around town, you are likely to come across signs like “We Buy Houses” or “We Can Buy Your House No Matter the Condition”, plastered on major streets. These are signs from companies that buy houses and resell or mortgage for a profit. In as much as it sounds less stressful and probably saves you time, you need to weigh your options before giving them a call.

Buying properties to resell has become a lucrative business for real estate investors. You need to keep in mind that everyone is in it for gain – including you of course. Therefore, hiring the services of a local real estate agent might do you some good so they don’t buy your house for dirt cheap. If you seem too desperate to sell, they could offer you as low as 50% of the actual value. Although not all companies are that mercenary, you will need to do some homework if you want to transact business with them and get something valuable out of it.

To help guide you, here are the Pros and Cons of selling your home to companies that buy houses.

PROS

If your home needs certain repairs and replacements, a real estate company that buys houses helps you avoid the stress that comes with fixing and marketing to sell at a good price. They buy the house for the lowest price you both can agree on, while you quickly lay off the burden of owning the property. If you need money as fast as possible, selling to any of these companies is your best bet. In fact, the more desperate you seem, the faster they make an offer. You just have to be willing to accept.

All you need to do is make a decision – do you want to sell or not? You don’t have to worry about the cost of repairing or replacing features and fixtures in the home. Once you decide to sell, they evaluate your house and make you an offer. Most times, these companies are even willing to pay you cash and close the deal as quickly as possible – if that’s what you want.

Furthermore, there’s no need to get a real estate agent because you are already dealing with “professionals” in the house market. Besides which, you might interview a lot of realtors and still not find the one you’re comfortable with.

Trying to sell your house by yourself is actually not as easy as selling a piece of jewellery or a painting. Saving the money meant to be paid as real estate commission is usually the primary goal for many homeowners. So if you feel you’re up for the task, you need to find ways to get your home the online exposure it needs in order to attract buyers. From marketing and negotiation skills to excellent home photographs and inspection, keep in mind that nobody will be there to represent you, tell you what to do, or to spot the difference between pre-approved and pre-qualified papers. But with companies that buy houses, the hassles that come with being your own estate agent, negotiator, and solicitor are avoided.

Houses tend to deteriorate over a long period of time, especially if all the necessary components that make it livable are not properly taken care of through regular maintenance and repairs. If you have a property that is in bad shape, selling it by yourself will be quite difficult. But there are companies that buy houses that are willing to purchase, repair and resell – or they just want to own a property in that particular area. You can sell to them (although at a low price) and get something from the virtually uninhabitable abode.

CONS

When you hire an estate agent, they are likely to help you make money from your sale – because the higher the price, the higher their commission. This is even enough to motivate them into getting you good deals that you probably won’t receive from companies that buy houses. Once a real estate agent inspects your property and tells you they can sell it,  there’s a good chance that you will make more money than a property company will offer. However, you must be willing to wait. Since the agent is trying to get you good deals, your patience will determine how much you will net when the deal closes. Conversely, with a company, you have to make do with what you are offered, especially if you are in a rush to sell.

You are even likely to attract more buyers when you list a property that’s in bad condition for sale. This is because a real estate agent (sometimes working hand in hand with an inspector) can conduct a walk-through in your home and tell you what to fix and replace in order to make a really good profit. Infact, a hardworking agent will make sure you improve the value of your home by even offering to carry out any renovations with their own funds if you can not afford to – then you can reimburse them after the sale has closed. If you wish to get a loan, they will offer to help you work on a budget and still boost the worth of your property. A company that buys houses will not bother about telling you how to improve your home’s value: they would rather fix everything and sell for their own gain.

Property companies are more focused on people who are either desperate to sell or just don’t care about how much they will make at the end of the day. But if you’re not in any of those categories, then there’s no need to consider working with a company that might buy your home for half its worth.

That being said, not all companies that buy houses are bad. In fact, they even help a lot of sellers who have no alternative options. For example, a homeowner might not have money to refurbish a 50 year old dilapidated family home, or might even be in some financial crisis. These companies save you time and stress by making sure you get something out of your property sale in the shortest period of time. Therefore, they fill in an important niche in the house market.

Are there Property Companies that are Scams?

Yes. Not every sign you see with an office address and phone number is legitimate. No matter how desperate you are, ensure that you show some diligence and carry out research when dealing with a real estate investor. If you can afford a solicitor, get one so you don’t fall victim of any scam. You also need to keep in mind that some real estate imposters actually plaster these signs for those who don’t care to fall victim. So to be on a safe side, browse about them online or contact bodies like the Association of Property Buyers, Association of Realtors, or any other legitimate national body that registers companies that buy houses – in order to verify.

However, if you decide to sell yourself or with the help of a local estate agent, verify their legitimacy as well – so you don’t have people with nefarious plans coming to check out the expensive items in your home they can later come back for. All in all, carry out as much research as possible. Don’t be in a rush.

Talk to a Real Estate Agent Before Choosing A Company to Buy Your House

Selling your home to a real estate company isn’t a bad idea. As stated earlier, they save you time and stress if you are desperate to sell, or if you just want to make something out of a virtually uninhabitable home. Whatever the case maybe, nothing beats talking to a local real estate agent. They understand the market, what’s selling in your area, how much they sell for, and how to get good returns after the sale. They can easily give you a better picture of what to expect when you sell your house – with or without repairs and replacements.

When you have spoken to a local real estate agent, you can now decide if you want to sell to a company that buys houses, sell with the help of an estate agent, or even save the commission you are likely to pay by selling your home by yourself.

Individual Buyers need to be Cautious as Well

Some companies buy these dilapidated homes and still don’t fix them properly. Therefore, individual buyers need to be careful of those type of houses. Remember that most real estate investors make their decisions based on how much money they can make from buying and selling a property. You need to be cautious so you don’t buy properties from such careless companies, because many things can go wrong when corners are cut in the construction field. Make sure you buy from a reliable company. Conduct your research and read reviews – lots of reviews. If you have your own real estate agent, they can help you verify the credibility and reputation of both the property investor and the contractor that renovated the building you intend to buy.

After all is said and done, these pros and cons will help you decide if you want to transact business with companies that buy houses (or not).