Selling a home is a mammoth task. And if you decide to sell it using one of the for sale by owner websites or using a flat-fee MLS website, you have to do all the leg work. The time and energy that goes into making the sale happen are too much. You prepare the house for sale, list it on MLS, market it, and wait for offers from buyers or buyer agents in hopes to get a good monetary profit out of the sale.
Given the variety of leg work involved with selling a home, even when home sellers plan to sell it FSBO, after a few weeks many turns to real estate agents for help, and end up paying the substantial agent commission to make the sale happen. But if you are someone who doesn’t want to sell the house using traditional methods or has different circumstances that make sparing time for the sale difficult, know that you have other options—you can still sell your home to a company.
You can do away with the complicated procedure that involves making repairs and renovations to the house, hiring agents, getting the house appraised, negotiating with the potential buyers, closing the sale, and instead of selling your home within a matter of days. Yes, you heard that right—in a matter of days. You can sell your house astonishingly fast by selling it to companies like ‘we buy houses for cash’.
What are companies that buy houses for cash?
House buying companies buy houses for cash to flip and sell them for more, resale them at a profit, or just keep them as a real estate investment. Whether it’s transforming an old bungalow with seven bathrooms into a mammoth luxurious villa or making single-family rental homes in a locality, house buying companies do all sorts of things.
Companies like ‘we buy houses for cash are designed in a way to provide a fast and seamless sale to home sellers. Whether you don’t want to deal with showings, need extra cash fast, or don’t want to make big home repairs, the ‘fast cash’ companies instantly buy your home.
As cash home buyers, companies like ‘we buy houses for cash’ move quickly and often make instant offers. While they tend to offer less money than the typical market value of a home, you get away to sell your house without any hassle and for quick cash. While a traditional sale might be in your best interests, in certain situations it definitely makes sense to sell to a ‘we buy houses for cash’ company especially if it is possible to get a fair offer.
Below are some common reasons why homeowners sell to companies that buy houses for cash:
To sell homes:
- that are regarded as unsellable
- the owners of which have got transferred to another city for work
- that are foreclosed upon
- that are inherited
- of divorcees
- owned by house flippers who ran into financial trouble
- for fast cash
- conveniently and quickly
- that are abandoned or vacant
- that are in poor condition and can’t be repaired
Different types of ‘we buy houses for cash’ companies
While different ‘we buy houses for cash’ companies look similar, there are various different types of companies who can buy your home quickly and for cash. We’re breaking down the types of companies you may encounter and how they do business, as well as what you should factor in if you’re considering selling your home to a company.
Different ‘we buy houses for cash’ companies have different ways and different motivations for purchasing homes. Below are the six different types of companies that could buy your house:
-
House flippers
House flippers are real estate investors who buy homes at a discount, renovate them to add value, and resell them quickly for a profit. House flippers often look for certain specific improvements to increase equity-like mechanical repairs, cosmetic updates, layout changes, etc.
-
iBuyers
An iBuyer or an instant buyer company uses the data and technology on the real estate market to make instant offers on houses once contacted by the owner without even seeing the property. iBuyers tend to buy houses that don’t need much work and also charge a service fee on home sellers. The companies may even request a credit called ‘concession’ to cover repair expenses, which can average out to around 3%.
-
Buy-and-hold companies
Buy-and-hold companies buy homes in order to rent them to tenants to earn profit. Like flippers, buy-and-hold companies intend to acquire properties with enough potential equity to make an acceptable ROI. They focus on multi-family properties that are desirable to renters. These kinds of investors use the Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat, or BRRRR model.
-
Trade-in companies
To get funds enough to cover the purchase of a new home, many homeowners looking to sell their existing homes. Trade-in companies are house-buying companies that specialize in trade-in programs to make the home buying process smoother. Such companies offer to buy your current home thereby giving you funds to buy a new home.
-
Local investors
Certain home-buying companies purchase homes only in specific localities, cities, and states. Such companies may have a multi-state presence under a brand name with associates running their local offices. Then there are ‘mom-and-pop’ local investors with small teams that work only a few homes per year.
Benefits of selling a home to a ‘we buy houses for cash’ company
Rather than selling your home on a for sale by owner websites, you may choose a ‘we buy houses for cash’ site. Below are the benefits of selling your home to a for cash house buying company:
- You get the cash in a jiffy: You may be in a situation wherein you need to have cash on hand quickly. In circumstances like facing foreclosure, filing for bankruptcy, or going through a divorce, house-buying companies can get you the best possible value for your home immediately.
- The huge transaction gets instantly effortless: If you have gone through the process of buying or selling a home previously, you would know the amount of stress involved because of the paperwork, legalities, handling the viewings, and making negotiations. You don’t need to worry about such things while selling your home to a house buying company.
- You can make real financial savings: You might not have the time and money to get your home ready for a sale on the real estate market. You would need to hire a real estate agent, pay for home repairs and renovations, hire a professional photographer, and other professionals to make the sale happen. You would also need to schedule meetings and manage visits that can eat up your valuable time. By selling your house to a home buying company, you get away with paying such charges, save your time, and can focus on the next chapter of your life.
- You avoid a long process: If you ever have negotiated, you’d know how difficult it can get. Not only does it take time and money, but negotiating with multiple parties is a stressful experience. By selling your house to one of the ‘we buy houses for cash’ companies, you bypass the long and complex process of selling a home.
So, is it better to sell your home to a company?
There are multiple ways in which you can sell your home—you can hire an agent and sell your house traditionally, use the services of best fsbo sites, list it on MLS for a flat fee, or sell it to a ‘we buy houses for cash’ company and get the cash in ten days or lower, the choice is yours to make. If you are looking to offload your property fast without getting into renovations or dealings, a cash buyer can be just the right choice for you.
