You’ve decided it’s time to sell. You keep asking yourself if you should hire an agent to sell your house in Sacramento, California. Do you want to pay large commissions? How long are you willing to wait for the house to receive an offer? How long will it take to close? What sort of repairs will you have to make? How does the house look when I leave for work in the morning? Are you available to show your house with 24-hour notice, or less?
These concerns and more keep many people from listing with an agent. So, what can you do? When you sell your house directly to an investor or other buyer, you may be able to sell fast, without making repairs, and avoid commissions altogether.
Showings
If you decide to sell your house directly to a professional house buyer in Sacramento, California, you can avoid the roller coaster of emotions that typically accompany selling a home. There are no frustrating, middle-of-dinner phone calls asking if you are available to show your house. You don’t have to worry about leaving your house spotless every day, just in case there is a showing while you’re gone. You don’t have to stress about possibly running into a buyer’s agent or their clients and being asked 100 questions. You also don’t have to worry about buyers arguing with you over which furniture you are taking and what you are leaving. And you can avoid the hassle of putting your photos in storage and figuring out the best way to stage your home in order to sell. No more promising showings that lead no where.
Commissions and Fees
Real estate agents are paid based on a percentage of the sale price of your house. If you do not use an agent, there will be no commissions paid to a buyer’s or seller’s agent. That means thousands of dollars in savings! The usual commission is 3% per side, so if you sell your house for $400,000, you would have to pay $24,000 in commissions alone, along with the traditional seller’s closing fees and other possible transaction fees. Real estate investors typically do not charge commission or transaction fees, and if they do, the costs are really low in comparison. In short: while your offer from an investor may be lower than you could expect from a traditional sale, you’ll also save thousands on commissions.
Waiting Time Frame
Real estate agents have access to the multiple listing service, or MLS, which allows your property to be found in searches for certain features of a property. This may sound great, but how long will it sit on the market? How fast will you receive offers? The process tends to be passive, waiting for interest from a buyer, and may take months. Traditional house purchases also require qualifications from banks, mortgage underwriting time, property inspection — and then the buyer may not end up qualifying in the end! You could receive multiple offers that fall through and extend the ultimate sale process.
Real estate investors and other direct house buyers typically have a network of other house buyers, so if your property doesn’t fit their portfolio, they can offer a good referral to an interested buyer. When you sell your house in Sacramento, California directly to house buyers, they typically close faster than traditional buyers — and usually pay in cash.
Inspections & Repairs
Professional house buyers in California will usually purchase houses as-is. As a seller, this means you do not have to worry about repairs (or other unexpected expenses) before closing. You’re unlikely to need an official inspection. When you use a real estate agent, the buyer’s agent will almost always order an inspection of the property. If they find something wrong with the property structure, they may require you to fix it out of pocket before the property closes.
There are a lot of situations to think about when you are ready to sell your house. We can help you decide which avenue would be best for you.