Our network of real estate investors buy houses fast, for cash and can close fast. If you need to sell your home fast and would like to get a fast no obligation offer, this is the right place. You’re welcome to get started by filling out the sell your house form on this page.
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How the house buying process works.
A lot of the apprehension homeowners sometimes have when going about selling their house, is caused by not knowing what to expect, who to trust and how the process is done.
So here we’ll start with explaining the details of the process with the goal of answering your immediate questions and providing a better understanding of what to expect.
How soon can I start getting offers to buy my house?
Depending on your location, you may be contacted by our investors within a day and up to a few working days, after submitting the form. Providing as much information as possible in our online form helps to speed up the process. Next we’ll be contacting you to either setup an appointment to come and look at the property, or to ask further questions about it.
Many investors would like to look at your property before making an offer on it, so they can evaluate it’s condition and necessary repair costs. While there are a few investors who may actually not have to look at the house before making an offer, but may write an offer that is then subject-to their inspections during an option period.
If you have an ugly house to sell you can read more about investors who buy ugly houses, for a lot of valuable information on getting offers, pricing and what kind of options you have for selling an ugly property. Our goal here is to give you all the information you might find useful and necessary in the process of selling your house.
The no obligation offer.
Investors will make you a no obligation offer to buy your house, from there it will be up to you whom you decide to work with and to choose a suitable offer that meets your particular needs. Offers are typically made to purchase the property for all cash, and in some cases other financing options can be discussed, depending on the needs of your situation.
How fast can you buy the house?
You may receive an acceptable offer within days, but the time to close will vary depending on the circumstances of each property. For example, if the house is to be purchased for all cash, it may be possible to close in a week to ten days, however the time may vary depending on availability of title companies, who of course need to research title prior to issuing a title policy. In the best of circumstances this can be done within a few days, but more often than not, title companies need a few weeks till they can schedule a closing.
Be sure to mention if you have an urgent deadline to sell due to some unavoidable circumstance such as a pending foreclosure, so of course this will be taken into consideration when deciding how the property can be purchased and which title companies should be used. If time is critical for you, then you may want to decide on what offer you can accept within a timely manner.
If your buyer is purchasing your house with traditional financing, it will take closer to 30 days, unlike a cash deal, or “subject-to existing financing” purchase.
Finance options for selling your house explained.
While it is preferable to purchase properties for all cash, sometimes there are circumstances in which you can get a better deal looking at other options, or the house cannot afford it due to the mortgage, taxes, or other accumulated liens outweighing the market value. In these cases an investor may wish to discuss and make an offer to purchase with some of these other methods.
Will you pay cash for my house?
Most sellers prefer to sell for all cash, but this is not the only option and for some property deals it may not be possible, due to their not being enough equity in the property, or a number of other possible scenarios. Carrying back some of the financing is another option a seller may want to consider, such as owner financing a portion of the property, for a limited period of time.
In some cases selling your house with a partial owner finance option, can be worth your while if you would like to get a higher price, but over a longer period of time. Sometimes you can negotiate a higher sales price with an investor buyer if you agree to take back a note against the property for a period of time. If you do agree to take back a note, it should be a note secured by the property, properly drawn up by an attorney and approved by the title company. These are details you can discuss with your buyer making the offer and come to a mutual agreement on.
The main thing to know is there are plenty of ways to accomplish what you need to do, whether or not you are able to find a cash buyer.
Why would I not want cash for my house?
Receiving cash for your house has tax implications (capital gains tax) that you may not want to deal with this year and might even leave you in the minus. Only selling for cash may not get you the best overall sales price depending on the offers you receive, current demand for your property and the amount of equity you have in it.
When there’s no equity in the house being sold.
This scenario happens more often than not when a seller has only owned their house for a few years. When the house was first purchased a considerable amount of financing and closing costs may have been rolled into the loan, so even if it was purchased with 10% equity, it doesn’t mean there is any to speak of.
If there is not enough equity for investors to be able to resell, have closing costs, holding costs, repair costs and still make some profit, then many investors are not interested in purchasing this kind of property. That’s where taking over payments and or, short sales come in. An investor might ask about taking over your payments, of course depending on the particulars of the property, what type of loan you have and a variety of details.
More cash later vs. less now.
A cash offer may be right for you, but is not always your best option. Selling for all cash might mean a reduced offer, whereas if you were to take back a note for a year, or even months, you may be able to keep a good deal more of your equity. When investors decide to make offers on your property, you may ask about the different options available to you so you will be knowledgeable about your choices.
Owner finance options.
An investor may offer you a number of options to buy your house, including you taking back a portion of the financing (otherwise known as owner financing).
For example:
- You might take back a first place mortgage on the house, if owned free and clear.
- You might take back a second on the equity you own, while the investor takes over payments on the first loan.
- You might take half your equity now and half in xx months, or when the house is re-sold.
In the above scenarios, the investor is likely to be investing their own money in the rehab of the house, increasing it’s value.
If you decide on any financing options where you still have money in the property, you’ll want to make sure your note is properly secured by the property. You should use a promissory note, secured by a deed of trust, mortgage properly prepared by an attorney. If you close at a title company, their attorney should provide the proper documents, otherwise you’ll want to have an attorney look over your note to make sure it is secured by the property, under the terms you have agreed on.
Some investors may even offer to pay you additional cash at the end of a rehab and retail. If you agree to an arrangement like this, you’ll want to make sure your financial position in the property is secured by a lien on the house. A title company and or, attorney can prepare the proper documents for this. It is not recommended to do this type of transaction without an attorney preparing the right documents.
Important things to know about selling your house:
Use a Sellers Disclosure form.
Many states have disclosure laws which require you the seller to disclose a required list of details about the property. Some Realty companies, or associations have created forms called a “sellers disclosure”, which can be used for this purpose.
Not disclosing all of the required details of a property on a signed document can potentially be a problem for you, or give your buyer an alibi out of a contract. For this reason, it is a good idea to get a sellers disclosure form and to use it. Fill it in as detailed and accurately as possible, with the main thing to remember being, the form is to protect you. This way you don’t have a buyer coming back later and saying well you didn’t disclose certain problems, water leaks, foundation problems, etc. When selling a house it is always better to provide too much disclosure than not enough.
Investor buyers have almost certainly purchased properties a lot worse off, so they’re not likely to be scared off by your list.
Read and understand your contract.
Surprisingly, many people do not read contracts before signing them, something unscrupulous persons know and may take advantage of. You may save yourself a lot of trouble and or, misunderstandings, by simply reading your contract and any paper work before you sign it. In fact, if you’ve read all of this article all the way down to this point, you’re probably well ahead of the average person who does not read everything they ought to. While it is common that you would not understand all of the verbiage in a contract, you should ask questions and try to understand anything you don’t.
It’s entirely up to you to choose your buyer.
It is important for you the seller to choose whom you work with. Get to know your investor buyer, become as familiar as you can with the process and what they are specifically offering.
It is worth you spending the time to go over contract details and getting to know your investor buyer better. You may save yourself time in the long run by understanding what it is that you are signing and the type of deal you’re getting into. There’s no reason to feel pressured into signing a contract you are not sure about.
Remember that it is up to you the seller to decide when to sell and whom to sell your house to. If you do not feel comfortable with the buyer you’re communicating with, then perhaps you should do some more looking around.
On the other hand just because an investor buyer has all the right words and seems very convincing does not necessarily mean that this transaction is for you. You should still review the offer being made and make sure that what he is saying, is actually what you are signing. You must evaluate each offer on its own merits and try to get a clear understanding of what you are being offered. You may then proceed at a comfort level you’re comfortable with.