Considering selling your house to a real estate investor? Homeowners have several options for selling property, including listing on the MLS with a realtor, flat-fee listing, selling to friend or neighbor, and “For Sale By Owner” websites (For Sale By Owner, Craig’s List, and Zillow).
Home sellers often haven’t considered that selling to a real estate investor can be fast, easy, and profitable.
What Is A Real Estate Investor? How Are Investors Different?
Real estate investors buy property to earn a profitable financial return. Just like people purchasing stocks and bonds, investors take financial risk to gain a profit. Real estate investing includes fix-and-flips, rentals, and acquiring property for appreciation.
There are multiple advantages to selling to a real estate investor compared to the “traditional” real estate agent process:
- No Realtor Commissions. Selling listing on the MLS pay upwards of 6% realtor commission. Real estate investors never charge fees. Real estate investors charge no commission, buy “as-is”, close fast, and make cash offers in under 24 hours.
- “As-Is” Sale. Investors buy “as-is”. The seller makes no repairs. Real estate investors “earn their profit” by acquiring houses that need renovations that the owner didn’t have the willingness or ability to fix. Regular home buyers haggle about repairs which substantially delays home sales.
- Offers in 24-Hours. Cash home buyers make offers daily (if not hourly!). It takes investors just a few minutes to put together an offer. Unlike regular buyers, there is no lengthy deliberation to figure out what the investor will pay.
- Cash Buyers. One hallmarks of real estate investing is acquiring houses for cash (not mortgages). Mortgages take months for approval and banks may decline mortgages on homes in poor condition or an event to disqualify the buyer such as job loss or bankruptcy.
- Fast Closing. Investors close in days. The Mortgage Reports found conventional mortgages take 43 days to close. FHA and VA loans even longer. Since investors control their cash reserves, once there is price agreement, all it takes is the time for a wire transfer to your bank account. Professional buyers also close quick because there is no negotiation about condition on “as is” sales. Fast closing saves you on-going expenses for taxes, insurance, daily maintenance, and utilities.
- One Showing/Inspection. Realtors listing on the open market schedule many showings to generate as many offers as possible. Hundreds of people might walk through your living space. Open houses attract “tire kickers” with no plans to submit an offer. Trulia reports one out of 10 showings gets an offer. Investors just need a single walkthrough to inspect and even buy sight unseen. Professional buyers offer on all kinds of property so are unlikely to decline to make an offer.
Want to learn more about selling your home to real estate investors? Give St. Louis Realty Advisors a call today at 314-326-4900.