Need to sell your home fast? Investor buyer vs retail buyer
Ring! Ring! Ring! 76-year-old landlord called us from one of our direct mail campaigns with an urgency to sell fast. Her property had been burned down seven months prior. Due to this, other problems developed, such as homeless people moving into the property. They were trashing the place and doing inappropriate activities. This highly irritated the neighbors and the city officials.
The city insisted that she clean out the property and keep it properly maintained. This amounted to high fees, a lot of time, and many headaches. She wanted out fast, therefore, decided to give us a call. During our phone conversation, we did our research and made an offer on the spot. She agreed to meet at the property in order to further evaluate and sign an agreement.
The look on her face and the relief she expressed was priceless. She was thankful and grateful we were able to make it happen within her timeframe. We moved quickly as she requested and we were able to close within days. Within a week she received a check. A check that represented peace of mind and the freedom to move on.
At properties 180, we pride ourselves in providing a seamless process and hassle free transaction. We believe in two positive outcomes which are: win-win or no deal. We much rather not have a deal if both parties involved are not happy.
As investors, we are not the traditional retail buyer, however, we specialize in a niche market. So, we are experts who can help you. Our focus is to help distressed homeowners who find themselves in difficult financial situations, such as foreclosure, short sales, or trying to sell a home in probate. Below you will find some differences among a retail buyer and an investor.
Investor buyer:
- Pays cash
- Close quickly or within your timeline
- NO appraisal requested
- No inspection reports
- Pay for standard closing costs
- No repairs needed
Retail buyer:
- Need to qualify for a loan
- Inspection periods
- Appraisal
- Takes longer (Usually 60-120 days)
- Open houses
- Request for closing costs
The question may be then who will pay more for the property? A retail buyer may offer more for the property, but that does not mean that you will net more at the end when you consider credits, repairs, closing costs and commissions.
However, if your home is in top conditions, prime neighborhood and you have the time to weight in order to go through a traditional sale with a traditional retail buyer then that is the best alternative and the one that will bring top dollars. If your home is in need of some renovations, you are in a hurry to sell and would not like to have your house exposed to the public during open houses then selling to an investor is a better alternative for you.
In the end, the most important thing is to analyze where you are and the reason for selling. Your reason to sell will be the largest factor that will determine which direction to go time. Investors provide a different alternative; its simply another option to the seller and in many instances the only option.