If you have a home you need to sell right away, there a re a few ways to go about doing so. Below is a list of several ideas that can help you sell you home quickly along with the positives and negatives of each way.
1) List your home with a real estate agent- The positive side to this choice is you are trying to get full price for your house and have a chance at doing just that. The negatives could make up a very long list, so I will just name a few. First, you will have to pay a commission, usually 6% to the agent. This is a fee that in my opinion is rarely justified. Most real estate agents will simply put your house on the Multiple Listing Service and let it sit until another agent brings a buyer. This is good for them because the agents are making thousands of dollars for doing next to nothing, but bad for you because you are paying them. The next negative is, as you may already know, real estate agents are notorious for overpromising and underdelivering. That is not to say that every agent will overpromise ad underdeliver, but the chances of that happening are high. It is very hard to know if this is what is happening until its to late. Once you sign the contract to list your home with a real estate agent, you can expect to have to pay them thousands of dollars when it sells, whether they find the buyer or you find the buyer. The third negative may actually be the most important to you, which is youre probably much less likely to get a quick sale on your home if you use an agent. See, agents get a percentage of your home sales price. The higher that amount, the more they make. A real estate agent is usually there to get the highest price because that way he gets paid the most. However, if you really need to sell fast this is a disadvantage because you can probably expect your house to sit for several months or longer before selling.
2) Stick a For Sale By Owner sign in the yard- The positive to this is that you stand a chance to end up putting more money in your pocket from the sale of the house than you even do with the real estate agent. The negative is that you can expect it to take even longer than it would if you used an agent. You will be dealing with unqualified buyers wasting your time tromping through your house who have probably never bought a home before and cant get financing to do it now even if they wanted to. Using the FSBO (for sale by owner) is O.K. if you are in a very hot market, can afford to wait and know how to screen your potential buyers. However, if you dont know how to thoroughly screen your buyers, you are setting yourslef up for a whole lot of headaches and frustration.
3) Sell to a real estate investor or investment company- There are several positives to this method, but a few negatives to pay close attention to as well. First the positives. When selling to an investment company you may get the benefit of a fast sale on your home with no contingencies for financing and the home can be left in as-is condition. What this means to you is the buyer has all cash so he doesnt have to wait 30 + days to wait for a decision from the bank to say whether or not he can qualify for a loan. Also, when dealing with an investment company you can expect to sell your home as-is with no repairs made. In other words, these companies will by an ugly house or yucky house just as quickly as a pretty house. The negative side to this route is that you will not usually get full market value for your house. Its similar to trading in your car for a new one. You dont deal with the headaches of selling that car on your own, but youre going to get less money for it too. Also, when you deal with investors make sure you are dealing with a reputable, established company. You really have to watch out for the mom and pop type establishments. Late night real estate gurus combined with the recent sizzling red hot real estate market have made a ton of people think they can call themselves real estate investors and runout and get rich quick. These "seminar graduates" end up wasting your time because they really arent cash buyers and dont know what they are doing. When the time comes, they wont be able to buy your home.
When everything is said and done, the decision is up to you on which route to take. If time is of the essence, and you NEED to sell as opposed to want to sell, then an established real estate investment company is probably the way to go. If time is on your side, try the agent or FSBO method. If you decide you NEED to sell in days, not months you can get help at http://www.luckybuysyuckyhouses.com There you will find a well established, reputable company to make you a fair offer on your house.
