People looking forward to selling their home for cash always wonder whether it is their best move or not. Before making such a decision, ensure that you know all about selling the house for cash, and its pros and cons.
Have you ever seen the promotions done by the “we buy houses for cash“? They advertise selling your home fast and pay instant cash in return. They make tempting offers. But before you decide to sell your home for cash, let us delve deeper and know all about it.
What are cash-buying companies?
The companies that provide cash in return for a house sale are called cash buyer companies. Some people who need urgent cash or want to relocate immediately need to sell their home fast and hence, look out for cash buyer companies. There are also people who have distressed properties and who don’t want to spend a significant amount on making repairs, who prefer cash-buying companies.
A cash buying company can be a small or one-person establishment or a big national company. One of the best things about cash-buying companies is that there is no space for a middleman. You can directly sell to the cash buyer and gain the benefit is instant cash.
Advantages of selling a home to a cash buyer
Unlock the advantages of selling your house for cash with cash home buyers in Harrisburg PA, streamlining the process for a quick and hassle-free property sale. Here are some of the best benefits of selling your home to a cash buyer rather than putting the house on the market.
No preparation needed
Now that you know that you can sell your home for cash, it is also good for you to know that troublesome jobs such as cleaning, decluttering, preparing, and staging the home are not needed here. Though it may be your personal choice to keep your home spic span, getting it ready to sell to the cash buyer is not required. The houses that are sold to the cash buyer company are presented as ‘As Is. You need not worry about doing the preparation and staging work. Cash buyers do not expect your home to remain clean. Even if your house looks messy and has broken or torn furnishings, it makes no difference to them as the same will be thrown out when they take possession.
Instant closing
The premium of selling your home for cash is that you are able to close the sale fast. Unlike the traditional way, in which the real estate agent will first list your home on the MLS, set the price, market your home, invest in staging the home, search the buyer, handle negotiations, and a lot more, which takes months, selling for cash is a matter of days. You don’t have to put the house on the market and wait for the closing.
The cash homes buying companies are not involved with the mortgage lender and close the house sale deal in less than seven days. You can check with the company when are they willing to close the deal on your property.
House of any condition
When the real estate market is hot, it is not challenging for the homes to be sold. Whether you have a distressed property or a house with an appropriate layout, or a home that has an odd paint job or shag carpeting, etc., in which a regular buyer will not be interested, ‘we buy a house for cash is the best option.
No strangers at home
When you start selling your home through the traditional route, you need to schedule the open house. In the open house, you have all kinds of potential buyers walking through. But when you sell the home to a company that pays cash, does not need to go through the trouble of allowing strangers to enter your house.
Immediate cash
As the name says, when you sell the house to a cash-buying company, you get immediate cash in return. So, when you have an inherited home to sell and need to convert the same to quick cash, then an all-cash company is the go-to option. One of the fasted ways of selling a house is to reach out to cash companies.
The drawback of selling the house to a cash company
Though selling the house for cash offers many advantages, it also means some pitfalls or drawbacks. Here we list some.
Low price of the home
The biggest downside of selling your home for cash is that they will purchase your property at a lower price point or a discounted rate. This may affect your profit. Since many cash-buying companies flip the house, they invest money in getting the house cleaned up or repaired. All this is mandatory for renting the property or using the same for another purpose. In such a scenario, the company tries to pay as little as possible.
High service Fee
If you are thinking that selling through the traditional agent needs you to pay heavy realtor fees and selling a home to a cash company will not need you to pay any service cost, then you are mistaken. Like a traditional realtor costs you 5 to 6% of the home sales price, selling to an all-cash company such as Opendoor and Redfin will need you to pay a service cost of around 5%.
You need to bear the cost of repairs
Though the cash-for-homes companies claim that you can sell the home as is, the same will deduct the cost of the repair from the final offer they make. Depending upon the condition of the house, age, etc., they charge for repairs. This is done for making the most profit, while the home seller needs to bear all the costs.
Some cash companies ask home sellers to bear the cost of repairs rather than deducting the cost from the offer. This is one way of charging the house repair cost. So, if you are selling a home that needs a new roof or a fence, or has the interior door damaged, then the company will either deduct the cost of the repair or offer you less price front.
A limited number of cash companies
There are only a handful of all-cash companies against a considerable number of other options for home buyers. This is why there is no one to compete against those who are ready to do business with you. When there are ample home buyer companies, then they are likely to come with better cash offers.
Like many other crucial decisions, the answer to the question of whether one should sell a home for cash or not, there is no answer which can be termed right or wrong. There is nothing in black and white. If you are aiming to sell a house quickly and are not much concerned about the home price, then a cash home deal seems to be a great option.
