It doesn’t matter where you are in the States – Austin, Texas… New York City or Florida. If you have to sell a home fast then the options will generally remain the same.
The housing market has dipped and risen and slowed over the past 18 months, mostly due to Covid and the pandemic. Viewings for houses were restricted, as was travel, and the desire to move was not as strong as before.
Many people took to trying to organize virtual viewings to bypass health restrictions but as normality is slowly returning, so are the sales. Realtors are reporting a growth in house sales and the market looks healthy. This is ok if you want to sell with the normal sales route.
But, what if you absolutely must shift your house faster than that?
Why is Offloading a House Quickly Important to Some People?
There are many varied reasons why people seek to shift their property quickly. It can be due to money problems or relationships breaking down.
These are just some problems people encounter that make a house sale inevitable:
- Divorce or relationship breakdown
- Moving due to job relocation
- Emigrating
- Debts and money problems
- Legal problems
- Tax issues
- Unwanted inheritance
- Health problems
- Unemployment
There are even more reasons than these listed here and none of them should be a judgment about the seller. Sometimes bad luck arrives or circumstances change suddenly, and there is a need for a quick influx of cash.
In the case of inheritances, a house can sometimes be more of a burden than a blessing, especially if it is in Austin and you live in Hawaii for instance. Plus, the upkeep of two properties is too much for most people.
What House Sale Method Would Bring the Most Cash?
You probably already know this but to get the best price for your home will generally require using a real estate agent. A qualified member of the National Realtors Association can be a great help when selling a home.
If you choose the right agent they will talk you through the process, arrange all the photographs for your home, suggest renovations, repairs, and changes, and not only market your property, but actively try to sell it too.
One of the reasons that realtors try so hard to move your property is that they want the commission that you will be paying them once you sell your home. You will normally receive the highest price for your home through a realtor but you may also be paying them a large percentage of that cash.
A realtor’s fees can come in at 6% so if you sold a property for $200,000 you would be paying them $12,000 from the purchase price.
Although they might be the best way to get the highest price, they are also one of the slowest.
How Can You Quickly Sell Your House in 2021?
There are many things you should know before you sell your house including legal fees, commissions payable on the sale, completion times, and how long it could take to sell.
Selling a home by a realtor, on average, takes about 65 days from marketing to sale. This might not sound so bad but if you are in a hurry, 2 months could be an awfully long time. There are other factors to consider too.
Once you are in the process of selling your home there is no guarantee it will be seen through to the end. Buyers pull out, finances collapse, life happens. When it does, it means you will have to start again from the beginning.
There are ways to speed up the process such as improving the fascia of the house, decluttering, making small repairs, and staging the house for viewings.
These all take time and in some cases, money. For a quick seller, they are not ideal. This would mean that you need to look at other selling methods.
Other Ways You Can Sell Your Home
With the right tools, you could sell your house online. Many people choose this option now as it gives them more control over the marketing and reduces costs such as realtor commissions. There is no promise of a quick or even a slow sale.
Auctions, raffles, and cash buyers are your next three options. They all have their benefits and their downsides but one might suit your needs.
1. House Raffles
These are interesting and fairly new phenomena. The idea is that you make a certain amount of raffle tickets which you then sell with your house as the prize. To make sure this works you will have to work out how many tickets you need to sell at what price to make the desired amount back.
There are some drawbacks to this method of selling. There is no guarantee you will sell enough tickets, you will almost certainly have to pay out for a proper marketing and advertising campaign, and you may be breaking the law.
There are strict laws across the States regarding gambling and running a raffle could fall into that area. Raffling a house in Texas could very well be illegal, and it definitely is in Hawaii.
2. Auction Off Your House
House auctions can attract a large number of serious buyers looking for a bargain. The bargain part of that statement is where you may lose out. An auction might sell your house but leave you with less than you expected plus a bunch of fees to pay too.
Auctions will expect you to pay a commission for their services and perhaps also their advertising costs. You may need legal help before and after the sale too which will also cost. However, there are good reasons to sell a house at auction including that they can be competitive markets with no ceiling price. This means, potentially you could get a good sale price.
3. Using Cash Buyers of Houses
You may have heard of these companies as either cash buyers or property investors, and they have a keen interest in buying up unwanted houses. As with any quick option, there is a price and with this method, it may be that you don’t receive the full market price. This is due to the company naturally looking for a return on their investment.
The advantages of using a cash buyer though are the speed and convenience. Some companies such as Cash House Buyers USA – Austin TX will give a firm offer within a day of contacting them and can put money in your bank within a week or two.
This makes them about the fastest way to sell a house. The other benefits to a hurried seller are that there are no closing costs and often no legal fees to worry about, and you don’t need to be at the closing either so it is ideal for anyone who is living out of state.
Final Words
There are many varied ways to sell a home and which one a seller chooses will largely come down to what their needs are. For the highest price, they can sell through a realtor or by themselves.
For fast sales, then the only real options are auctions or cash buyers. For convenience and lack of fees, then cash buyers are possibly the best option.