If you’re looking to sell your house quickly and need cash home buyers in Texas, consider selling your home to an investor. Selling your home, especially if it’s in poor condition, can be a major hassle and take a long time, meaning you can’t move into your new home as soon as you would like.
The selling process is stressful and complex, especially when dealing with a traditional home sale. But a real estate investor could be the perfect cash home buyer for you. These investors will close quickly and typically offer a fair cash offer.
Consider this your complete guide to selling your house to investors – we’ll explore the pros and cons of this process to help transition.
Your Guide to Selling a House to an Investor
A real estate investor is someone who invests capital in a property. These investors may renovate a property and flip it for a profit, turn it into a rental property, or develop new buildings from the ground up. These investors could be:
- Franchise cash buyers
- iBuyers
- House flippers
- Buy-and-hold investors
- Trade-in companies
- Lenders or brokers
- Foreign property investors
The type of investor can influence the purchase price and closing time. Keep reading to learn more about how you can benefit from real estate investing if you choose to sell your home to an investor.
Pros of Selling a House to an Investor
Below are the pros of selling a house to an investor.
Lower Risk
Many home buyers take out loans and mortgages to purchase a house, but investors don’t usually need to do this. When mortgages and loans are involved, there is an element of risk for you as the seller.
If the buyers are not approved for the mortgage loan because they cannot financially prove they’ll be able to make the mortgage payments, the sale can fall through
Investors typically pay in cash and offer proof of funds for escrow when drawing up the purchase agreement, so you can feel more confident about the sale and take on less risk.
Even a pre-approved buyer may not be able to secure the funds they need, landing you back at square one, especially if you took the house off the market for the buyer.
As-Is Home Selling
What is as-is home selling?
It means that you don’t have to do anything to prepare your home for the sale. When selling without a realtor to an investor, you don’t need to worry about cleaning the house, making any renovations, or even making it presentable.
If you decide to sell to home buyers, you need to put in substantial effort to prep the house so you can get a higher sale price. Cleaning, renovations, and repairs can be wildly expensive and time-consuming, pushing back your closing date by months or even years and increasing closing costs. There’s also no guarantee you’ll be able to recoup renovation expenses.
Selling your home to an investor as-is can save you the headache and hassle of prepping the house.
Quicker Closing Opportunities
A quick sale is one of the top benefits of accepting a cash offer from an investor, as the sale can be completed upon finishing the purchase agreement, so it’s more streamlined and efficient.
If you need to sell a house fast in Wichita Falls because your new home is ready or your move has a deadline due to a job, a cash offer from an investor is one of the quickest ways to close and still make money.
Flexible Purchase Agreements
Investors are also more willing to make flexible purchase agreements with unusual circumstances.
For example, if you don’t want to own your home anymore but also don’t want to move, you may be able to sell your home to an investor and then rent it from them. Investors are also willing to buy damaged properties, such as previously flooded homes.
Most home buyers want to buy a house to live in, so they’re less likely to agree to a flexible purchase contract. Flexible purchase agreements are great if your house is in disrepair, and you may be able to agree on a purchase price based on projected repair costs.
Cons of Selling a House to an Investor
Below are some of the potential cons of selling a house to an investor.
Not Knowing Who’s Buying Your Home
Home investors are under no obligation to disclose information about the buyer’s identity to you.
So, you could be selling your home to a sketchy landlord, a property developer, or an investment company. If you plan to move away and forget about this house, you probably don’t care about the actual identity of the buyer.
However, if you want to sell and continue to rent or want the home to go to a family who will appreciate it, selling to an investor is a risky move. This factor is only a con if you care what happens to the house when you move on.
Some people have sentimental attachments to the home because they built it from scratch or it was passed down through generations. People often feel a moral obligation to avoid selling their homes to unethical entities, like investing firms with shady practices or cruel landlords.
Not Sold at Market Value
While you can profit from selling your home to an investor, you typically will not make as much as if you sold it on the real estate market to a traditional buyer.
Investors buy homes to make a profit, whether from renting, flipping, or developing, so they always try to purchase properties for below market value.
However, you can also sell to an investor for market price, especially if you have an experienced real estate agent who can help negotiate for you. For many home sellers, the quick sale and easy purchase agreement are worth accepting a lower sale price, so a major factor for this con is how eager you are to relocate.
If you have all the time, patience, and energy in the world, you may not want to settle for an investor’s under-market purchase price.
Potential for Cash Buyer Scams
Unfortunately, many scams concern home investors. Home investors themselves typically do not run scams, but you have to be wary of people posing as cash buyers. These scams usually start with someone reaching out to the seller via email or text and saying they or their client wants to put down an immediate offer and close as soon as possible.
These “buyers” will not want to see the house and will ask very few questions if any at all.
They’ll be super eager to close, which can be tempting, but don’t fall for it.
To complete the scam, they will likely send you a fraudulent cashier’s check and then have you sign an unfavorable purchase agreement.
Things to Look Out for When Selling to a House Investor
Here are a few things to keep in mind when selling your house to a real estate investor.
Unreasonably Low Offers
As mentioned, it’s not unusual to agree on an under-market offer when selling to an investor. However, you need to be wary of super-low offers.
Just because the investor is offering cash and a quick close on an as-is house, that doesn’t mean you should let them rip you off. It’s best to have a real estate agent assess the investor’s offer and possibly negotiate with the investors.
It’s also wise to ask them how they arrived at their offer, even if you think it’s good. Investors are usually emotionless about properties they buy, so they’ll likely have a clear formula that shows how they arrived at their offer, so you can understand it and make an informed decision.
Scams and Fraudulent Behavior
Selling a home can be stressful and you may be tempted to jump at the first offer you get, but assess each offer and potential buyer with suspicion. Do not sign anything, accept money from, or give money to someone you have not met in person.
You may never deal directly with the investor, but you should at least be in contact with and meet their lawyer or real estate agent.
Carefully do your due diligence when dealing with foreign investors. Selling a home to a foreign investor is not unusual, but the risk of scams increases when dealing with people who claim to be abroad.
Agreement Contingencies
Lastly, don’t sign anything without reading it. Even reputable investors may strategically add unfavorable contingencies to the agreement that allows them to bail on the deal at any point. Ideally, you want a purchase agreement with no contingencies, and if you find any in the contract that you don’t understand, ask your realtor, your lawyer, or the investor about it.
Conclusion
If you don’t want to drudge through the traditional selling process, selling your home to an investor may be the perfect move for you. Investors can close quickly, offer all cash, and accept as-is homes, making it easier to get rid of your home.
Four 19 Properties can assess home value and make a reasonable offer, as we buy houses in Arlington and across many other locations, helping homeowners move on to the next chapter in their life. Reach out to us to initiate the process. Get a no-obligation cash offer and sell your house quickly.