October 2019 - Hometown Development

#1 Be Honest

The great thing about selling a home as-is is that you don’t have to handle any of the necessary repairs or problems your home might have. That said, you are still legally obligated to honestly answer any questions a buyer asks you. If you know your roof has a leak, your foundation has a large crack, or you’ve experienced electrical issues, termite damage, or any disputes over the title, you’ll have to disclose that information to the buyers. It’s good to know that if you’re selling the home as-is, these issues won’t typically deter a serious buyer, but you do have to disclose them before selling the property.

#2 Create an Attractive Listing

If you’re planning to sell your home as-is, and aren’t interested in hiring a realtor or reaching out directly to a specific real estate investor, then it’s a good idea to create a digital listing on real estate sites like Trulia and Zillow. In most cases, you can post a listing for free, and you can specify in your description that you’re selling the home “as-is”.

To create an attractive listing, make sure you take a few great pictures of your house. Wait for a bright, sunny day, so your pictures feature a lot of natural light, both indoors and outdoors. Then, post those images with an honest, positive description of your home.

#3 Price to Sell

If you’re listing your home online and you’re planning to sell as-is, you’re going to want to price your home to sell. Many homeowners think they can start at a higher price, and then just let potential buyers talk them down a bit, but in reality, this typically just increases the amount of time your home sits on the market.

Price your home to sell, keeping in mind that when you sell as-is to a cash buyer, you don’t have to pay for closing costs, any inspection fees, repairs, or renovations. In many cases, you won’t even have to clean your home. The offer you get from the buyer is the money you’ll keep, so remember that as you set a price for your home.

#4 Don’t Just Accept the First Offer

Now that you’ve listed your home for a great price online, it’s time to listen to offers. If your home is priced well, and listed “as-is”, you’ll likely start to see offers from as-is buyers, investors, and individual homeowners looking for a project. It’s important to take a good look at each of the offers you get, rather than just accepting the first one. If you’ve just listed, give your home a few days before you accept an offer. It can be in your best interest to hear what all of your potential buyers have to say, so you can choose the offer that’s best for you. Remember that offers aren’t all just about cash, either. If you’re still living in the home, you’ll want to make sure you accept an offer from a buyer who gives you a reasonable amount of time to move out, and who can close on your schedule.

#5 Choose an Investor You Trust

When you sell a home as-is, many of your potential buyers are likely to be real estate investors, like Hometown Development. It’s important that in the end, you go with an offer from a buyer or investor that you trust, and who has a good reputation. You don’t have to accept an offer from an investor you don’t like, or who seems to be pressuring you into making the sale. If you don’t feel quite right about a buyer, it never hurts to do a bit of homework — look them up online, check out their business profile, and see if they have any reviews from previous clients. A great real estate investor will have a solid reputation and a legitimate website offering information about their past and current projects.

#6 Be Flexible

Selling your home, even when you sell as-is and for cash, isn’t always easy. It’s important to be flexible as the seller, so you can make that sale happen in the time frame you’re hoping for, and for a reasonable price. Remember that when you sell your home, you’ll have to be available to let buyers walk through and take a look at it, and also remember that not every buyer is going to give you an offer that’s at your asking price. As long as you remain flexible, and work to accept an offer from a legitimate buyer who is willing to work with you, too, you should be able to sell your home as-is, with minimal hassle.

Selling a home as-is doesn’t have to be difficult. If you need to move on from your property quickly, and without making repairs, the Hometown Development team would be happy to help. We purchase properties exactly as-is, and for cash. For more information about our process, and for your own personalized quote, give us a call at 616-379-3090 or contact us online.

If you’ve recently inherited property from a loved one, you may be wondering what to do. Whether you’ve inherited the property solely, or jointly with siblings or other family members, it can be a difficult decision to keep or sell the property, especially as you grieve the loss of your loved one. In nearly every case of inherited property, you have three basic options — keep the property, list it, or accept a cash offer. Here’s what you need to know about each:

Keep the Inherited Property To Live In or Rent

Keeping the property is a good idea if you would like to live in it, or if the property is well-suited for renters. If you’ve inherited the property on your own, this is an easy decision to make, because you’re calling all of the shots. If you and a sibling or another family member inherited the property together, you’ll have to come to an agreement together.

For example, if you decide to live in the home, you’ll have to compensate your sibling accordingly, either by buying them out of the house or by paying them regular rent. This is a little easier to work out if you’re renting out the property — you simply split the rent equally between all owners.

If you do plan to keep the property, there are a few housekeeping items you’ll want to take care of before you or a renter officially move in:

Plan for property taxes to rise — If the home has been owned by the same person for quite some time, it’s likely that your property taxes will go up now that the property has transferred ownership. While this isn’t too big of a deal if you’re renting (you can just up the rent accordingly) this could be an issue if you’re planning to live in the home.
Get a home inspection — Many inherited homes have been lived in and maintained by senior owners, who may not have been able to keep up with large-scale maintenance in their later years. Before you officially move in or rent out the house, it’s in your best interest to have the property inspected to ensure there are no major structural problems to be fixed.

Keeping your inherited property is a great way to move into a home that’s better suited to your family, or generate a bit of extra income by renting it out. Either way, know that you’ll have to tackle a bit of work — cleaning, making repairs, ensuring there are no necessary renovations — before anyone can move in.

List It

If you live far from the inherited property, or if the property was left to multiple parties, you might be considering listing the home on the traditional market. This is an especially attractive option if there was no mortgage on the home because everything you make on the home will be a profit to split between you and the other inheritors.

Listing a home on the traditional market is a good way to recoup fair shares for all of the property owners, but it will take a bit of work. Here are a few of the steps that go into listing a home on the market:

Tidy Up the Property

First and foremost, you’ll have to clean the home out entirely to prepare it to be listed, and it’s also a good idea to get a pre-inspection done before you put the home up on the market. This will help you get on top of any big renovations or repairs, and have them completed before you list the home.

Find a Realtor You Trust

You’ll also need to find a realtor you trust. It’s a good idea to talk to a few realtors who are familiar with the neighborhood and the local market. Choose a realtor who is invested in your property, and understands your goals for selling the home. If you live further away, you’ll be relying on your realtor to get the home sold quickly, so it’s important you choose someone you can trust.

List the Property

Once you’ve identified and made any necessary updates or renovations, have cleaned your inherited property up, and have found a realtor, you can list the property. Remember that while listing the home traditionally can provide a number of benefits, it can also take some time. The closing process alone can take up to 90 days, and sometimes more. If there is a mortgage on the property, you and the other owners of the property will have to keep up on those payments until you officially close on the home.

Choose a Cash Offer

Inheriting a home can be stressful, especially if you’re inheriting the property with a number of other family members, or if the home has an expensive mortgage payment or costly necessary repairs. If you and the other inheritors just aren’t sure how to keep up with the property, you might consider an all-cash offer from a trusted local real estate investor.

This is also a good choice when you don’t live near the inherited property. When you work with a real estate investor who makes a cash offer, you don’t have to worry about:

Cleaning — Real estate investors purchase homes as-is, so you can take the items you want from the home, and move on quickly, without worrying about cleaning and tidying up.
Renovations — Since the home is purchased as-is, the real estate investor assumes any structural problems or large-scale necessary renovations or repairs.
Closing — Cash offers can be made and closed on in a matter of days, not months. If you’re worried about making mortgage payments or rising property taxes, a cash sale can help you move on from that inherited property quickly, at minimal to no expense to you or your family.

If you’re dealing with a home that’s in disrepair, or a number of inheritors who can’t agree on the best route to go for the property, accepting an as-is cash offer is often the best option. Everyone gets a fair split of the profit, and you’re all able to walk away from the inherited property without additional expense on anyone’s part.

Inheriting property isn’t always the gift it seems like at first. If you’ve recently inherited property you don’t have time to care for or keep, Hometown Development can help. We purchase properties in any condition, for cash. Contact us online, or give us a call at 616-379-3090 for information about a cash offer for your home.

Month: October 2019

6 Tips to Selling a Home As-Is