Step-By-Step Guide to Selling Your Home for Cash

If you’re considering selling your home for cash, you might be wondering what to expect. While there are a lot of resources out there for hiring a realtor and selling a home traditionally, there doesn’t seem to be quite as much information about selling a home for cash. 

It’s important to know that selling your home for cash is a legitimate option that makes a lot of sense for many homeowners. If you’ve recently inherited a home, are in danger of foreclosure, or are just looking for a hassle-free way to sell that can help you move on quickly, a cash sale is a great option. 

But what exactly does a cash home sale look like, and what can you expect when you sell your house for cash?

We’ve put together this complete step-by-step guide to selling your home for cash to answer those questions for you. Here’s what you can expect from the cash sale process:

Step 1: Putting Your Home Up For Sale

Since you’re not using a realtor, you might wonder how you announce that your home is for sale. You’re probably also wondering what you have to do to get the home ready for buyers to look at. 

First, know that most cash home sales are done “as-is”. That means that the buyer is agreeing to purchase the home exactly as it is, with no repairs, clean up, or maintenance done on your part. 

Second, there are two ways you can put your home up for sale:

List it Yourself

If you’re looking to sell your home for cash, without a realtor, you can list your home yourself on popular real estate sites like Trulia and Zillow. You might also consider putting up for sale signs in your yard, around your community, and even taking ads out in Craigslist, local newspapers, etc. If you go this route, make sure that you’re taking high-quality photos of your home in plenty of natural light, and that you write a catchy description of your home. People love information, so the more you give them, and the better your photos, the more interest you’re likely to see. 

Contact a Local Real Estate Investor

If you’re hoping to sell your home quickly, and for cash, it’s probably best to contact a local real estate investment company directly. There are a lot of companies out there making cash offers for homes, though, so it’s important to do a little research about those real estate investors before you reach out. More about choosing the right buyer next:

Step 2: Finding A Buyer You Trust

If you’ve listed your home online for an attractive price, you’re probably going to see a lot of interest from real estate investors and homeowners or “flippers” interested in your property. All of that interest is great, but you want to make sure you’re choosing a buyer you can trust to deliver on the cash offer they’re making. 

This is why we typically advise homeowners to go with a local real estate investment company that has a history and a great reputation in your community. 

There are plenty of people out there who aren’t doing legitimate business, and some of the bigger national real estate investment companies don’t have actual agents on the ground to offer a quality assessment of your home. By choosing a local real estate investment company, you’ll be working with a team who knows your area well, and who has both your interests and the interests of your community at heart. 

Step 3: Home Visit

If you’ve had a lot of buyers interested in your home, you’ll likely have a number of home visits. This is an opportunity for the buyers to assess your home, but it’s also an opportunity for you to assess the buyers. 

Pay close attention, because this home visit can tell you a lot about the company or the people you’re considering selling to. You want the representatives who visit your home to be respectful and professional. If they’re not, you might consider another prospective buyer.

It’s also good to know that you don’t need to do much in preparation for your home visit. You might consider tidying up a little if you’re living in the home, but you don’t need to make repairs or add on a fresh coat of paint. The benefit of making a cash sale is that it’s minimal hassle for you.

Step 4: Receive an Offer

Once your prospective buyers have had a chance to look at your home, they’ll make an offer. If you’re working with a quality home buyer, they’ll make an offer based on the fair market value of your home. If you’re not sure about the offer you’ve been given, ask the buyer about it. 

Any buyer that you can trust will talk about the size of your house, its features (how many bedrooms and bathrooms, one vs. two-car garage, etc.) and its condition in comparison with other similar properties in your area. If you’re feeling uncomfortable with how your prospective buyer answers the question, don’t be afraid to do a little research yourself. Is their company legitimate? Do they have any reviews or testimonials online?

Step 5: Close

With an offer in hand, all you have to do is accept, and the closing process can begin. This is another key benefit of selling your home for cash — the closing process can be completed in as little as 5 days. 

While your actual time to close is dependent on your unique situation, closing a cash sale is always faster than a sale where lenders are involved. And if you’re selling the home as-is, you don’t have to wait for inspections, inspection reports, or any repairs. You simply accept the best offer and close. 

Step 6: Move On!

Now that your home cash sale has closed, you’re free to move on. 

How quickly you move on is between you and your buyer, but typically cash buyers are very flexible. Here at Hometown Development, we often work with homeowners to help them move on as quickly as possible. That means we don’t require you to spend a lot of time cleaning or fixing anything up — simply take what you want, and leave the rest!

We hope this step-by-step guide helps take some of the anxiety out of selling your home for cash. While it’s not talked about as often as a traditional sale with a realtor, selling your home for cash has a lot of benefits for homeowners, and is a legitimate way to move on from a home, especially if you don’t have the time, money, or interest in making a lot of repairs or going through the traditional open house and showing process. 

If selling your home for cash is the best option for you, Hometown Development can help. We offer a quick closing process — as little as five days — and we offer cash for West Michigan homes in any condition. Give us a call at 616-379-3090 or contact us online today.