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Sell To An Investor
August 1, 2023
No More Agent Commissions: Selling to Cash Home Buyers vs. Paying Fees on the MLS
When selling a property traditionally, most homeowners resort to listing their homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This platform offers the most comprehensive view of available real estate in a given area, making it a common choice for prospective home buyers. However, this method often comes with significant agent commissions and fees that can eat into the sale’s profit.
The True Cost of MLS and Agent Commissions
Most real estate agents charge a commission, usually around 5-6% of the home’s selling price. This fee is typically split between the buyer’s and seller’s agents. Additionally, homeowners may also be responsible for closing costs, home inspection fees, and any required repairs or improvements to make the property more marketable. All these costs can add up quickly, significantly reducing the net proceeds from the sale.
The Cash Home Buyer Advantage
In contrast to the traditional route, selling to cash home buyers offers a more direct and cost-effective solution. Cash home buyers purchase properties directly from homeowners, eliminating the need for a real estate agent and their associated fees.
Moreover, cash home buyers often buy properties as-is. This means you, as the homeowner, won’t have to invest money into repairs or upgrades to make the home more appealing. You also won’t have to worry about potential buyers backing out due to property condition issues. This can result in substantial savings and peace of mind.
Comparing Costs: Cash Home Buyers vs. MLS
When comparing the two selling methods, it’s important to consider the net proceeds – the amount you’ll walk away with after all fees and costs are accounted for. With a traditional sale, you’ll need to subtract agent commissions, closing costs, and any repair or improvement expenses from the sale price. On the other hand, with a cash home buyer, the offer you receive is typically the amount you’ll receive at closing, providing clear financial transparency.
Making the Right Choice: MLS or Cash Home Buyer?
The decision between selling through the MLS or to a cash home buyer depends on your individual circumstances, including the condition of your home, your financial needs, and your desired timeline. However, for those seeking a speedy, straightforward sale with no hidden costs, cash home buyers provide a compelling option.
Selling your home doesn’t have to come with hefty fees or commissions. Cash home buyers present an opportunity to retain more of your property’s value in your pocket, avoiding the typical costs associated with traditional sales. If you’re looking for a direct, efficient, and cost-effective way to sell your home, it might be time to consider a cash home buyer.
Ready to skip the agent commissions and sell your home the cost-effective way? Reach out to us today and let’s start the conversation about how you can sell directly to a cash home buyer. We’re here to provide a clear, efficient, and financially beneficial path for your home sale.
May 25, 2021
What is the Cheapest Way to Sell a Home in Fairfax County VA?
It’s not cheap to sell a home. At first glance, it might seem like all you have to do is tidy up the home, list it for sale and wait for someone to make an offer. But things are a lot more complex – and costly – than this. Some expenses may be negotiable but others will land solely on you, the seller.
Fortunately, there is a cheaper way to sell your home, especially if it requires a lot of repairs and updates to make it desirable to buyers. Selling your home for cash in Fairfax County Virginia is the fastest and least expensive option for selling a home. Let’s learn more about why this is the case and the expenses you can avoid.
How Much Does it Cost to Sell a Home in Fairfax County?
Typically, the biggest fee sellers pay is the realtor fee, which is between 5 and 6 percent here in Virginia. For a $250,000 home, you could be paying as much as $15,000 in realtor fees which is split between the seller’s real estate agent and the buyer’s agent. Roughly 77 percent of sellers pick up this cost, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Other costs associated with selling a home are:
- Home repairs. Most sellers end up having to make minor cosmetic improvements like new flooring or paint.
- Inspection. If the inspection turns up problems, the buyers can request that you fix them or offer a credit.
- Home staging. The NAR found that 28 percent of sellers staged their homes before listing. Some tactics you can do yourself, but others you’ll need to pay for.
- Closing costs. Even though closing costs are often the buyer’s responsibility, don’t be surprised if you end up having to pay some association fees, property taxes, attorney fees, transfer taxes and title insurance.
- Additional fees. Other costs you may incur include escrow fees, brokerage fees and courier fees.
Why Selling for Cash is the Cheapest Option
When you sell your home for cash in Fairfax County, you work directly with the buyers. There are no banks involved, granting you the freedom to skip over inspections, appraisals and long wait times. Believe it or not, 4 Brothers Buy Houses can typically close in about one week. Imagine how close you are to being done with your mortgage, taxes, utilities and HOA fees!
Here are the costs you can eliminate from a cash sale:
- Pre-sale home inspection
- Appraisal
- Closing costs – we typically pick these up for our sellers
- Showings – when people are in your home, you have to leave which means driving around, eating out for dinner, etc.
- Repairs or updates
- Realtor commissions
- Negotiations with buyers
If you’re interested in selling your home fast in Fairfax County, contact 4 Brothers Buy Houses. We can give you a fair, no obligation cash offer in a matter of minutes.
May 4, 2021
10 Benefits of Accepting a Cash Offer on Your Montgomery Village Home
If you’re like most sellers, you’re probably not looking forward to all of the work that goes into selling a home. From the cleaning to the staging to making repairs and upgrades, the laundry list of things to do is exhausting. Fortunately, there is a better way to go through this process – sell your home to a Maryland cash buyer.
Here are 10 benefits of accepting a cash offer on your home in Montgomery Village MD.
1. Fast Closing
Perhaps the greatest benefit to selling your home for cash is that you can close right away. Because the buyer is using their own cash, they don’t have to wait for financing to be approved. With a traditional sale, you’re responsible for the mortgage, taxes, utilities and HOA fees until your home is sold.
2. Save on Repairs
Cash buyers purchase homes as-is. You don’t have to invest a dime into your home, which is especially beneficial if you inherited a home, own a distressed property or are in foreclosure. Use your money for your next adventure.
3. Avoid Realtor Fees
There are NO fees or commissions to work with a home buying company in Montgomery Village. The buyer is purchasing your home – NOT looking for someone to buy it. Real estate agents, on the other hand, charge about 6 percent.
4. No Appraisal
In most traditional mortgages, the buyer works with a mortgage lender. Lenders require appraisals because they don’t want to pay more for a house than it’s worth. In a cash sale, the buyer is using their own money so there is no need for an appraisal.
5. No Inspection
Another formality you can eliminate is the inspection. Cash buyers expect homes to have flaws so they don’t need an inspection to point them out. Traditional buyers, on the other hand, will expect issues that turn up to be addressed.
6. Less Risk
Cash offers tend to be stronger than offers that use bank financing. The banks go through a lot of steps to ensure their investment is safe, but this also means they can back out at any time. Cash offers are pretty much guaranteed so you’ll close faster and get paid sooner.
7. Skip the Showings
Don’t want strangers walking around your home at all hours of the day? No problem! In a cash sale, you don’t have to do any showings. This is a huge perk for those who have kids, pets or busy schedules.
8. Avoid Negotiations
Even in a seller’s market, there are almost always negotiations. The buyers might want a problem fixed or a credit to replace your flooring. If you don’t want to go back and forth at the negotiation table, you’ll appreciate that cash buyers give firm offers.
9. Less Paperwork
A reputable cash buyer in Montgomery Village will handle most of the paperwork for you. There’s far less paperwork involved in these sales because there are no middlemen – the transaction is between you and the buyer.
10. Reduce Stress
Cash sales are straightforward. Once you accept the offer, the closing paperwork starts right away. You can move quickly and keep money in your pocket. If you’re facing a difficult time, a cash buyer will eliminate your real estate hurdles.
Ready to see what you can sell your home for? Request your free cash offer from 4 Brothers Buy Houses. All cash offers are firm, free and no obligation!
June 30, 2020
How To Make Sure Your Property Stands Out Online
If you want to sell your property relatively quickly, you need to have a presence online. The COVID-19 crisis just increased the importance of having online listings since fewer people can conduct in-person showings. Just having an online listing in and of itself isn’t enough. You need to make sure that you are having professional photos, be detailed about your listing, and use social media effectively. Here is how you can make sure that your property gets the online recognition that you deserve. Let’s get started:
Make Sure You Have Professional Photos
When you are selling your property online, you need to make sure that you have clear, professional photos. These have to be attractive photos that intrigue potential buyers. Make sure that you have good lighting in each of the rooms, or that there is enough natural light to make things work. You also want to make sure that the rooms aren’t empty. Having furniture in the shot makes the home look more friendly. Having dimly lit photos, or photos from an inferior camera, can make it that much harder to sell your property.
Use Social Media Effectively
Today, millennials are the biggest new entrant into the real estate market. And this demographic is increasingly finding information about what they want to buy on social media. Everything from clothes, vacation packages, and yes, real estate. You need to make sure that you are using social media effectively so that you are getting your property in front of the eyes of prospective buyers. You may want to work with a social media marketing firm who has experience in this arena.
Be Detailed
If someone is interested in your property, they’ll want to get more details in the listing. Even if you have great looking photos, if you don’t have detailed copy, then people may lose interest. Take the time to tell interested parties about when the home was built. Highlight its strengths, like a kitchen or bathroom remodel. Highlight the strengths of the community, such as the schools or the local entertainment.
There are some homeowners who don’t want to go through the hassle of completing an online listing or writing up a detailed description for their property. If you fall into that camp, you can still sell your home. Just give 4 Brothers Buy Houses a call. At 4 Brothers Buy Houses, we’ll purchase your property cash. We can provide you with a free, no obligation quote. That way, you can sell your property on your own timeline. No need to rush. No need to hire a real estate agent. And no need to create an online listing. Contact us today, we’re looking forward to helping you sell your home on your own terms.
July 7, 2015
Why Is An Investor’s Offer Less Than What a Realtor Is Saying They Will List My House For?
How often do you pay for convenience and speed? People often pay convenience fee to pay bills instantly online or purchasing movie tickets in advanced through the online kiosk. How many times have you paid to use the express lanes on the highway to avoid that nasty traffic during the rush hour? What about paying double or triple for shipping services like UPS and FedEx to receive or send a package few days earlier? There are many more instances where people spend money to buy convenience and speed.
Then why do some people give real estate investors a bad rap as sometimes trying to “low ball” home owners on their offer to buy their house? Real estate investors sometimes have a reputation of being seen as “cheap” or “unfair” with their offer, but is that really the case?
It is true a real estate investor offer is typically lower than what a Realtor will list an owners house for, but when you take into consideration the fact that if a property needs a lot of work there is a high chance the home owner will not be able to sell their property at the market price, an investor can often be the best option. There are also the extensive costs associated with selling a house on the open market with a Realtor that most owners don’t take into account.
How do investors come up with an offer on a house? When investors make offers to a homeowner for what we can buy their property for, they do not come up with random numbers to offer, but rather analyze the comparable sales within the given area with houses that are similar in size and format. Many real estate investors are licensed realtors, which also give them access to sources that have much more accurate prices and values of properties.
There are also expenses that people who sell their homes on the market with a Realtor do not usually add into their equation such as the remodeling cost of anywhere from $0 to $20,000+, real estate agent commission of 6%, closing costs of 2-4%, inspection repair costs, and weeks or even months of time spent on the market waiting for a buyer.
There is also the time and potential aggravation of having open houses for people to view the property, conducting dozens of one off buyer showings, etc while you’re waiting for an offer to sell your house.
House buying services like 4 Brothers Buy Houses offer to buy the house fast and in cash, while saving people the trouble of going through all the hassles mentioned above. The cash offer may not be as much as what they would get by selling with a Realtor, but after all the above expenses are taken into account it is usually close. Most importantly though, what we offer to home owners is a convenient and fast way to sell their house with very little hassle.
