By Chris Adkins

“Sell my house fast. I need help!” Many homeowners, for various different reasons, find themselves in a place where they are considering selling their house to a professional house buying company. We would like to provide a comprehensive list of pro’s and con’s that define the value add behind most companies that are capable of buying your house quickly with cash. The largest benefit is honesty and convenience. Homeowners who desire to have a precise timeline and know up front what price they’ll get and how much if they get to keep are almost always benefited by selling to a professional house buying company.

Marketing a home on the MLS can certainly lead to a higher offer and more money for a house. However, in exchange for getting more money, it will cost Realtor fees and commissions, holding time, negotiating time and a lack of certainty of when the actual closing will occur. Many homeowners are excited about the prospect of getting more money for their home, but don’t consider that they’ll be holding the house longer, which costs more in taxes, utilities, mortgage payments etc.

If a timeline and exact closing date is important to your planning process it may benefit you to sell to a corporation, however, if you have more time and aren’t in a rush the longer wait could potentially lead to more dollars in your pocket. While traditional buyers are subject to loan approval processes and the house must be in a good enough condition to qualify for a conventional lender, retail buyers who actually plan on living in the home generally aren’t concerned with having any equity initially.

Furthermore, if your home does not qualify for a conventional loan, a house buying company may be your best bet. Generally, house-buying companies can get significantly cheaper construction prices for repairs that may be necessary. This means that while an end user may be willing to give up the opportunity to capture equity, they may not be able to pay as much for a home with deferred maintenance because their cost to fix up the house can be as much as a hundred to hundred and fifty percent more than a business that fixes homes up for a living.

The last thing to consider is the homeowners’ time valuation. All home-buying companies should be able give you a same day offer and provide you an exact date for closing. They should also be able to close the house with minimal walkthroughs and access. While retail buyers do pay more, it also takes more time to conduct showings and allow many different people to see the property. Having a home on MLS can be frustrating at times and lead to interruptions in daily life for the seller as people make appointments to see the house.

Homeowners who are considering selling their home should weigh what’s most valuable to them. If they have time and do not mind showing their house to multiple people and don’t nee the certainty of a guaranteed close date, then listing their home with a Realtor could certainly gain them some additional dollars. However, if time is of the essence or having a firm timeline is important, then a home-buying company may be the way to go.

Ultimately it’s about what is more desirable for each individual homeowner. If you’d like to explore options you can always call Houston Capital Home Buyers at 713-581-9075 to get an honest price and an honest opinion on which option would work best for you based on your needs.

All the best,
Chris
Houston Capital Home Buyers
“We Don’t Buy Every House, But We Help Every Client”