Sell My Home
Pros and Cons of Working with a Professional Home Buyer
Pros and cons of working with a home buyer like us
We’ve all seen the bandit signs out there: “We Buy Homes for Cash Fast!“
Professional home buying companies (like The Residential Buyer) are not all the same, but the concept generally is: an investor pays all-cash for your home and closes very quickly for a price that’s lower than market value.
Cool. So why do homeowners sell their houses for cash?
Because listing your home (the alternative to getting a cash offer for your home) has a LOT of unexpected costs, risks and time commitments.
Naturally, there’s a lot to consider when deciding whether to list your home with an agent, FSBO, or taking a cash offer (from a home buyer like us).
Let’s break it down side by side, starting with the Selling Costs.
Selling Costs / Commissions
For those that decide to list their home, you’re presumably here to maximize the value of your home. Great!
That process starts by getting your home in top condition for market value (staging) and ends with fronting the bill or adjusting your sale price from the discoveries in the buyer’s home inspection.
SELLING WITH AN AGENT
SOLD TO THE RESIDENTIAL BUYER
Repairs / Improvements
Potentially thousands of dollars
We buy your house as is.
Realtor Fees
6% of Sale Price
None.
Closing Costs
~2% of Sale Price
None.
Other Seller Costs
Holding costs, insurance, home warranty, etc
None.
Post-Inspection Repairs
Potentially thousands of dollars
None.
If you’d like to review a granular breakdown of the costs of selling your North Carolina Home, check it out here.
Contingencies on your home sale
When a buyer finances their purchase (meaning they get a mortgage through a bank), the bank uses the value of the home as the collateral for the home. This is why banks require an appraisal of the home to verify that collateral.
Additionally, the bank needs to give final approval for the loan based on the buyer’s finances ALONE. Even if a home-owner has proof of funds, this does not mean that their loan will ultimately be approved. This is why there is a financial contingency in all financed offers.
The Residential Buyer buys homes for cash, so there isn’t a bank appraisal or finance contingency. You simply accept our cash offer and you get paid on the closing date of your choice.
SELLING WITH AN AGENT
SOLD TO THE RESIDENTIAL BUYER
Finance Contingencies
Bank can decline mortgage
None. We pay cash.
Appraisals
Mortgage approval is subject to appraisal
None.
15-25% sales fall through
We pay cash and don’t need bank approval
How long it takes to sell a home
Finally is the time requirements of selling your home. After getting your home in top marketing condition, you’ll need to research and prepare the listing with your agent, market the listing, go through multiple showings and then begin the closing process.
The large range for closing is due to the contingencies from the appraisal, inspection and financial approval the seller needs from the bank – all things that are out of your control.
SELLING WITH AN AGENT
SOLD TO THE RESIDENTIAL BUYER
Repairs / Improvements
Depends.
We buy your house as is.
Listing Preparation
30-60 days
None.
Listing Process
92 days
Immediately.
Showings
Depends (but multiple)
ONE (just us!)
Closing Date
30-120 days after accepting offer
You choose the closing date, not the bank.
To see a full breakdown of the timeline for selling your home through the standard listing process click here.
List your house instead
- How to get the highest price for your home.
For many homeowners, listing your property is the right move. One of the ways we try and build trust in our communities are by educating them and steering them toward the decision that’s right for them–even when it doesn’t involve us.
Give us a call or explore through this website if you’d like to learn more about how we buy houses, calculate our offers and how we close quickly.