It’s no secret that houses are selling super fast these days. People barely have time to put in an offer before the house is under contract with another buyer.
Have you ever wondered, though, what is the absolute shortest time it would take to sell your home? I don’t mean how fast can you get an offer and sign a contract. A lot has to happen after a standard contract is signed. There are inspections, title searches, contingencies, and closings that can take weeks or even months to get through.
What I am talking about when I say sell the house fast, is the time from the first offer to the time you deposit the check in your account. How fast is it possible to get through the entire process?
You might have a good reason to sell your house fast. Maybe you are moving to a new city or job, and you need to get the deal done as quickly as possible. Maybe you have inherited a house that could become a financial liability to you if you don’t sell fast enough. Then again, maybe you are just curious about today’s market and how fast things could move under the best possible circumstances.
The first thing you want to realize is that, if you want to sell a house in record time, you are going to have to forgo the traditional real estate market. Your standard real estate agent/broker may have some great resources when it comes to selling a house, but they generally sell to people looking to live in the house.
Selling to these people means that there could be contingencies written into a contract. A lot can depend on the condition of your property and whether or not you are willing to put in extra time and effort to make repairs. Not to mention that you will end up paying the fees for their services, title payment, and closing costs. At the very least you will have to spend time marketing the property, showing it to buyers, and entertaining several offers. All of this takes time
To move a house quickly you will want to look to a real estate investor. Investors are always hungry to pick up new properties and are used to buying properties fast and in As-Is condition.
While the average retail home buyer may purchase 1-5 houses in their lifetime, an investor will sometimes purchase 5 a week! They have systems in place to make an offer, get the deal done and closed ASAP, and get cash in your hand fast.
How fast are we talking? A lot depends on the experience and resources of the investor, but a good timetable might look something like this.
- The investor or an acquisitions agent for the investor will contact you and set up an appointment to see the property. (24-48 hours)
- They will make you some sort of offer almost immediately, and while this might not be the final offer it will be close and you will have a good idea of what to expect (immediately)
- They will make a firm cash offer within 24 hours
- If you accept the offer they will get the paperwork to a closing attorney and set up an appointment to close the deal. You get a check (1-2 weeks)
And, that’s it. You can have someone look at your property and then the entire process can happen in less than 3 weeks. Some properties change hands in much less time than that.
There are, of course, a few drawbacks to this process. While you are selling your property very quickly, and you don’t have to pay for repairs, closing costs, or agents fees, you also won’t be getting the sort of sales price you might get if you fixed the place up and took the time to let people make several offers.
You will get a fair price, but not necessarily, the best price possible. Remember, though, the idea was to sell quickly.
How do you find a real estate investor that would want to look at your property? That is the easiest part. The current real estate market is brimming over with investors. You see their signs on street corners, they have billboards on the highways, and there are TV and radio commercials on all the time. It would be surprising if one hasn’t already contacted you about your property.
You do need to be careful. The longest part of this process might be finding one of the hundreds of investors that have the experience, reputation, and resources to actually do the deal to your satisfaction. The lucrative real estate market has spawned as many get-rich-quick investors as it has serious businessmen.
Do your homework. If an investor approaches you about your property, check them out. Have you heard of them or their company before? How is the investor rated online or within the real estate market? How many deals have they done? How many do they do regularly?
Selling your house fast doesn’t mean throwing caution to the wind. A house of any type represents a large part of your finances and you do not want to take that responsibility lightly. You might get excited but never let the deal move so fast that you lose control of it.
If you are looking to sell a home quickly, then real estate investors are your best bet by far. Find a good investor and you should have a check in your hand within a couple of weeks; a month at the outside.