Do You Need to Sell Your House Fast?

If you find yourself saying “Help, I need to sell my house fast “ you may be wondering where to turn. Part of determining which is the best course of action largely depends on your individual situation. Have you found another home which you love, but need to sell first in order to move? Do you have a job in a new location and the commute is killing you? Would you like to sell but don’t really need to? Or, do you need to sell your home quickly because you are in over your head and trying to avoid foreclosure?

Examining Your Options

Depending on your motivations, there are several options that you have.  If it would be nice to sell but it isn’t really necessary, you may consider listing your home either yourself or with a realtor.  Since selling isn’t critical, you have some time to wait and see what happens.  You should also consider listing your home for a sale if you are highly motivated to sell at all costs.  You should understand in this market, this may mean reducing your price.  It is important that sellers be reasonable in this market if they hope to achieve a quick sell or to even sell at all!

Are Real Estate Investors the Solution?

You might have seen little signs in your town around the highways that say things like “Sell House Quick!  24 Hour Purchase” and you may have wondered what the fuss was about.  Most likely these bandit signs were placed by real estate investors.  You may be surprised to find that there are still investors looking to purchase homes, despite the bottom falling out of the real estate market.  Before you feel relieved, you should understand the terms they are seeking.

Most investors are looking to pay no more than 60% of the value of the home given the current environment.  Even then, they want the home to be in a decent location and fairly well maintained.  While once getting a buyer for a home was a no brainer, there is no guarantee they will be able to get a quick buyer or even a renter.  This may seem a bit like they are simply looking to take advantage of people, but the reality is that this is their business and they have to make money.  Countless investors literally lost everything because they bought homes at values that were too high or they bought with the intention to flip and found themselves with more properties than they could afford.

If you are highly motivated to sell and have the equity, this may be a solution for you. But, for the average person who is not facing bankruptcy or financial ruin, this probably isn’t an option.

Other Alternatives

Obviously, you can consider renting your home.  With this, of course, come the headaches of being a landlord.  Also, when you rent to a career renter, you have no guarantee that they will take care of your home.

A better alternative for many people is offering their home for rent to own or lease option.  This allows them to sell on a rent to own contract and have a defined exit strategy at some point in the future.  There is a much better chance that a tenant/buyer will take care of the home because they plan on it being theirs one day.

Another benefit is that you can command a payment that covers all of your expenses associated with the home.  Since most market rent rates are currently below this, not having to pay for a house you don’t really want can be a welcome relief.  Additionally, you should expect to get full fair market value for the home.