Several changes have come to the Texas real estate market over the last few years. Not very long ago, the demand for houses surged, and there weren’t enough sellers placing their houses on the market to keep up. It seems the tides have turned. These days, people looking to sell their homes quickly must find ways to circumvent the traditional real estate market.
At present, the market isn’t exactly favorable for most sellers. This is especially true for those who don’t have a great deal of time to wait around for buyers to make offers. Many homeowners fail to realize they have options outside the conventional selling process, though.
You may be among the numerous people asking, “How can I sell my house fast without a realtor?” If so, we’re here to help you learn more about your alternatives.
Analyzing the Current Real Estate Market in Texas
Home prices are on the rise in Lubbock, Texas, and the surrounding areas. This means plenty of people want to sell. Unfortunately, potential buyers’ expectations have evolved. They no longer show much interest in existing homes. Instead, they want to have new models built from the ground up and customized to suit their needs perfectly.
For those selling their homes, this means extensive waits with few results. Reports from the real estate sector show homes being sold on the conventional market are lingering for a couple months on average. (1) Many of them take several months or more to catch buyers’ interest. Selling a house quickly after listing it on the market just isn’t a possibility in some cases.
Understanding the Conventional Home-Selling Process
Selling a home through the traditional real estate market isn’t a quick or easy process. Even getting the home ready to place on the market takes time and energy. Your first step is to choose a reputable local real estate agent. Finding the one best suited to your needs can take days or weeks.
Figuring out the Value of Your Property
From there, you’ll need to determine how much your property is worth. This means looking through lists of homes in the area that are like yours and comparing their asking prices. Alternatively, you could have the home appraised or use an online property value calculator. Then, you’ll need to put a price on your home. It needs to be low enough to compete with other local houses for sale but high enough to avoid selling yourself short.
Fixing up the Home and Property
Keep in mind, most buyers search for homes that are as close to perfect as possible. Because of this, you’ll need to make any necessary repairs, such as repairing broken windowsills, fixing doors that stick, and replacing damaged light switches and electrical outlets among other tasks.
Improving curb appeal tends to make homes sell faster and for more money. (2) With this in mind, you might consider repairing any broken siding and gutters. Keeping the lawn mown and shrubbery trimmed will help as well.
You may even want to hire an inspector to look at the home and determine if any foundation, roofing, plumbing, or electrical issues exist. Knowing this ahead of time will help with placing a fair price on the house, but it could also lower your home value. At the same time, you’re required to disclose problems with the house to possible buyers, and this may reduce the likelihood of selling at all.
If you choose to cover major repair needs on your own, you’re looking at an even longer wait as well as significant expenses. Most people who want to sell their homes quickly don’t have the extra time or money to allot to such extensive improvement projects.
Neutralizing Your Living Space
Once you’ve handled all the necessary repairs and gotten the home ready to sell, you’ll have to prepare it for potential buyers. They’ll want to walk through the home, scrutinize every square inch of space, and try to picture their own furniture and belongings in the house.
To make this possible, you’ll need to remove as many of your personal belongings as you can, such as family photos, knick-knacks, and general clutter. You’ll also have to keep the home immaculate, which can be difficult if you’re still living there. These measures neutralize the space and allow prospects to imagine it as their own rather than yours.
Marketing and Showcasing
After everything is in order, your agent or a representative from your chosen real estate firm will take pictures of the home and create your listing. It’ll appear on the real estate agency’s website for possible buyers to see. Interested prospects will begin scheduling their walkthroughs to see the home and property in person. You and your agent can work together to schedule appointments for viewings.
Negotiating with Prospective Buyers
When prospects are interested in purchasing your home, they’ll judge your asking price and make counteroffers. You don’t have to accept their offers, but it’s a good idea to be at least a little bit flexible. Experts recommend negotiating with more than one buyer rather than simply agreeing to the first offer that comes along.
If you didn’t make certain repairs on the home during the preparation process, prospects will most likely factor those into their offers. As mentioned, this could leave you accepting much less than the asking price for your property. Still, if you don’t have the extra time and money to put into repairs, this may be your best option when dealing with the conventional real estate process.
In most cases, the buyer will hire his or her own inspector to check for problems with the house even if you’ve already done so. This could lead to certain problems as well especially if the buyer’s inspector catches problems yours overlooked. Again, the selling price of your property and how quickly it sells could be negatively affected.
Sealing the Deal
Once the right buyer comes along, it’s time to complete the closing process and paperwork. (3) The title will be signed over to the new owners, and all those months of waiting will finally be over. As you can see, selling a home via the conventional real estate market is neither fast nor simple. For many sellers, it’s not cost effective or even feasible.
How Can I Sell a Home Quickly without a Realtor?
All this brings us to how you can sell a home quickly without a Realtor while cutting out a great deal of the extra work and possible expenses you’d face through traditional means. It’s certainly possible to sell a home without a realtor or having to go through all those difficult, expensive, and time-consuming steps. You can simply contact a company like Gem Homes in Lubbock and speak with their experienced team about selling your home for cash.
After you contact a company that buys houses for cash, someone from the company will come to assess the home and appraise it. From there, the company will make an offer on the property. You’re not obligated to agree to the offer. That said, you can certainly accept it if it seems fair. Be sure to consider the proposition carefully and weigh it against the amount of time you must get out from under the property and the possible expenses involved when going through a realtor and the real estate market.
If you choose to accept the offer, you’ll quickly move on to closing. The company will cover the fees and closing costs involved. Then, you’ll receive a cashier’s check or electronic transfer to your bank account for the amount offered for your property. All this takes about a week after you decide to accept the offer as opposed to several months.
How Can Selling My Home for Cash Benefit Me?
Selling a home for cash offers several benefits for homeowners who want to forego the standard process. Time is one of the most significant advantages. Whether you’re moving because of a job transfer, facing foreclosure or just looking for a change, waiting only a week as opposed to months to close the deal is certainly helpful.
Since the company will purchase the property as-is, you don’t have to make any repairs or outdoor improvements or have the home inspected. This, alone, will save you quite a bit of money and effort. You won’t have to be involved in listing or showing the house, so you won’t have to worry about removing all your personal items in preparation for viewings.
On top of those benefits, you won’t have to deal with potential buyers. Selling a home fast for cash takes all the scrutiny from prospects, bargaining over minor repairs, and negotiating over the price of the home off your shoulders. Many sellers believe the stress relief alone is reason enough to take this route.
Contact Gem Homes today
If you’re among Texas homeowners who wonder if they sell their houses for cash, consider consulting with a representative of Gem Homes rather than resorting to the conventional real estate market. Doing so could save you considerable time, money and hassle in the long run.
References
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Texas A&M Real Estate Center
https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight -
Best Life
https://bestlifeonline.com/curb-appeal/ -
Nolo
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/home-sellers-what-expect-closing.html