How To Sell My House Fast In Stockton, Sacramento or Modesto”
6 Tips For Home Sellers of Houses that Need Work
I spend a lot of time writing articles helping sellers cut through the nonsense that abounds in real estate. The truth of the matter is, that If you own a house in Stockton that needs a lot of work, then you need to look at the options that will allow you to accomplish your goals, while spending the least amount of time and money. For some houses, no matter what you do, the effort will never provide a equitable return on investment. If your house falls into that category, rather than spending a lot of money on meaningless repairs, it may be best to just explore the ways that you can just sell your house in Stockton for fair market value minus the cost of repairs, some holding cost while avoiding paying any closing cost or commissions.
Of course, the house really does matter. Its location, condition and the amount of money that you need to spend to fix and update are just as important as the real question. Can you really pull it off? Can you on a part time basis, hire a contractor, negotiate a great rehab cost, pick all of the right projects and manage the whole effort that it is going to take to chase the top of the market sales price for your house. Are you willing to spend thousands of dollars, to do that with no guarantees? The odds are not in your favor and as good as the HGTV shows are for ideas, there does take some skill sets besides shopping and at some point construction needs to occur.
If you have any questions at all about your ability to pull it off, then call me and I will buy your house in Stockton for Fair Market Value, Minus the cost of repairs, some holding cost and I’ll even pay the closing cost.
This article is about the alternative to chasing the top of the market. I know. I do it all of the time and unless you have $60,000 to $120,000 laying around, you may want to read this blog for 6 tips that will help you sell your house fast in Stockton without spending a dime!
Tip #1 – Skip The Fix-Up
We buy houses and and we sell houses. It is what we do. We buy them we fix them and we sell them. We make it look easy. That is the challenge. But then again I love to see how any professional orchestrates what is seemingly the impossible at every level with every detail. Construction is very similar. We all love it when a good plan comes together! Unfortunately, selling real estate according to some grandiose plan may never actually occur. One of the most time-consuming reasons that homes don’t get sold quickly is because most sellers lack the time and perspective to truly manage the process of fixing and updating a house. In today’s market, retail buyers are looking for move in ready. They dont want your problems and they dont want your left over projects. Is it any wonder that houses linger on the Multiple listing Service (MLS) that just didn’t quite make the cut. Did you know that even if you make it through the renovation process there still are no guarantees that your house will sell for that target dollar and on your time frame.
It is a sad tale. I have seen sellers get talked into making partial repairs never really adding any value to the house. A perfect example. A fresh coat of paint on a new front door that does not close properly, with the old broken door jam, trim, with an an old lockset that does not have any weather stripping is not a value added. Sure to the passerby it looks good and it only cost $1950.00 for the door, $20.00 for the paint and a little time. But in the end, nobody was fooled and there is still an old door jam that needs to be replaced. Sellers need to either go all in for their houses renovations, repairs, and clean-up, or do nothing at all and save the time, the money and the frustration.
This article is not necessarily to warn you off, it’s to give you an alternative to listing your house because even if you do, did you know that nearly 40% of all houses listed on the MLS expire, fail to get even one offer and the listings expire without a sale. That is a big number. How is that for a risk?
What happens to those houses?
The short answer is nothing they just linger and the sit. Sure, the homeowners get lots of calls from other real estate agents willing to criticize and cannibalize the original listing agents strategy in hopes of re-listing the house for a new price with a new marketing strategy. It is a feeding frenzy and the cannibalization doesn’t stop there. Or second, the homeowner becomes proactive and calls a cash home buyer like Westbrook REI and explores the other options available for selling the house for cash.
In real estate there is never just one option and sometimes, with some houses, the magic happens when the homeowner just realizes that their house will never compete unless they spend thousands of dollars to correct specific issues that buyers are never going to overlook.
That is why I am writing this article. It is about the doing nothing and just selling your house for Fair Market Value Minus the Cost of Repairs and some holding cost.
Here is the thing, while a lot of real estate agents understand what their buyers are looking for, they mistakenly think that they know how to get that done with your money. They urge sellers to make meaningless renovations and repairs that cost thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, the larger the renovation, the more the deferred maintenance, the longer the sale is delayed and some houses never even make it on the market. Sellers get frustrated and end up spending money that they dont have on a quest that is ill fated but recommended by professionals that have no skin in the game.
I need to say this loud and clear. Real Estate Agents dont buy Houses and they are not professional HGTV designers, engineers, architects or contractors. They are NOT experts in the Fix and sell game and if they want to become your advisors for any project, find a new real estate agent fast.
Tip #2 – Forget Retail Customers. Retail Customers Don’t Buy As-Is.
When a home is sold with a real estate agent it is commonly referred to as being sold “on the market”. It usually means that it is listed by an agent that charges a commission, holds open houses, etc, etc… There are people parading through, there are inspections and there are appraisals. If and when the house sells the buyers are usually known as “retail buyers,” meaning that the buyers are looking to buy a home that they want to live in and they need a loan. Unfortunately, retail buyers are notoriously fickle and they buy on their own timeline, they require banks that approve or decline on their own timeline, which may not be your timeline! A better option is to think about selling directly to a cash home-buying company like mine.
We can cut through all of the real estate jargon. Were not going to ask you to clean up, fix the sprinklers, replace the windows, the roof or update the kitchen or bathrooms. We dont need that garage door painted or replaced and quite frankly I am not going to want an inspection. As for those disclosure that real estate agents want you to sign to protect themselves, they dont make any sense to me.
We have a simple 2 page contract that says you want to sell, I want to buy and the dollar amount. It specifically states that you are making no warranties about the condition of your house and that I am buying it as is. It says that I want it vacant of squatters or other inhabitants, including your relatives and that I will pay to remove them. It really is that simple.
Tip #3 – Price Your House Right
Selling houses is not rocket science, but it does take some understanding of what buyers want. If you have a house that needs a lot of work and you want to sell it, you better decide which buyers are best suited for you house and remember that your house must be able to speak to them. You get that wrong and your house will sit. Even in a sellers market, the worst houses appreciate in value, but that increase in value is only because of supply and demand. Don’t confuse that price increase with real value, because someone is still going to need to fix the house and ultimately want a return on investment.
If your house cannot compete in its current state you have some decisions to make because planting a sign in the front yard is not going to get the sale made. Price it right for the right buyer and you may have just sold your house.
Remember from earlier that nearly 40% of all homes listed on The Multiple Listing Service Don’t even get an offer. You are not going to fool anyone with a coat of paint, if the porch is leaning and the bathroom floor has a hole.
Tip # 4 – Gather Your Data and Skip the Inspections & Appraisals
Selling a house is time consuming when you are searching for just the basic information that the buyers will want to see. How old is the roof, the appliances, water heater and HVAC. When was the last time you had a termite inspection. Is there dry rot? Homeowners who anticipate these questions and have the answers at their fingertips can usually accelerate the buyer’s timeline and potentially sell their homes faster. Until at least there is an inspection or an appraisal.
Selling a house is always about the surprises. It is what keeps me up at night. We go through the houses that we rehab from stem to stern. We are thorough, and yet inspections scare the hell out of me because I sell my houses retail and I know that 98% of all buyers want inspections. It is true, and while I endure them. I dont like the poking and prodding because they always find the something unexpected. Even with the new houses that we build that have already been inspected at least 10 times. You read that right and some inspectors are ruthless and unrealistic because no matter what you do no house is perfect.
Tip #5 – Skip The Real Estate Agent
Sure, a listing agent should be motivated to sell your house and try to get the best price for it. But dont confuse your priorities with their mission. Sometimes they are not compatible. The truth of the matter is that your house is part of a bigger numbers game to real estate agents. What you need to remember is that “a listing agreement is NOT a contract to sell a house, but instead a commission agreement for when the houses sells”. That is a huge distinction and yet most homeowners are not aware of any of the statistics regarding home sales or the failure rates in the Sacramento real estate market.
I am in no way saying that all real estate agents are bad, but you have to understand that there is a huge disconnect with their clients if nearly 40% of listings expire without being sold. It means that at a very minimum, that either the marketing is woefully ineffective, the pricing was too high, product did not compete at the price point, or all of the above. That breakdown is real and it may coincide with other real estate numbers that are just as depressing.
Whether or not all of this is important to you, it does mean that unless you are working with the top 5% of real estate agents, they may not always have your goals and/or preferred timeline in mind – Bypassing an agent and selling directly to a Cash Home Buyer in Stockton, such as Westbrook REI will help you to sell your house faster. (We are home buyers and we have cash on hand to buy your house right now)
Tip #6 – Make Your Decision (Sell Your House Fast, it will set you FREE)
Sometimes the only Solution is to Sell the House.
Houses come in all shapes and sizes with different kinds of issues that determine its actual condition. Buyers are skittish and if they perceive a problem, they walk. Real Estate Agents are no different and they have vastly different levels of experience with different types of houses. The truth is that most real estate agents have no experience in selling distressed houses at all and their abysmal performance in selling them is obvious.
Here is another fact… Unless your house is in move-in, near-perfect condition and is priced right, the average buyer is going to pass. The truth of the matter is 95% of all buyers are looking to buy houses that are move-in ready, that need no repairs or updates, which is also evidenced by the fact that over 98% of all buyers order home inspections and expect the seller to pay for the repairs.
If you have a house with any problems whatsoever, what are the chances that you are really going to pull a fast one on the buyer, the inspectors, and finally the bank?
So in a world where buyers are looking for move in ready and sellers are looking to cash out, the only thing that they have in common is a real estate agent that is trying the best they can to match things up and as the above statistics point out, it only works only 60% of the time.
Call me now if you want to sell your home in Stockton, Sacramento or Modesto
Most homeowners know when it’s time to sell. It’s a matter of dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s. We understand the process and want to make sure that no matter what you understand all of your options. At that point you will know when you are ready and sometimes it’s just a matter of making that final decision. If you are really interested in selling your Stockton home fast, call us because we can move very quickly and can even close and put a check in your hands in about a week!
Are you looking to “sell my home fast in Stockton? Click here to fill out the form or call us at (209)481-7780 right now
