“What Are My Options To Sell My House Fast In Stockton, Sacramento or Modesto?”
Homeowners in Stockton who want to sell their home quickly need to know what their options are…
Unfortunately, the real estate industry is not big on real education. They created a narrative through great marketing that tells one side of the residential real estate story and lead sellers to believe that no matter what your selling situation is , you need a real estate agent to avoid any problems. It just isn’t true. Sure I understand why real estate agents want to be involved in every transaction. It’s a matter of relevance, it’s a matter of protecting what they do. The same way that lawyers may not like that “Legalzoom” offers purchase and sale agreements, will and trust documents and other contracts online for a fraction of the cost of an attorney.
I dont know any full service industry that wants to promote the notion that you can do something on your own. Of course there is the counter argument that they make… What are you crazy? What about all of the pitfalls? What about all of the complexities?
Certainly, I am not advocating that you do anything without seeking legal or financial advice, but I am saying that your research should include understanding why the conventional wisdom points you in a single direction and not to do anything yourself.
Here is the truth… If you own a home and you’re wondering, “how do I sell my house fast in Stockton,” this blog post is a quick tutorial and discusses your available options. You get to decide which option is right for you. You get to look at the real cost of fixing and updating your house. You get to crunch the numbers for the holding cost that accompany waiting for everything to get finished and someday selling. But, remember it is your equity that real estate agents are playing with and you need to ask one big question… what value are they going to bring with them to sell a house that may or may not be up to the task?
Does the Condition of My House Impact How I can Sell My House Fast in Stockton?
Here is the cold hard truth. Your house may be the only product that matters to you, but to buyers, it is one of many that must compete at every level. Ask yourself… what is your homes competitive advantage? What is it about your house that the buyer must have? So when that sign is planted in the front yard, it is now has a bullseye and everything about it becomes relevant. There is no story that you get to tell and I can assure you that your real estate agent isn’t interested that negates the negatives that exist.
News flash… Sentimental value is not value just like the potential to build another house on a lot has no value to someone that is not a builder.
What you need to know however is that at the moment your property goes active on the MLS, you need to start disclosing everything wrong with your house. It will feel like there are 135 pages. In some cases it will be more and in fact there is a whole cottage industry that survives on the residential real estate market and specifically focuses on how it can disrupt the sale of your house. If you don’t believe me ask yourself the following question.
Can my house pass 3 different inspections, appraise at the full asking price or higher or will I need to spend thousands of dollars just fix the things that someone else finds wrong with it?
Then of course there are the sales timeframes..
But, timeframes are only relevant if they have a context to put them. The first hurdle is: how long are you willing to wait to sell your house? Most people think of selling their home the traditional way, by listing through an agent. This method of selling can take 3 to 6 months (sometimes longer, depending on market conditions). So if you have a lot of time and are not in any rush, this might be a good option for you.
Many homeowners don’t want to wait that long. Usually people sell because they need to move and they don’t always have 3 to 6 months (or longer) to wait for a sale. So this article is about the other option, and that is to bypass the agent and sell directly to a cash home buyer, a real estate investor in Stockton, Sacramento or Modesto.
The second major consideration is money. For sellers its all about the amount of equity that they will retain when they sell. But like time, money is a scarce resource and needs to be looked at to be conserved. Here is what I know. There is only so much money available so how much are you really willing to spend in order to chase a higher sales price without any guarantees of a return on that investment. Spending Money, like time, is only relevant when in context of the return on investment. Spend more and get a higher sales price, but have less equity or spend nothing and put more money back in your pocket when the house sells? It really does work that way more often than people think.
The speed of selling your home comes down to four main factors:
- The Condition of your house
- The location of your house
- How much you’re money willing to spend to sell your house
- The Price of the House that you want to sell
Option #1: What Is Condition of Your House?
You have to start somewhere and no matter what, the house and its condition it will drive everything else. As the seller you need to be aware that buyers visually, see the same things that you do. Certainly they dont know everything that is wrong with your house, buy if they make an offer on your house you can be assured that they will want inspections. 98% of all buyers order at least one inspection.
What that really means is that what they dont know today they will find out tomorrow because the chances are there will be at least three inspections and 1 appraisal. The Roof, the termite and the General Home inspection. It’s like having a colonoscopy without the medication. By the time they are done they will know more than you about what is wrong with your house.
Buyers are fickle and if they see a house that needs work they simply move on.
Option #2: What is the Location of the House?
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Your house has a footprint occupies one unique space on this planet. Where is it? Is it desirable? Is it in a good school district. Is it in a safe neighborhood? oh, and just for the record, It really doesn’t matter what you think as the seller. What matters is the conversation that buyers are going to have when it sees that your house is on the corner right next to the 7/11 right across the street from that building that looks like a homeless shelter. There isn’t enough paint, granite or brazilian cherry on the planet that will distract most buyers from where your house is located. And to the “right buyer” only one thing that will make a difference is… how much is that house again?
Option #3: How Much Do You Want To Spend?
Most people are surprised by this question because they don’t realize that they have to spend money to sell their house, but if you sell the traditional way, with a real estate agent, there are two times that you definitely have to spend money; 1) before you list, when you fix and upgrade everything to get it ready to sell; and 2) when you sell. That is when you pay your real estate agent the commission for selling the property. Both of these will costs will be in the THOUSANDS of dollars.
Not all homeowners are comfortable SPENDING all that money in order to SELL their house. If you’re a homeowner who would prefer to keep more in your pocket, you have another option: you can sell your house direct to a cash homebuyer like us at Westbrook REI. We buy houses as-is and take care of all costs (and there are no fees or commissions).
Option #4: Selling Price
Some homeowners believe that the market price for their house will be high, so they’re willing to wait and gamble and see if a buyer will purchase it for that price. When a buyer is eventually found, the sellers hope the buyers MIGHT offer more or at least asking, but in my experience, unless you house is perfect, buckle up because even in this sellers market the offer may be less than the asking price with a host of concessions.
Most homeowners don’t like the “unknown” and more than anything would like to remove the gambling component. They don’t want to wait months in the hopes that someone will offer what they’re asking. They subscribe to the saying, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, meaning that they’d rather work with a home buyer – even one who might offer slightly less than a market price – in order to know EXACTLY how much they can get for their house right this very instant.
If you’re a homeowner and you’re wondering, “What are my options to sell my house fast in Stockton?” then it really comes down to these 4 factors that will determine whether you’re willing to list or to sell right now.