Did you know that last June 2019, 16% of homebuyers had enough cash to buy a home outright?
You read that right!
In fact, there were even more of them in February, when 23% of buyers paid cold, hard cash for a house.
And while some of these buyers are regular folks, most are what you call “real estate investors”. Some of them even call themselves “mom and pop investors”.
Either way, these investors are cash home buyers, and they’ve been investing a lot in the U.S. housing market. In 2018 alone, 11.3% of homes sold were to these cash buyers.
So, who are these “investors” and what exactly do they do? Why do they even buy homes for cash? Most importantly, why would you want to consider selling your home to them?
You’ll get all your answers in this post, so be sure to keep reading!
A Primer on Cash Home Buyers
A cash home buyer is a person or a company that has ready cash to buy a property outright. They don’t need a mortgage or any other loan to finance the home purchase. They use their own money to buy properties.
What House for Cash Buyers Do to Homes They Purchase
You may have seen those signs that say “We Buy Houses for Cash!” and thought them too good to be true. Most of these cash buyers are real though, and they’re improving the real estate landscape. Even a Forbes article agrees that investor buying benefits soon-to-be homeowners.
Cash for house businesses buy properties with the goal of reselling or making them into a rental. These investors are what you’d call “house flippers” — they buy and then they improve the property. After finishing the improvements, they either rent it out or put it up for sale again.
House flipping is a legitimate industry, don’t worry. You may have even seen flippers on TV, like those folks in “Flipping Out” or “Flipping Vegas”.
Like with any other industry though, you should still be careful in the cash buyer you choose to deal with. Check for BBB ratings and reviews to see if there are complaints made against them. They should also have a physical address, and not just a PO Box.
Why You’d Even Want to Sell Your House to a Cash Buyer
Selling your home as-is and for cash leads to a faster sale and can even help prevent foreclosure.
How so?
Let’s take a closer look at the reasons why you’d want to team up with a cash house buyer.
Get Your Home off the Listings Faster
68 long days — that’s the average length of time it took to sell homes on the market in 2018. A lot can happen to your home in (over) two months, such as strong winds damaging your roof. Pueblo, CO is not a stranger to strong to severe thunderstorms, after all.
If this happens while you wait for a buyer, you’ll end up with a huge drop in your home’s selling price.
Cash buyers in real estate won’t let you wait that long — you can get a cash offer today and decide if it’s fair. From there, you can agree to the non-obligatory offer or you can walk away. It’s as simple and quick as that.
Sell Your House “As-Is”
You can choose to sell your house as-is, so you don’t have to worry about expensive repairs. Nor do you need to stage your home in the hopes of attracting buyers. Cash house buyers will get your house off your hands, no matter its current condition.
Get Rid of a House You Don’t Want to Live In
Four in 10 parents in the US plan to leave their kids with an inheritance. Most would likely leave money, but some are sure to leave estates or home inheritances.
While this is great and all, an inheritance may be too much to handle, especially if it still has a mortgage. Just consider that almost two in three homes in the US are still tied to a mortgage. If you accept such an inheritance, you’d be responsible to pay off the lien on the property.
If you don’t want to deal with another huge expense, consider selling to a property investor. This is one of the fastest, easiest, and lowest-cost way to sell an inherited house you don’t want to live in.
Avoid a Possible Foreclosure
While mortgage delinquency rates in the US are the lowest in years, 3.6% of homes were still delinquent in May 2019. And by June, there were 296,458 properties showed to have foreclosure filings.
A foreclosure is one of the biggest reasons for poor credit scores. It also stays on credit reports for up to seven years. During this time, lenders are highly unlikely to extend credit to you.
If you’re in danger of foreclosure, or even delinquency, you may still be able to sell your home for cash. You can then use that to pay off your mortgage and avoid foreclosure. A cash home buyer may even agree to take over your mortgage.
Sell Your Home ASAP with the Help of a Legit Cash House Buyer
There you have it, your ultimate guide on cash home buyers, what they do, and how to find the legit ones. And now that you know more about them, you can make a better decision on whether they’re a good fit to sell your house to.
If you can’t afford to wait for a buyer for over two months, then a cash house buyer is likely your best choice.
Ready to get your home sold ASAP without having to worry about fixing or staging it? Then ring us up now so we can discuss your options and give you a cash offer!