Traditional Estate Agent route - expensive and VERY slow Online Estate Agent - less expensive but still slow Property auction - fast but price not guaranteed to reach reserve, still have to pay auction house fees and VAT Sell to a buyer who specializes in purchasing property for cash - slightly below market value but VERY fast DIY private house sale - a fast option that could save you ?000s So, how do you go about selling your house privately?
This might sound like a scary alternative but with the advent of the Internet it really is a viable alternative to the snail-like High Street option and is gathering popularity amongst house-sellers fed up of being charged ?000s for selling their properties. We often forget that Estate Agents are unregulated salesmen with no professional valuation training other than an inside knowledge of what other properties on their books have sold for. The only true professionals involved in the house buying and selling process are the surveyor and conveyancing solicitor.
There are just 4 easy steps to making a private house sale:
PRICING. There are websites available where you can check the actual selling prices of properties in your area (rather than the over-inflated estimates dreamt up by untrained agents). These will give you a much more accurate idea of what your property is worth. Depending on how quickly you wish to sell should influence how much above or below this figure you are willing to set your price at. Bear in mind that a potential buyer may wish to negotiate you down on the advertised price so don't pitch it at your absolute minimum, as this will leave you no room for manoeuvre. ADVERTISING. Online advertising fees are much more reasonable than those of commission-based Estate Agents and websites that advertise your property have clear itemised lists of added extras you can purchase if you so desire but these are not always necessary. HIP. Any property sold on the open market must have a Home Information Pack, which will cost around ?350 and can be commissioned independently. DETAILS. All you need is a digital camera and a reasonable eye for a good photo. You need around 6-10 decent pictures of the front of the house, garden and key rooms plus accurate internal measurements. For a small additional cost, online property advertising sites will also provide a customised For Sale sign, as these are great for generating interest from local buyers. You can get your property details online in a fraction of the time it takes an Estate Agent to start advertising. If you really don't feel up to trying this alternative why not consider a quick cash sale to a company that specializes in this market. They can complete within 4 weeks of your initial enquiry and provide the peace of mind of a guaranteed property sale (no pulling out at the last moment and no broken chains). When you consider that Estate Agents over-value properties by between 5%-15% and you may have to reduce your price to slightly below the surveyors valuation to secure a quick sale this option doesn't sound quite as bad as you might first imagine. If you also factor in the benefits of a free valuation by an independent surveyor, free legal fees and no requirement for a Home Information Pack plus completion in around 4 weeks Sell-My-House-Fast could be THE quick and economical solution to your current financial difficulties.
Tampa, Florida, December 17, 2007 – We will buy your home. At FastHomeSolutions you want to sell your home and we buy houses. This is what we do for a living. We are Professional Real Estate Investors that have money waiting to purchase homes of those that either need to or just want to sell their home. Pre-foreclosures or in foreclosure? We can negotiate with the bank so you can sell your home to us and you can have the piece of mind you need to move on without having a foreclosure on your credit. We will even make your payments for you which will improve your credit score quickly.
If you read the newspapers or watch your local news you know that selling a home in today’s market is a risky proposition and most real estate agents are not getting the job done. It is a home buyers market today and any qualified home buyers are looking for the perfect deal. Insurance and Taxes are forcing a lot of people out of their homes. Taxes, insurance and declining prices spell disaster if you need to sell your home. We will buy your home at a fair price based on current averages and sell fast. It’s a huge opportunity for REO asset managers," said Jim Case, CEO of Fast Home Solutions, which recently launched its online property investors website at www.FastHomesolutions.com. “We’re seeing investors from all over, especially France, Germany and Belgium, as well as from the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. They are eager to buy U.S. homes, villas, properties now, while their own currencies are strong against our dollar.
This is good news for loan servicers and loss mitigation professionals charged with disposing of owned real estate. The online auction concept, while not new, is experiencing a surge of popularity because of the ease with which properties can be vetted by potential buyers, whether for investment or owner occupancy. “Asset managers are getting slammed right now by the sheer volume of properties they must sell," observed Case. “Online auctions are the best way to get properties in front of the most people, but REO people are so busy at the moment, it is difficult to consider new methods." Fast Home Solutions approach to attract REO listings is to avoid the negatives buyers and sellers have seen in the past with online auctions. “Buyers hate paying premiums to buy properties online, so we’ve eliminated them," said Case. “At the same time, investors want research on areas and values, as well as finding local property managers, so we’re adding content to make those available at minimal or no cost," he added.
The “Half-back" Phenomenon Further complicating things for REO asset managers desiring sell property in Sunbelt areas is the increase of people leaving places like Florida for financially more hospitable climes. Their properties are competing with REO sales for buyer attention, and keeping prices low. These are people who have been whipsawed by rising insurance rates caused by the hurricanes and sinkholes of recent years, as well as increased property taxes. Rather than moving all the way back up north, they are going half way, to places like Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, hence the term “half-back." “These neighboring states have much more attractive scenarios for these sellers," explains Jim Case. “And they still don’t have to put up with harsh winters." With these additional properties cluttering up the inventory, REO sellers are finding their work cut out for them.
This new wave of foreign investors may be the key to keeping the market moving, said Case. “We send out over a million opt-in emails to investors every week and I can tell you that the demand for property listings is getting stronger every day," he said. “The dollar’s weakness right now may work out to be a blessing for the REO asset managers, especially since these foreign investors like to buy more than one."
About Fast Home Solutions
Fast Home Solutions is a real estate auction web site which harnesses the power of the Internet to benefit REO agents, asset managers, motivated buyers and sellers. Buyers can search, bid on and acquire REO properties, all at no cost, and sellers can efficiently post properties and market to prospective buyers. Fast Home Solutions is based in Tampa, Florida, and can be found on the Internet at www.FastHomesolutions.com
Both Robert Thomson & Jimcase are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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