I have an inherited house, 1200 miles away from me. NOT underwater on the loan. Needs one BIG roof repair on an addition, and I can’t go there to play supervisor.
Selling to a cash buyer sounds easier and faster than using an agent and dealing with buyers and their issues and mortgages and inspections (1870s house, they all have issues)
What are the pitfalls and shenanigans to watch out for? I can have a local RE lawyer.
Cash buyers can lowball you. Get multiple offers. Have a lawyer review contracts. Watch for last-minute price changes or added fees. Verify proof of funds before signing anything. Sounds like you need a new agent if yours isn’t helping with this.
I have no agent … I will have a lawyer who is local to the house.
Might as well get an appraisal to know roughly what you should expect to sell for (and be clear about age of roof/any other issues that you’ll end up putting in your disclosures). If a cash-only company offers you something in the right ballpark, you can feel okay about going that route. I wouldn’t expect such a company to offer anywhere near appraised value though.
An agent selling as is, no renovations, no discounts, may be able to market it to a population that is wider than the wholesalers, who are actually agents to the people they flip the house to.
You pay for an agent either way.
Investors are going to offer a price so low that they are going to make a ton of money on it. If you inherited it and have zero dollars invested then it is all profit. Are you food with that?
Some “We Buy Homes for Cash” are just a single person who is a wholesaler. They have a contract that is assignable. They often don’t put any money down to lock up the property for 30-60 days. Then they rush out a find a buyer for a higher price than what they got it on contract. Then, they’ll either assign the contract to the buyer for a fee or higher price OR they’ll double close so you can’t see how much money they’ll make. (NFA)
I’ve dealt with those folk. They all took the same seminar.
I ask them to give a solid earnest money deposit to my lawyer, who will review the contracts.
Sends them scurrying.
Pitfalls to you: LLCs are in this for money, so they’re going to find ways at every step to get the offer lower. Even if they come in with a hot offer, they’ll often use inspections & other legal ways to get it lower.
Pitfalls to market: This is gonna be another house or rental property that is great to the eye, and iffy behind the walls. It will take a reasonably priced house off the market for families who plan to live in it.