Thinking about selling your house without repairs? Make sure you don’t fall into these traps.
Selling a home should be stressful enough. Throw a ticking clock into the equation and you’ve got yourself a recipe for disaster.
Pressure leads to mistakes. Bad mistakes.
Nearly half of homeowners that sell their house because they need to move quickly end up kicking themselves for it. They make uninformed decisions. They skip steps. They panic.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
When you know what mistakes to look out for going into the sale, you can prevent them from happening in the first place.
Let’s dig in.
Why Selling With Urgency Leads To Mistakes
Everyone wants to sell their home in their own time.
Whether you’re relocating for a job, struggling financially, getting divorced, or just inherited a property… life doesn’t always work that way.
When you need to sell your home fast, you’re going to be emotional. Emotions cause people to make irrational decisions. That’s a fact.
But selling doesn’t have to be irrational. Homeowners that need to sell their house without repairs still have options to maximize their profits. Partnering with the right company makes all the difference.
Businesses like 757 Property Solutions for quick sale are able to purchase homes as-is which takes the stress, cost, and time of repairs and renovations off your hands. Plus, selling directly to a company negates the need for showings and you can close in a matter of weeks instead of months.
Selling under pressure won’t be fun. Stress is part of the territory for 63% of homeowners that sell their home. But when you add urgency to the mix something happens. Suddenly mistakes become far more likely.
Here Are The Biggest Mistakes When Selling A Home Fast
Let’s review the most costly mistakes first. If you can avoid these during your own sale, you’ll avoid a lot of unnecessary grief.
Pricing It Too High
Pricing your home too high is the number one mistake sellers make when they are short on time.
You’d think sellers would do the opposite and price low to get buyers jumping at their property. But most list their home well above market value and watch the weeks fly by.
Why?
An overpriced home attracts no offers. And when a home doesn’t receive offers quickly, sellers start to panic. Then the panicked seller slashes their price… way too much. Suddenly your home has been sitting for so long that it now sells for thousands less than it should have.
According to the data, 1 in 5 sellers actually reduced their list price to achieve a sale. When you’re in a time crunch, those are weeks that you won’t get back.
Pouring Money Into Cosmetic Upgrades
A lot of homeowners go this route.
They think because they’re selling as-is, they need to throw some money into repairs before listing. Some paint here. New flooring there. Maybe update the kitchen while they’re at it.
What ends up happening is these sellers sink thousands of dollars into their homes, and not only do they wait months to sell, but they typically sell for thousands less than what they could have sold for had they skipped all the repairs.
Did you know that the majority of homes that sell as-is sell for 10-20% less than move-in ready homes? Yes, but when you take into consideration just how much a professional repair job costs, not to mention the months tacked onto your timeline, that number decreases significantly.
Unless you’re going to make money on the repairs (you won’t), skip them altogether and sell your home to a cash buyer.
Neglecting Your Local Market
Want to sell your home blindfolded?
Don’t bother looking at local real estate statistics. You’ll have no idea what you’re doing.
Here are the questions every seller should be asking about their local real estate market:
- Is it a buyer’s market or seller’s market right now?
- How much are houses like yours selling for?
- How long do houses spend on the market before they receive offers?
Not knowing these basic details is like selling with one hand tied behind your back.
Not Disclosing Known Defects
Another one that seems like a no brainer, right?
Unless you’re selling your home as-is to a home buying company, you’re still legally obligated to disclose any known defects with the property. Don’t skimp here.
Foundation problems, water damage, mold issues, etc. are things you HAVE to disclose to any and all potential buyers if you are aware of them.
This cannot be stressed enough. Failing to disclose known defects can kill a deal right at closing. And when you’re short on time, that deal falling through can come crashing down on you.
Always err on the side of over disclosing. The more transparent you can be with a potential buyer the faster your home will sell.
Accepting The First Offer
You got your offer. Pat yourself on the back. It took a lot of work to get here.
Except… your work isn’t over.
Accepting the first offer that comes your way is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when selling your home quickly.
Sure, when you’re short on time that offer may feel like your saving grace. But don’t settle. Before you even think about signing on that line consider these things:
- How does this offer stack up against the competition?
- Are there any contingencies that could slow down or completely derail this sale?
- Is this buyer even pre-approved? Are they paying cash?
- How fast is this buyer trying to close?
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sleeping on an offer, even if you’re short on time. That extra day or two could mean saving yourself thousands.
Tips For Getting The Best Deal ASAP
You have leverage as a homeowner regardless of how quickly you need to sell. Here are a few things you can do to keep more of that money in your pocket.
Price it properly. Do your homework. Look at comps. Price your home according to the data, not by emotion.
Sell to a cash buyer. Mortgage contingencies add weeks, if not months, onto your closing. When you sell to a company like 757 Property Solutions that buys homes with cash, you can close in as little as 1-2 weeks.
Lead with your property’s defects. This point cannot be overstated. Your home will sell faster if you come right out and tell a potential buyer what needs to be done. Imagine how sick they’re going to feel when they think they found the dream home and run into some major issues.
Get everything in writing. There are far too many stories about verbal agreements in real estate. Don’t do it. If it’s not written in the contract, it’s not official.
Don’t let emotions get the best of you. This sale will be tough. Your timeline isn’t ideal and your stress levels are probably through the roof. But you’ll get through it with flying colors if you approach this process as a business transaction and not an emotional one.
Wrapping It Up
Selling your home because you need to move quickly is no walk in the park. But you don’t have to make every mistake in the book along the way.
Overpricing your home, investing in repairs, ignoring market trends, skipping disclosures, and accepting the first offer are just a few of the most common (and costly) mistakes homeowners make when selling their home fast.
If you want to sell your house without repairs and need to move quickly, that doesn’t mean you still can’t walk away with a deal that you’re happy with.
Avoid these traps and sell your home smarter, not harder.
