Want to “sell my house fast in Waco?” It’s Stinson here with Waco First Homebuyers. I wanted to take a couple minutes to talk to you about the difference between selling to a real estate investor, like us at Waco First Homebuyers, or selling through a real estate agent, the traditional route of listing your property for sale.
First, a lot of people don’t really understand the difference between the two and the biggest differences when working with an investor like us. We’re at Waco First Homebuyers. We’re a local cash home buyer in the Waco or Central Texas market. We want to buy the property directly from you.
So, if you have a house that you want to sell, you would contact an investor and they want to make a direct offer to you. So, what their price is. They’ll pay you or what we would offer you on an as-is cash home sell.
This is the cash price that you’d receive from an investor. With a traditional listing, an agent is going to help you prepare the house, list the property, show it to a big audience, have people come in, accept offers or take in offers, go through a negotiation period and then sell the property.
The biggest difference is with an investor, it generally takes one meeting. You’ll get an as-is cash offer on your Waco home right then at the meeting. But with a realtor or a listing, there’s a process of listing and finding out what the market is willing to pay and then going through that entire process which I’ll cover later.
Agents are licensed. They’re licensed and have access to the MLS, a big audience of potential buyers syndicating your property, your private information or your information publicly, to the whole world to see. When selling your Waco home to a cash buyer (real estate investor), they’re working directly with you, it’s not being broadcast and kept private. So, your information is more private and the transactions a lot more seamless (sell your Waco home fast for cash).
Another big difference is, when working with an agent, you pay an agent’s fees. So, there’s fees for their time. On the buyer side and on the sell side but when you sell to an investor, you don’t have to pay fees for selling your home.
I want to talk to you specifically about the process of selling through a realtor listing across property.
First and foremost, you would need to find a realtor that you like, generally, what I recommend to people is to go out to your network and ask people that you know, like, and trust who they’ve worked with before and work with somebody that has a proven track record from somebody that you know. If not, you can always shop around… there’s Zillow, you call local brokerages, you probably get stuff in the mail, and then you’re just interviewing people and realtors.
So, find somebody that you want to work with. You’re going to communicate with your agent a lot throughout the transaction. They’re going to have private access to your property. They’re going to show people your property when you are not home.
You need to really like them and most importantly trust them in their ability to get the most money for the property, if that’s what your goal is. Once you found a realtor, they will schedule a meeting to speak with you about their commission, their fees, the process and then they’re going to talk to you about staging or making repairs to the property.
You’ll discuss things like, how does the property show to potential buyers. What kind of stuff do you need to do to get the property home ready to present the property AKA, list and show the property. Many realtors are going to suggest that you eliminate the personal belongings in the house (pictures, crafts, clutter, etc).
I’m not suggesting that you have to move out but at least take down personal photos and declutter the house, clear off countertops, clear off nightstands tables, and really just declutter the property as much as possible. You want your potential buyers to be able to envision them personally living and decorating the house.
So, the less stuff that you have, that is personal to you, the better it will show. Secondly, are there repairs that need to be made on the property before listing your Waco home for sale? If you’re selling through a traditional agent, listing the property for sale, most of the time, the buyer is going to be financing the property so there are requirements from the mortgage companies of the condition of the property.
Mechanicals are a big thing.
When I say mechanicals I am referring to the roof, the foundation, HVAX, the electrical, and the plumbing system. If there’s any major problems with any of those big ticket items, generally the banks/mortgage company won’t allow the property to financed because their asset (the home) won’t be secure because of the potential of major repairs in the near future.
You will need to make any need repairs to these systems if you’re listing the property for traditional buyers. If you’d like to avoid realtors and avoid making repairs, you might consider selling as-is to Waco First Home Buyers.
If you’re trying to get the most money possible for your home, generally you want to completely update it. What I mean by that is new flooring, new paint, updating kitchen and bathrooms. That it’s going to maximize your profit or maximize your offer. The best offer you’re gonna get so if you rehab the entire house, new mechanicals new windows, new everything and the house is like brand new on the inside.
That’s what we do. But a lot of people do I want to go through the hassle of finding contractors, negotiating with contractors, buying materials, living through a rehab, and all the uncertainty that comes with a remodel and then the market might change while you’re in the process of remodeling and.
Once the property has been rehabbed, staged, and or repaired. The next step would be photographing the home, and then listing the property. Listing the home is basically broadcasting it out to the world, syndicating it through a bunch of websites, promoting it, and then trying to drive as much buyer traffic and as many people into the property as possible.
That’s the realtor’s job… to bring buyers. The more people and interest that’s happening in the property, the more people that come in there, in theory, the more offers you should get and the higher price you should get for the home. Once the property is listed, if you have a good realtor, they will host open houses and there’ll be lots of showings.
What is the Traditional Offer When Selling Your House?
Once the viewings are coming in, then offers will start pouring in… hopefully. Ideally, you’ll get a bunch of offers, then your realtor would work with you to negotiate. They would help you understand the terms of the offers and help you decide which offers are best offer. It’s not always about price, there’s terms within the offer, how much money down, are they going to have an appraisal or they’re going to have an inspection, what’s their timeline for closing, is it contingent on them selling their other property that they’re moving out of?
There are a lot of variables that come and go with a traditional offer. So, you need somebody that can help you navigate that and so you just don’t say hey, I accept the highest offer, even though the terms may be really bad, or there’s the opportunity for the seller to back out and or termination clauses or option clauses or inspection periods, things like that.
Once you’ve accepted the offer, then there will be an appraisal. That’s when the bank determines whether or not their offer is financial-able (will the bank make the loan?). There’s a chance properties fall out here, meaning that they offered more than the bank’s willing to finance on the home. Then at that same time, generally there’s an inspection, a home inspector is going to come crawl through the house and look for any problems, big or small, and tell the potential buyer of what is wrong with the property.
How does Buyer’s Contract Work?
Nine times out of ten the buyer’s contract say they’re buying the property as-is. But when the inspector comes back, there’ll be a whole 20, 30 page report of all the problems found and then you’re negotiating whether to make repairs or give money back or take a ticket discount off the price. Or you fix the house up based on the repair request.
We’ve done this hundred times and home inspectors always find something wrong…. That’s their job! That’s what they’re paid to do. So, they’re always going to find a lengthy list of mostly small things, but some big items if there’s problems with the house. Once all that is done, then the financing needs to go through.
The person has to be underwritten by the bank, meaning all their financials are in order, their taxes are paid, they have the money for the down payment, they have the cash reserves required, they can afford the first year taxes, the first year of insurance, and decent job history and credit. They typically will have a pre-approval but they don’t get fully approved until they have a property under contract.
This entire process, there’s no definitive guideline but based on our experience, from the time somebody meets a realtor to the time that the property is listed, is roughly takes two or three weeks depending on the extent of repairs and staging they do. It can be a lot longer if they’re rehabbing the house and then listing the property. Right now it’s about September in 2022.
Earlier in the year properties are flying in Waco. In Temple, they were selling with a short days on market, but the market has changed now that interest rates have gone up. If you watch the news, it’s saying the Waco or the national real estate markets coming down; they’re predicting market uncertainty. Locally, properties are sitting for longer on the market (longer DOM) . I would estimate roughly 30 days on market in today’s environment for a well priced home (on par with average comps).
What Happens When You List Your House?
Generally, you have two or three weeks from listing and then 30 days on market once the contracts accepted, generally about 30 to 45 days to get the property closed.
It is safe to assume that it will take 90-150 days to get a property sold via a traditional listing instead of 7 days when selling your home fast to a Waco cash home buyer.
There is also a lot of uncertainty and I guess you could call it a lot of hassle, right? In addition to that there’s a lot of fees.
The fees generally look like this: 3% to the buyer’s agent and 3% to the sellers agent (6% in total commissions). Generally, the sellers pay closing costs. We use 2% as a square and like an easy number to assume but it’s probably lower. There may be seller concessions if you don’t make the repairs found during the inspection. Sometimes you can just say, hey, here’s your whole list of repairs you want, how about I give you $10,000 at closing, so that would come off.
It’s safe to assume if you’re selling the house for $100,000, you are paying at least $8,000 in fees, closing fees and realtor fees.
What Happens If You Sell Your House to Direct Home Buyers?
You can sell your house without paying realtor fees by with an investor rather than listing the property with a realtor. Again, it’s Stinson with Waco First Home Buyers, we are direct to seller, buyers of properties in Waco, Temple, and all the surrounding markets in Central Texas.
When we make an offer, like a realtor, we base the offer on the value of properties that recently sold in the area (comparables).
We pull all the data from your local market. Recently sold homes in your neighborhood over the last three to six months. We look at what houses are selling for in regards to price and the condition of sold properties. We then make some assumptions about the condition and average those numbers so that we can determine what your house is worth in its current condition.
We also try to predict what it could be worth fixed up or rehabbed. We call this the after repair value.
We also have to determine how long would it take to sell (days on market). Is it in a desirable area or is it an area that possibly will sit for a long time once repaired and listed?
We would go over those comps with you, walk the property determining how much repairs the property needs, and then make an offer based on the condition and the local market. What you’re avoiding when you work with a real estate investor is all those costs I mentioned earlier. A cash buyer should cover all closing costs. Waco First Home Buyers covers all closing cost, any survey fees, and any fees associated with transaction.
All the seller is responsible for is liens, debts, or past due taxes on the property.
What you’re avoiding, again, when selling to an investor is exposure, meaning everything’s done privately. If you’re working with us, we’d speak privately. We’d look at the property. We talked about numbers and I’d make an as-is cash offer for your Waco home.
If you accepted the offer, we’d sign a contract. If they are a really good investor like us, they’ll put $5,000 in earnest money.
Sell Your House Fast With Flexible Closing Date
Another thing you’re avoiding by selling fast to a cash home buyer is the uncertainty of your timeline when listing with an agent. If you’re able to meet with a local real estate investor or cash homebuyer in the Waco area, they give you a cash offer and your timeline is minimal. There’s no time on market. It typically takes about 14 days to get the property closed with clear title.
If you shake on an offer from us and we enter to contract what the price we agree upon is what you’re getting the closing table minus any liens mortgages or debt. So, if we offered you 100 grand, and there was no debts, no pass to taxes and no liens at the closing table, you’d get $100,000 and we’re willing to put $5,000 in earnest money to show you that. What you gain when working with Waco First Homebuyers in the Temple or Waco area, you gain ease of transaction.
The process is very, very easy. We walk you through the entire process. The contracts are super simple. I don’t have an example here. But there’s two pages or two pages written in layman’s terms that show you exactly what we’re offering, how it’s structured. We don’t have an opt out clause as well as ability to read, negotiate.
Waco First Home Buyers don’t have the ability to print, get appraisal or inspection or any of that stuff. Then we also offer additional help. We can help you find another home. My business partner owns a brokerage my fiancé’s a realtor, so we have access to the market. We own a property management company. We have access to lots of homes. Waco First Home Buyers can help assist you with moving. We can assist in solving complicated title issues or surveying issues.
Do You Want to “Sell My House Fast in Waco”?
If you have property that you just want to get rid of. We don’t throw that away. We donate, it’s about a women’s shelter and most importantly, you gain certainty. Like I said, if we make a deal, that’s what we’re going to close on your timeline.
So, a value waiting a real estate investor versus a listing agent, I will be honest and say that when you list a property, you’re generally probably going to get more money at the end of the day, but you’re going through the hassle and the uncertainty of that with a real estate investor, if money in your pocket isn’t the most important thing, if privacy or ease a transaction or certainties is the most important thing.
Reach out to a cash buyer in the Waco area like Waco First Homebuyers. We’d love to answer any questions you have, and help kind of walk you through these two different scenarios. You also have other options.
You can list the property as is to cash buyers only or sale by owner if you’d like. There’s a lot of different options that you have and we’re happy to help walk you through those different options and help you understand that. I hope this was helpful for you.
I know I throw a lot of information at you. If you have questions reach out to us. This is what we do. We talked to dozens of people every week. Nine times out of ten we’re not able to buy their property and it’s not even the right fit for us or for them.
But what we do is try to educate you as much as possible and see if there’s any way that we can offer any assistance or any guidance. If we’re able to help you sell your Waco house, your Waco property. Whether it’s a distressed Waco property are a distressed property and simple if we’re able to help you with that property, whether we’re buying it or not. That’s what we’re in the business of doing is trying to help others. I hope you have a great day and I look forward to hearing from you. Bye.