You’ve seen the signs at almost every street corner, off-ramp, or billboard “Cash for houses in San Antonio.” Some of these are cartoonish signs and some are simple handwritten signs, nailed to a light pole. Some cash for houses signs makes claims they buy houses in any condition, for competitive rates, and all in cash.
If you need or want to sell your home, this might look like the perfect opportunity to sell quickly without the headaches of preparing a property for showing.
Is Cash For Houses In San Antonio Right for You?
The Cash for Houses in Your Target Market
The individuals and companies putting up these signs are investors who are looking for properties to purchase, repair, and then either rent or resell for profit.
Marketing by putting out signs, billboards, or marketing online takes a lot of time and effort in order to inform homeowners that they can receive a cash offer for their property when they are ready.
The key target market includes homeowners in all kinds of situations. This includes people facing bankruptcy or foreclosure, medical issues, divorce, or damaged properties in complete disrepair. They also help people wanting to transfer ownership from probate sales, homes with vacancies, and even existing listings that are about to expire.
Also, many homeowners who are not in any financial or time pressure choose to sell their homes for cash. They simply do not want to go through the hassle and headache of a traditional sale. The would reather skip any repairs, cleaning, listings, and showings and just sell their house for cash.
The Thoughts Process Behind the Offer
Because investors do run a business, they need to buy properties that have the potential to provide them a profit in the future. Part of that profit will come from the amount that they will save you in commission and fees when you sell your house for cash.
The buyer is looking to ease your burden quickly. This can be very helpful to sellers if they have some emotionally binding stressor that requires them to sell the property.
You should consider your goals for selling the property before you make any decisions. You can research how cash offers work before you decide what is best for you.
Consider Your Position Before Negotiating
Keep in mind there is a cost to keep a home. Everything from mortgage payments, insurance, and property taxes must continue to be paid while you own the home. The longer you delay a sale, the longer you must pay for utilities, maintenance, and upkeep.
Do the math then consider the average time it takes for homes to sell in your market. Based on average pricing, will you make up the difference in the cost of maintaining the home for the extended timeframe?
It may also be urgent to sell because of an impending foreclosure or estate tax cash requirement. Consider all of these factors as you begin to look at offers from buyers.
Maximizing the Sale Value
It doesn’t take a lot of research to get an idea of a property’s fair market value. If you really want to know, you can pay a couple of hundred dollars for an appraisal or simply make a few calls to a local expert to give you an idea of the value of your home in its current condition.
Once you know what the estimated value is based on current market conditions, look at what can be done quickly and inexpensively to improve the property thus increasing the value.
Do what the investors would do. These include cleaning the home inside and out; make sure windows and screens sparkle. Remove all weeds in the landscape and trim trees and bushes back. Replace carpet, tile the bathroom and kitchen, and repaint the inside and out.
Investors often will redo a kitchen and put in a new appliance package, thus making their margin on the property obtained at 30% below market value. You don’t need to do this, but if you have the time and money to do so, it might be worth the investment.
The bottom line is if you can extend your timeline of a need to sell, you can wait for a more traditional buyer to come along and give you an offer that puts some money in your pocket.