Most people who plan to get rid of their property fast go through a stressful time. Some people want to sell their house fast because they’re either relocating, paying off debts, or they no longer need the property that they’ve perhaps inherited. If you’re planning to sell your property and you want to do it quick, here are some tips to help you out: 

Sell For Cash

The simplest way to sell a property fast is to do it via home cash buyers. For example, Ocean City Development and similar companies are willing to purchase a home regardless of its condition. This means that you don’t have to worry about getting funds for renovating or staging your home to attract potential buyers. If your only concern is selling the property quickly, then this is perhaps the best option to consider.

Time Is Money

The longer you sit on a property, the more it costs you. Taxes, insurance, repairs, troubleshooting, mortgage payments, landscaping—it could cost you $2k a month just to “sit on” a house. That’s $24k a year. The question is: do you have the resources to hold out for the total value of a given property? An online mortgage affordability calculator can aid in figuring this question out, but there are other factors to consider as well.

If the increase is from $150k to $170k, maybe not. But if it’s from $200k to $250k, you may want to spend a little extra. It all depends. If you’re going to do it right, you’ll need to fix any “big” issues, like foundation problems.

You may need to put in new pillars, sometimes a basement is “shifting” on cheap foundation, and the only fix is using a lifting solution by a house moving company to “float” the property, redo the foundation, then put it back. That’s around $100k if you get a deal on the work.

Should the foundation be in good shape, you’ll still want to fix the siding, fix doors, fix sheetrock cracks, shampoo the floors, and similar things like this. It’s not without the bounds of possibility that you might put $20k in a house just getting it “sellable”.

Long-Term Realities Of Home Sales

By contrast, if you go with an “as-is” sale, you can skip all that annoyance; you just sell the property for a little less than its total potential. Likely, you will take a slight financial hit if and when you sell a house “as-is”. As-is selling companies have to make a profit, after all. What they’re going to do is buy it from you low, fix it up, then flog it off as high as they can.

The thing is, you’ll ultimately save months of time, and the associated costs involved with that time. Selling a house, on average, tends to take two to three months; it can take as long as a year or more. If it’s just $1k a month for three months, that’s $3k. If it’s $2k, that’s as high as $24k for a whole year. With an as-is company, you can move a property in weeks.

Cleaning Out The Inside

Also, there are solutions for moving your possessions more quickly. One of the biggest problems you’ll have if you’re going the as-is route will be moving. You’re probably going to have to get things out of the house quick, but there are options. Working with professional moving companies to get things taken care of fast will help expedite sales.

There are options out there that can give you either a free move, or up to $200 in rebate—UMoveFree suggests a number of different swift moving options, and you can get from a house to an apartment during the interim between new property acquisition or liquidation fast. It’s conceivable you could have the process done inside a week, though that’s ambitious.

So the question becomes: will the “hit” you take for selling the property “as-is” to an “as-is” buyer be greater than the hit you would take if you held out, fixed everything, and paid all the costs in the interim? If that financial “hit” isn’t greater, then it’s smart to go the as-is route. If it is, then you might want to wait a bit. Every situation will be different.

Collateral Considerations

It’s also worth noting that sometimes there are job opportunities or community trends which make moving faster, or slower, more profitable. So beyond what’s directly perceivable in your situation, other factors could play a big part in your decision. A lot of houses in cities like Birmingham, Alabama won’t sell unless you flog them off to an “as-is” group and move on.

Meanwhile, in Arizona right now, shacks are selling for $100k more than they reasonably should. Even though California’s housing market has taken a big hit, it’s still listing “basic” properties much higher than they ought to go. So lastly, don’t just consider direct financial realities, look at collateral factors as well.

Closing Thoughts

Every house is different, which means it will also take different times to sell. If you’re trying to earn a higher profit from the sale of your property, you may consider getting a real estate agent to help you out. Agents know what buyers in a specific area are looking for. Based on the agent’s recommendations, you can do renovations to improve your home’s resale value. However, if you’re more concerned about taking the property off your hands as soon as possible, then selling your home as-is may be a sound option.