When you’re forced to move out of state and relocate for a job opportunity, there’s a lot that goes into preparing for the move. And if you own a home, there’s the added complexity of figuring out what to do with your house.
Why a Traditional Listing Doesn’t Always Work
When you sell a house the traditional way, there are lots of moving parts and stages. Here are some of the steps you can expect to take:
- Prepare the property. You can’t just stick a “for sale” sign in the front yard and expect the property to sell right away. There are usually some projects, repairs, and upgrades that need to be made in order to prepare the property for listing. Depending on the extent of work to be done, this could take several weeks.
- List the property. Once the property is ready, you can list it. This takes a minimum of a week. You’ll have to find a real estate agent. The agent will have to run some numbers and figure out a listing strategy. Listing photos will be taken and marketing collateral produced. Once listed, you’ll have to deal with showings and open houses. In a best-case scenario, you’ll have to do this for a couple of days. In a worst-case scenario, it could be several weeks.
- Negotiate and accept an offer. Once you receive an offer, there will likely be some negotiations back and forth. Eventually, you’ll reach a deal and enter into a purchase agreement contract.
- Appraisal and inspections. Most real estate contracts include contingency and due diligence periods where the buyer can request certain things like an independent appraisal and various inspections. This period may last for a couple of weeks.
- Final negotiations. Once the appraisals and inspections are complete, the buyer may come back with a counter offer and/or additional negotiations. You’ll have to work through these. (It’s also possible that the deal falls through, in which case you’ll have to put the property back on the market, conduct more showings, accept more offers, go through negotiations, and sit through the due diligence period all over again.)
- Closing. Once everything is buttoned up and the final details of the contract are agreed upon, it’s a waiting game. Closings are typically scheduled a minimum of two weeks out, but could extend as far as 60 days into the future.
While the numbers are different in every market (and change from month-to-month) the average U.S. home is currently sitting on the market for 18 to 25 days. Once an offer is accepted, it usually takes another 30 to 45 days to close. That means it usually takes at least two months to sell a house. And with the market currently cooling down from the breakneck pace it was on in 2021, this timeline could be stretched even further.
How to Sell Your House Faster
Selling a house takes time. In some cases, it takes a lot of time. And if you have to move quickly as part of a job relocation, time is the one thing you don’t have. Thankfully, there are alternatives to the slow process of a traditional listing.
The easiest option is to sell your house to an off-market buyer for cash. With this method, you don’t have to go through the process of fixing up your house, conducting repairs, listing the house, negotiating, dealing with inspection, or any of the other frustrating things that most sellers are forced to deal with.
While you can try your luck at finding an individual cash buyer, this may take a fair amount of time and effort. You’ll have to tap your network (and may need your real estate agent to find someone, which will result in several thousand dollars in commissions).
The better option is to work with an experienced cash buying service, like Light Street. Our process is fast and streamlined. It consists of three simple steps:
1. Request an Offer
The first step is to visit our website and request an offer. We’ll ask you a series of simple questions to gather information. We’ll obviously need the home’s address and will attempt to gather a few other clarifying details so that we’re able to move as quickly as we can to give you a cash offer. Photos aren’t required, but some pictures or a quick video walkthrough of the property will help us price your home much more accurately.
2. Receive an Offer
Within 24 hours of receiving your request, our team will get to work behind the scenes. We will run the numbers, study the market, and use several accurate tools to determine the fairest price. We’ll return with a cash offer (sometimes the same day).
When we give you an offer, you can rest assured that it’s fair and competitive. The offer is always full cash and comes with no obligation for you to accept. There are no inspections or appraisals to deal with, either. This speeds up the process and prevents unnecessary snags from holding up the transaction.
Another major benefit of selling to Light Street is that there are no commissions or closing costs on your part. On a $300,000 property, this means you’ll save $18,000 in commissions. You’ll also avoid several thousand dollars in closing costs. Factor this in when evaluating the offer.
3. Close on the Property
If you don’t like our offer, no harm no foul. If you do, we’ll sign a contract and set the closing day for as little as seven days out. This allows you to close quickly and get cash in your pocket sooner rather than later. (We can even offer a lease-back option if you want to sell now but need more time to move out.)
Sell Your House Quick for Cash With Light Street
At Light Street, we don’t mess around. We give you a competitive cash offer within 24 hours or less. And because we’ve done it thousands of times before, we’re able to close in one week or less and put cash in your pocket in as few as seven days. Click here to get your free cash offer!