Working with a Professional Home Buying Agency

Selling your home with a realtor or on your own can be frustrating and incredibly time-consuming. The average home sits on the market for roughly six months, but there are some homeowners who sit in them for-sale estates for years before an interested buyer comes along. That’s why so many of those “we buy houses” agencies are so tempting. They promise a quick and relatively effortless sale so that you can be out of the house and on your merry way within days or weeks at most. However, understanding what a buying agency is and what they’re not will help you avoid a catastrophic situation.

What Exactly is a Home Buying Agency?

A home buying agency is a company that buys up lots of properties, fixes them up and resells them for a higher price. In some cases, the company won’t even fix up a home and will just sell it quickly at a reduced value to still make a profit. These types of agencies have been around for decades and while they might have seemed or even been seedy in the past, there are thousands of reputable and trustworthy home buying agencies nowadays that are willing to work with homeowners who want quick sales.

What to Expect

Once you choose to work with a home buying agency, they’ll send one of their inspectors to your home to assess the home and property. This information along with historical and neighborhood data will allow them to determine how much your home is worth. Next, they will give you a flat offer and you can either accept or decline the amount they’re offering you. Unfortunately, there is a downfall with having such a quick sale and that is the price you’re offered. Home buying agencies might offer $50,000 on a home that’s worth $150,000, which means that you’re going to lose a lot of money just to get a quick sale.

How Long is the Process?

The process can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to complete. The amount of time it takes for your home to sell is dependent upon the company you’ve chosen, the condition of your home and how quickly it is for the company to pull up historical and property data. There have been instances in the past where homeowners sold their houses in just one day.

Fees and Fine Print

While not all home buying agencies are the same, some charge fees to sell homes that quickly. These fees make up for the closing costs and lawyer charges that you might have to pay if you were going with a typical realtor or home buyer. It is recommended that you read all fine print before signing any contract with the agency. Once you get locked into a contract, you are bound to sell that house for the price you’ve agreed upon even if you change your mind and would like more money.