If your house was flooded during the recent hurricane chances are you have had a letter posted on your door from someone offering to buy your home for cash, with a quick closing and no hassle to you. The letters come from investors masked as “community rehabilitators” who are looking to buy homes as-is, with no repairs done. The pitch can sound appealing to someone who does not want to incur the cost of fixing up a flooded home, or for someone who is looking to move on and sell the house quickly.
Generally these letters are from legitimate investors who are looking to buy a home. The catch though is that you will be offered a low-ball price. I’ve seen some offering 40% or less of a home’s value. Usually, with some exceptions, this is not a good deal for the average homeowner. If you are interested in selling you will get a much better price by posting the home for sale on the open market.
The investor letters also claim they will save you money by cutting real estate agents out of the deal, working with them directly, and thus saving on commission costs. Unless you are an experienced home seller you will not want to sell your house unrepresented. A real estate agent or real estate attorney will be worth the cost to have someone on your side who can review the terms of the transaction. Otherwise you risk entering into a very one-sided contract that favors the buyer heavily and leaves you with costs you might otherwise not typically be responsible for.
With anything, if it sounds too good to be true you should proceed with caution.
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