Pennsylvania Home Sellers Question: Do I list with a Realtor or sell to a cash home buyer?

Below is an example of a recent home seller’s situation where a cash home buyer’s offer (our offer) was better than a Realtor’s higher listing price.

To view pictures, click this link kitchen & bath

The dated property: Kitchen updated in the 1980s and bathroom in the 1990s

Houses in the neighborhood that were in new, modern, and excellent condition were selling for $300,000.  The condition of the subject property we went to see was dated. What dated means is imaging going back into a time machine and going back to 1980s and 1990s because that was the houses style.  The kitchen and bathrooms were update in the late-1980/early-1990s.  The house colors were not what the $300,000 house colors had, it had carpet throughout the entire house and not hardwood flooring anywhere, etc.  Now the house was clean, but it was dated.

Using actual home sales data of houses similar to the subject property, the dated houses were selling for $180,000 to 220,000.

Our offer was $190,000 cash with a settlement date of 30 days.   The home owner’s were also thinking of using a Realtor and the Realtor wanted to list the property for $230,000.  The home owners decided to go with the Realtor and this is how it played out.

No B.S. Home Selling Process vs. List with a Realtor	No B.S. Home Selling Process	Realtor
Our Cash Offer:	190,000
Realtor listed property at:	n/a	230,000
It took 7 months to get house under contract at $220,000:	n/a	220,000
It tooks another 2 months to go to settlement, so 9 months of paying mortgage principle & interest, real estate taxes, and home insurance ($1,920 * 9 months):	n/a	17,280
9 months of paying utilities: water, electric, gas, lawn service:	n/a	2,725
Realtor commission is 7% of $220,000:	n/a	15,400
Net Amount of Money to home seller:	190,000	184,595

 

Our offer of $190,000 cash today was the right decision.  Don’t make the same mistake these home sellers made. 

WOW!  The home sellers went with the Realtor at a higher listing amount BUT waited 9 months until they sold the house and walked away with less money in their bank account.  That is 9 months of living in a house you no longer want to live in thinking you are walking away with more money, but no one ever explains to you all the costs during that time.

I will gladly walk you through all of these options with you so that you can make the best decision for you.  Fill out a home sellers form at http://www.cmtrealestate.net.

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