Alternative Routes To Achieve a Fast House Sale
Beyond going directly to cash property buyers, homeowners needing to sell their house rapidly do have other options that can also potentially lead to a quick sale. While cash purchasers represent the fastest and highest certainty route, alternate approaches like involving estate agents, auction listings or private sales may suit some urgent sellers better depending on their specific situations.
Selling Via An Estate Agent
If willing to sacrifice the absolute speed and sale certainty that dealing directly with cash investors brings, listing your home with a traditional high street estate agent remains an option. While sale lengths with agents typically surpass eight weeks on average, urgently marketed properties can still capture buyer interest capable of proceeding quickly in scenarios like:
Relocation Sales
When in need of selling for imminent relocation purposes, highlighting this in marketing materials taps into active chains of buyers also facing time constraints. Prioritising viewings for best ‘fit’ matches risks losing both transactions so progress faster.
Chain-Free Mortgage-Ready Buyers
First-time buyers with mortgages already lined up can complete in as little as 28 days without having any previous property to dispose of. Their flexibility outpaces chained counterparts so targeting these buyers via agency listings opens possibilities for further speed in the sales process.
Investors Seeking Below-Market Deals
Some investors pursue discounted deals with ‘motivated sellers’ accepting prices under market value for speed like cash buyers. Listing slightly below the standard rate for your area flags your property to these.
So while agent sales commonly take over two months, securing one of the above buyer types can clinch offers progressing in 4-6 weeks.
The Drawback Risk
The gamble however still remains that buyers can withdraw interest or finance at any stage leading to sale delays and relisting. Using estate agents ultimately means surrendering control over completion time frames. While agent listings suit sellers prioritising achieving maximum property value over guaranteed urgency, a degree of risk does come attached in sacrificing speed.
Auction Listings For Urgent Sales
If you need to sell rapidly due to financially urgent situations like repossession deadlines, then property auctions allow for sale completion in as little as 28 days, which may help.
With auction cycles seeing homes listed for just a few weeks before intense competitive bidding, this accelerated approach fast-tracks sales avoiding the uncertainty of waiting for agent buyers.
Pre-auction viewings enable potential buyers to view the property ahead of registering their interest so that when bidding opens, purchasers can compete openly to hit the reserve value sellers set to successfully sell under the hammer.
Read more: How to stop house repossession
The Time-Efficiency
For urgency, auctions offer reliable routes to seal deals within weeks and then complete sales around 28 days later once finance is arranged post-hammer. Home pre-approval and cash buyers with no reliance on mortgages simplify this further.
The Risks Involved
The effectiveness of a quick sale via auction depends wholly on buyer competition pushing bids over reserves on the day itself – fail to do this and the home stays unsold. Remember that additional costs like entry and seller fees apply on top, so this will also lower net profits.
Whilst auctions allow for fast sales, uncertainty over actual selling and price achieved bring risks less pronounced with cash buyers.
Private Sales
Finally, if willing to invest extensive effort in marketing the property yourself, private sales represent the most controlled route to potentially securing offers and completions that meet your urgency timeframes.
Utilising social media groups, online listings sites and your own networks to self-promote the sale allows you to manage the exact timeline while also avoiding any sales fees.
This route requires the most effort, with personally conducted viewings, negotiations and sales progression. Without agent or auctioneer buffers, the onus falls solely on you as the seller. Securing an offer still depends wholly on finding an eager buyer and just like with estate agents, sales can collapse if buyers cannot organise finance quickly enough.
Private sales suit proactive sellers who will tirelessly self-market to achieve the sale speed they need but success will depend on whether potential buyers are able to move as quickly as you need them to when completing the process.
In summary – agents, auctions or private sales do allow urgent sales to take place, but there is always a risk of falling through. For guaranteed speed and completion, on balance, cash buyers represent the least hassle with a higher success rate.
