If you would prefer to avoid all of the obstacles and delays involved with listing your property for sale through an agent then selling your house fast for cash may be the best option for you. A fast cash sale will provide you with a guaranteed closing date as soon as 1 week. However, many sellers aren’t sure how to go about selling their house fast for cash so in today’s post we’ll cover some the basic steps you can expect when selling your Chicago house for cash.
How To Sell Your House Fast For Cash in Chicago
Title/Deed
If you are working with a local and professional cash house buyer such as Blue Ladder Development then you can expect them to help guide you through the paperwork process. The cash buyer and attorneys will work with a local title company to verify the chain of title for the property and make search for any liens/encumbrances on the property. If you are aware of any title issues it is best to communicate this upfront to your buyer so that they can plan accordingly and make sure to stay on track with the agreed upon closing date.
Offer
If all these things are in order, the cash buyer will make an offer. A buyer offering cash will feel she has more bargaining power because the sale doesn’t depend on a third-party loan and the inevitable wait. You can always make a counteroffer if the first offer doesn’t suit you.
Inspection/Appraisal
If an offer is accepted, the person buying a house from you will then want an inspection and possibly an appraisal done to make sure there are no huge problems and that she is getting her money’s worth.
Close
Since this is a cash deal, you and the buyer can set the closing date for a time convenient for both of you, usually much sooner with a cash deal. You simply show up at a notary’s office with pen and cashier’s check in hand.
Here are some steps you need take before attempting to sell your house for cash.
Price
Pricing your house right is probably the best step you can take toward making a fast sale for cash because it’s what gets people to consider your house in the first place. If your price too low, buyers will think something is wrong with the house, and a too-high price may make it sit unsold for a long period with the same result. It pays, then, to check out comparable house values in the area and price accordingly.
Curb Appeal
This is what creates that critical first impression and gets them to stop and come in the door. So sprucing up the yard and the house’s exterior are definitely worth the time and expense involved. And it doesn’t take a lot, really – maybe just some lawn clean-up and minor landscaping, a little roof repair, touching up paint, and dressing windows.
Deal Sweeteners
It always pays to sweeten the deal to make it more attractive for buyers. The tried-and-true principle of reciprocity tells us that people are willing to give more (sale price) if they feel they are getting something in return (the deal sweeteners). For example, you could offer to pay some or all of the closing costs, or you could offer to provide a transferable home warranty, which would cover, say, major appliances and/or the HVAC systems.
If you need to sell your house fast and are looking for someone buying your house, these tips and steps will help you close a cash deal. But there’s, even more, you can do to get a better cash offer and expedite the sale.