When selling your home you may be surprised to learn if one of your interested buyers turns out to be an investor. The investor may even be working through a broker who will not disclose the identity of his client.
All of this unfamiliar territory can feel daunting, but there are many great reasons to entertain an offer from an investor. Deciding what you will do next depends on your situation, your preferences and ultimately how fast you want your home to sell and for what price.
Why Would an Investor Want My House?
An investor would be interested in your home for only one reason: they think it will make them money. There are a lot of different ways investors profit off of homes.
- They are interested in the home as-is, and will make a few minor improvements and then “flip” it for a profit.
- They think the home would make a good rental property. This plan makes a lot of sense when looking at UBC homes for sale, since the proximity of the university could provide ample tenants.
- They like the location. They could demolish or gut the house and create a property they think would get attention.
- They are building a property portfolio to hedge their other investments.
No matter what the logic is behind their offer, you can be certain that they will try to purchase your home for as low of a price as possible. If this number happens to be close to your asking price, it might be a signal that your home is listed for cheaper than how they perceive the market.
Advantages to Selling to an Investor
An investor will not make an inquiry unless they were serious. They also will not need financing. Both of these factors equal a quick, easy sale.
Another great reason to sell to the investor would be if you had mitigating circumstances that might deter other buyers. For example, if you were in danger of having your home foreclosed upon investors are sometimes willing to take over the mortgage as part of the sale.
Investors are also looking to buy your home “as-is” meaning you will not have to worry about its condition if there happens to be something less than ideal about it. This flexibility mean that if you have a worn-out deck or an extremely dated kitchen then you will not have to renovate these problems before a sale.
Disadvantages
The biggest disadvantage of selling to an investor is that their offer will likely be well below the market price for your home. You can always counter to see how high they will approach your ideal closing price, but they are in it for the money and not the house per se.
You must also verify their legitimacy to avoid getting scammed.
For more advice on how to find the right buyer for your home, take a look at our sellers page
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