Whether you’ve decided that you’re ready for a change or circumstances may be forcing you into the decision to sell your home, take a moment to familiarize yourself with these 5 ways baby boomers can sell their homes in Greater Los Angeles.
Traditional Listings
If you’re a Baby Boomer, it’s highly likely you’ve been in your Southern California home for more than a short term, and you aren’t selling a brand new property. If you choose to sell your house the traditional way, you’ll likely need to have the home appraised and inspected as well, be prepared for unexpected expenses. It’s wise to get an appraisal when you’ve decided to sell your home.
Hiring a professional real estate agent to assist you in selling your home is one of the ways baby boomers can sell their homes. Listing your home on the real estate market in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) with an agent is usually a more time-consuming process and means that you’ll likely need to update the home on the interior and exterior. You’ll also need to consider the amount of time any repair project could take, costs for this work, as well as budgeting and carefully scheduling any professionals you’ll need to hire for any necessary repairs. In this way, you will have a more realistic accounting to rely on for the true potential of profit you could realize on your home as well as how long of a time period you’re facing just to be ready to sell.
In addition to appraisals, inspections and hiring an agent, there also will be multiple property showings with this method of selling, so you’ll need to consider living under the pressure of having your home picture perfect at all times. To top off the discomfort that can accompany showings, there is no guarantee that your home will actually sell on either market.
FSBO – For Sale By Owner
For sale by owner (FSBO) is another one of the ways baby boomers can sell their homes in the Greater Los Angeles area. Due to the time consuming and demanding nature of this undertaking, it is important to understand if this avenue of selling your house is right for you. While the attractiveness of this method of selling is understandable, in that you’ll be keeping the commissions you would’ve paid to an agent.
More often than not sellers regret entering this highly complicated transaction, making errors due to inexperience could end up being far more costly than any savings you may realize. You could even wind up in court due to your lack of awareness regarding the local, state, and federal laws governing real estate. It is difficult to enter into negotiations for yourself, especially due to your emotional attachment to your property. You’ll need to understand the current market and your competition because setting the right selling price can mean the difference between a quick sale and sit on the market for so long buyers begin to believe there’s an unseen problem with your home.
Owner Financing
While many boomers purchased larger luxury homes, these aren’t the homes today’s buyer is seeking. In order to open your property to a broader buying base, seller financing is another way baby boomers can sell their homes. Understandably, if you’re under a time crunch, this option of you becoming the bank may be more appealing, despite the risks you’re taking on. You’ll need to enter this type of arrangement with your eyes wide open. Firstly, you’ll be dealing with buyers who likely weren’t able to secure traditional financing for a mortgage. While buyers are responsible for the property as if it were theirs, it’s highly possible that you could end up holding the property yet again and have to go through the process of finding yet another buyer.
Rent to Own
Another way to open your possibilities is to consider renting the home with an option to buy after a specified time period. While it’s not a guaranteed sale, it is yet another way baby boomers can sell their homes.
For many, becoming a landlord in retirement wasn’t the plan and while not the first choice, may be a viable option with a rent-to-own program. Again, this has its risks as you’ll still be the one responsible for the property until the buyer exercises their option to purchase the property outright down the road. And like with seller financing, it’s very possible if not probable that you will need to maintain ownership of the property and have to go through the process of finding yet another buyer.
Direct Sale
One of the quickest ways baby boomers can sell their homes throughout the Golden State is through a direct sale to a local cash buyer like Homesmith Group. Usually, with Homesmith Group, the entire process is complete from offer to closing within a matter of days or a few weeks and you will have zero expenses. As a local cash home buyer, we buy houses in as-is condition for a fair price and can close fast or on the schedule that works best for you. The best part about our services is they are 100-percent FREE! Homeowners pay no fees or commissions and are not required to do any repairs or clean-up. In a nutshell, selling directly eliminates any concerns about affording to sell or the amount of time it will take.
Summary
Whether you list with a real estate agent or sell the home yourself as a FSBO, remember that the costs of advertising and getting your home ready for buyers will fall on you, along with all of the legal risks in the long run. Or, if you want to avoid all of the hassles of the traditional selling process, you can sell to a direct cash buyer like Homesmith.
If you’re a baby boomer looking into ways to sell your home in Greater Los Angeles, the easiest and most convenient way to sell is by selling directly to Homesmith Group – no repairs needed, no showings and no commissions. Don’t even both to sweep it out! We will buy it as it is, close when you are ready, and our services are absolutely FREE!
Learn more about how Homesmith Group can help you by sending us a message or giving us a call at (855) HOMESMITH (466-3764) today!