Experiences with Home Buying Services/Investors

[gabrewer]

Hi all;


As my wife and I advance slowly but surely to our FIRE date and hopefully get out of the 1MY loop, we are considering our options for selling our home.


We are very much in a frame of mind to sell "as is." Our home is in pretty good shape for one built in 1988 in suburban Atlanta, with a number of renovations and improvements done over the years. But like any, it probably needs some upgrades here and there that we really don't want to make. We would just stay here if we undertook that expense.



So I've been doing research on home buying/home investor companies that would bypass the traditional real estate agent system. It appears to me that there are basically two models out there.


(1) Companies like Offer Pad or Open Door (from whom I get several mailings per month) that will make a cash offer but basically pay themselves the traditional real estate commission (a service fee they call it) and require the seller to pay closing costs. Although these companies position themselves against traditional realtors and agents, I'm not sure I see an advantage beyond avoiding the hassle of showings, negotiations, etc.



(2) Investors or investor intermediaries (Sundae is one that seems to be active in this market) who will make a cash offer with no further outlay required on the part of the seller. The downside of course is that the offer may be quite a bit below market estimates for obvious reasons. I do give their sites credit for at least being honest about that.



I'm interested in the experiences of anyone here who has gone either of these routes. Do you feel you got fair value in comparison to using a traditional realtor or agent? Would you do it again? Are there "gotchas" we should be wary of?


Thanks

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Generally those services are going to rip you off. They are great for folks who have inherited houses that are thrashed and they have ZERO desire to put any work into. My DW is in the R/E business and is very familiar with the ATL market (she is the broker in a real estate management firm with homes in Georgia). Houses are selling like hotcakes there and while Norcross isn't the most desired area in ATL, it's still wanted...so unless the house is an absolute piece of crap, you will get more by just listing it traditionally. DWs tells me almost on a daily basis how quickly homes are selling there...her agents can't even take a day off because it's so crazy.

Updates used to almost be required to get the price you want; not so much these days. Offer it "as is" and see what offers come it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[RetireeRobert]

You have a home built in 1988? What are you worrying about. Sell it the traditional way via a realtor and MLS/Zillow/Redfin/et al system to get the best value for you out of your home.

In the current crazy sellers' market, chances are you will in fact end up selling it "as is" anyway. No inspection, no repairs required by buyer, maybe even an all cash purchase.

The ways you mentioned are two ways to about guarantee you "do not" get anywhere near a fair value for your home sale. IMHO.