subject: Sell Your House Fast Cash to Professional Home Buyer? You Better Check the fine print! (Third in a Series) [print this page] Selling your house fast in this market is a real accomplishment and sometimes those guys with the signs that say we buy houses that you now see everywhere can give you the help you need. So far in this series I have confessed that I am one of those guys and have been for two decades and have offered some suggestions on how to see if you are dealing with someone dependable. Thats a good start and you need more. Even if the guy or gal you are looking to sell your house to shows up on time, has a long record of buying houses and has never been on the wrong end of a law suit, you need to make sure the contract details are what you think they are. Lots of our advertisements say Real People who Really Buy Houses. What that is getting at is that some of the folks that say they want to buy your house, dont really buy houses. Think contingency. And contingency may well be a four letter word. Here is how it works in some cases. Guy or gal says want to buy your house and the both of you sign a contract. Somewhere in the contract is a contingency that says, basically: You have to sell and I will buy if I want to. Most often that means that they have found someone to buy your house even before they close on it and they make a small profit. Or, they do not find someone to buy your house before they close the transaction and they come back to you and say: My partner did not approve the deal, so I cant buy. I even met one person once who bragged that there was a clause in the contract that said his dog had to approve the sale. Little Wolf Beardsley (Worlds Finest Australian Shepherd) never appeared in any of our contracts and even if he had, he never met a house he didnt want to buy. Now, in all fairness, there is nothing wrong with this arrangement. If the person who is buying your house is skilled in marketing, knows the local market inside and out and can sell your house for more money and faster than you can, they ought to be paid. Real estate agents (and I am one) get paid for selling houses and they most often have no risk. They simply sell the house and get a commission if it sells and if it does not, they are out advertising costs. Your home buyer may close on the house even if he/she cannot sell it as fast as they hoped, and in this market that is a risk. My only reservation is this. If the person buying your house plans to flip it like a pancake, you should know that this is what is happening. If they fail to sell it and turn it back to you because their dog, partner, wife, or hairdresser did not approve of the deal, you should have known that up front. Again, there are circumstances where what you need is extra marketing and expertise and getting the house sold is really what you want. You do not care who is going to be living there. So, I would simply ask this question of the professional home buyer. Are you really buying and will you close the deal on the date on the contract? Or, are you looking to make a quick flip and never own the house? There are some contingencies that are standard in all contracts. You should expect an inspection of the house and a pest control inspection. They should be done within a certain number of days. You may expect a contingency for financing and you will have to provide a marketable title to the house. Things will happen and some sales will not close for reasons unforeseen. But, before you sign the contract, I suggest you find out what your buyer plans to do with the house after your signature is added to the contract. In the next installment, well give you some tips on how you can cut out the middle menlike meand sell it on your own.
Sell Your House Fast Cash to Professional Home Buyer? You Better Check the fine print! (Third in a Series)
