How To Sell A House Fast In Knoxville TN

The Quick Guide For Home Sellers

How Do You Sell A House Fast, With No Stress, Even In Challenging Circumstances?

How homes are being bought and sold is changing. Many Tennessee homeowners also face a variety of challenges which can make the old school method of listing with a Realtor a real headache .

Fortunately, no matter what the situation, and even if you’ve had trouble selling before, there is a solution for selling a house fast, and that is right for you.

What are your options? Let’s find out…

Ways to Sell a House in East TN

Maybe you have some one in your family who is a real estate agent who has been begging to list your home, or you seen these “We Buy Houses Knoxville” signs around or received a letter from a potential buyer. There is more than one way to sell a home in East Tennessee. It’s about finding the right fit for you and your situation.

Should I List My Home with a Realtor?

Realtors can offer a valuable service to some home sellers and buyers, in certain conditions. If you are a first time home buyer, they may be beneficial in showing you the ropes. As a seller, if you have a beautiful looking home, are willing to (and can afford to) spend the cash they recommend on renovating and staging your home, and don’t mind months of open houses and strangers parading through your home, in the hope of getting a better price, it’s worth considering their services.

Most of today’s buyers just don’t have that luxury or amount of patience. Especially when it typically means locking yourself into a 12 month listing. If you try to cancel, they may hit you with heavy  fees. The big problem is that there are no guarantees for your commitment. No guarantee of a sale or of them making a specific investment or effort. Sometimes they’ll just grab every overpriced listing they can to make their other listings look good or bump up their numbers on the office rankings board.

Most real estate agents, even those who work for big national brand names are pretty green, and don’t know how to handle more challenging scenarios. For example, inherited homes, foreclosures, liens and complicated ownership structures or repair issues.

So, if you do decide to go this route, make sure you demand an ‘open listing’. That means a non-exclusive agreement, with no cancellation fees, which also allows you to sell your home on your own, without paying them any commission.

Discount & Flat Fee Realtor Services

Some real estate brokerages advertise themselves as discount or flat fee solutions. The idea is that they essentially put your home for sale online, and hope for the best. That’s all you get for your money. What they typically don’t tell you is that in order for any other agents to show your home or bring a buyer, you are still going to have to offer a buyers’ agent commission. Many agents won’t show discount rate listings. Not when they can show a neighboring home to their clients and get paid 3% of the sales price instead of just 2%.

Remember, time is your enemy when it comes to selling your home. The longer it takes, the most money you fork out in holding onto it, the less you profit, and the more risk of damage or deterioration, or the market going down, or just a neighbor selling cheap and destroying your home’s value.

The promise of saving 1% on fees could cost you tens of thousands in value if your home is sitting on the market for months.

DIY or FSBO

Many East Tennessee home sellers are eager to avoid paying hefty Realtor commissions. They don’t want to be locked into a long agreement with no guarantees. So, they take the DIY route instead. Like, For Sale By Owner (FSBO), and doing a little marketing themselves.

Yes, you can legally do this. You can put out yard signs, hand out flyers, pay for newspaper ads, put your home for sale on Craigslist. Unfortunately, only very few homes ever sell thanks to yard signs. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, only 7% of homes sell based on a yard sign or open house. Craigslist has become so full of fraud, scams and criminals, it’s become a serious danger for users.

You can sell your home on your own, and save many thousands of dollars in the process. Though instead of advertising to the world your home may be vacant and ripe to be broken into, or waiting for months on end and spending money to advertise it, it may be smarter just to contact the ready, willing and able buyers who are looking for homes in your neighborhood and get a direct offer from them. Save time, save money.

iBuyers

There’s been a new breed of so called ‘iBuyers’ popping up on the internet too. In some really big cities these internet buyers backed by big funds are trying to buy thousands of home a month to flip. They’ll offer you an offer online, and a completely digital process. Make you a low ball offer, hoping you are desperate enough to take it, and then relist it on their website for thousands of dollars more the next day. For the privilege they often charge a 7% to 9% or more fee. A cost that can often be more than the typical Realtor commission, and they offer you less. It may be convenient if you are in an area they are buying in, and your house is in good condition, and there are no quirks. Though you can lose a lot of money in the process.

East Tennessee Home Buyers

East Tennessee Home Buyers, LLC is a local professional home buyer. We buy houses in Knoxville, TN. As well as Farragut, Maryville and Oak Ridge. We are your neighbors. We are a small family owned company, who helps homeowners who want to sell swiftly, without the hassle or commissions.

The advantage of selling directly to local investors like us is that we not only know the area and are likely to offer more than an online buyer who is out of the area and doesn’t see the value, but we can pay all cash and close in as little as one week.

We care about the community, and are both looking for owners we can help to liquidate their real estate assets and get out of the burden and onto a fresh start, but also care about carefully improving local homes and making them healthy and affordable for other families who really need them.

What really sets experienced buyers like us apart in addition to this is that we don’t require appraisals, or any repairs to be made. We’ll buy your home just as it is, in a few days. More importantly, we have the experience to buy homes that are in complicated situations.

Many owners don’t realize all the little quirks that can make it almost impossible to sell through a Realtor to a buyer who needs a home loan. At least not until the day they are supposed to close. Then it all falls apart. Months are wasted, and in some cases the buyer or Realtor might want to sue you for all the hassle and lost time and money.

Overcoming Common Challenges in Selling a Home in East TN

There are a wide variety of unexpected hurdles you can run into when trying to sell your home in TN. Some might seem like little quirks. Or you might not even know they’ll be issues. Though they can prevent most buyers from buying, and most agents don’t know how to handle it.

Here are just some of them.

Selling an Inherited Home

Selling a home you’ve inherited doesn’t have to be traumatic or complicated. There may be a little waiting if the property goes into probate, though it can generally be a very fast process, with a cash transaction.

The problem is that most home buyers and agents just don’t know how to navigate the paperwork and process. They don’t know how to provide the help you need. With the right help and a buyer experienced in these transactions you can turn that old home and new burden, into the help that your benefactor really wanted it to be.

An experienced and caring buyer can even help you work with other heirs, and moving companies to get everyone on the same page and help sort and take care of any leftover belongings.

Selling a Home that Needs Repairs

Whether it is storm damage, fire damage, years of neglected maintenance, or simply age and being outdated, a home that needs repairs and modernizing isn’t typically a good fit for a Realtor or the MLS. You might get some low ball offers, but sooner or later your agent is going to tell you to find the money to give it a makeover. Even if you have the funds to do this, it is usually a huge gamble. If you check the Cost Vs. Value Report, the vast majority of home improvements actually lose money. They certainly don’t add a penny to the appraised value. Plus, if you get the colors and design wrong, you can do even more damage, and turn off more buyers.

It’s safer, simpler and cleaner to sell to a buyer who will take it just as is and do the repairs themselves. Just keep in mind that this really needs to be a cash home buyer. Most mortgage companies will ultimately deny loans for houses that need a lot of repairs.

Selling a Home in a Divorce or Separation

Selling the home is virtually the absolute best move in a divorce or separation. It may not seem desirable in the moment. It might be the one thing one (or both) party really wants to fight for. It’s understandable. Unfortunately, even if you are the one who gets to stay there, it will quickly have an expensive emotional toll. It can be unaffordable. Having joint owners who don’t live together can lead to all types of financial and credit problems, no matter what your attorney or the judge says.

The key is making sure it is done legally, and everyone gets on board with the sale. A caring buyer can help navigate this process without the craziness, and help you get into something new for a fresh start.

Title Issues

Title issues plague far more properties in Tennessee than you’d think. Unfortunately, they often aren’t discovered until the day of closing. This can include building permit and code violation issues, mechanics’ liens, unpaid property taxes and federal tax liens or judgements as well as deed restrictions, title fraud, flaws in the chain of title, prepayment penalties and more. Sometimes these liens and fines can far exceed the value of the home. Even the small ones can prevent a typical buyer from buying or getting financed and title insurance.

What most don’t realize is that these lien and title issues can often be negotiated for pennies on the dollar. Or there are workarounds which will allow the new buyer to assume the issues. This can create thousands of extra dollars in proceeds for you as a seller and make it possible to sell a house that you’d otherwise be stuck with until it lands in foreclosure.

Foreclosure

There are actually many causes of foreclosure. It may not be falling behind on mortgage payments at all. It can be late tax bills, insurance paperwork mix ups, or fraud. Many have even lost their homes for less than $100 in junk fines they didn’t even know they owed.

Even the grandest celebrities, Realtors and politicians have fallen into foreclosure. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. The only thing to be embarrassed about is not taking the help that is available. You can still sell your home when in foreclosure. Though you do have to act very quickly, and have a buyer who knows how to talk to the banks. Every day means fewer options, and less money.

Underwater Homes

As of mid-2018 Zillow reported that around 7% of Knoxville, TN homes were in a negative equity position. Meaning they owe more than the property was worth. Many more will be in this situation if you count those with no equity, or not enough to cover a 6% Realtor fee and closing costs and taxes. This number is only expected to get larger as the housing market corrects again. Every day can send owners deeper underwater.

No agent may be able to help, but there are savvy buyers who may still be willing to take on your property and help you get out of the debt. Don’t give up until you ask.

Trouble Tenants & Failed Flips

‘Reality’ TV has made investing in real estate and trying to fix and flip houses cool. Sadly, the reality is that it is much tougher and riskier than portrayed on the screen.

New real estate investors commonly get stuck on their first flip, run out of money, can’t rent it out, and can’t sell to a regular buyer who needs financing.

Others have run into difficult tenants who not only refuse to pay or leave, but threaten malicious and frivolous lawsuits .

Don’t give up if you are in this situation. Another investor who has access to more funds and an attorney to handle the tenants, as well as just bringing a fresh party to the issue can enable a sale and release you from this money pit.

Summary

There is more than one way to sell a house in TN. Even under the most difficult circumstances you can sell your home. This may depend on your approach, and the buyer you select. Remember, almost any issue can be overcome. At East Tennessee Home Buyers, we buy houses in Knoxville, TN fast and for fair prices, while helping you navigate any challenges swiftly and always with care and respect. Find out just how much you can save by selling your home to us using this comparison chart.

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