People choose to sell to an investor rather than to a traditional buyer on the open market for several reasons, but primarily because selling to an investor is almost always faster.
If your home has fallen into foreclosure or disrepair from financial difficulty, you need to get out from under debt quickly, or your home doesn’t qualify for a mortgage, an investor sale may be a good option.
Unforeseen life changes like a divorce or job relocation may require you to unload a house quickly to divide assets with a spouse or move to another state with little notice.
Suppose you’ve inherited a property and don’t want to incur an additional mortgage or cannot afford upgrades and repairs to make the house attractive to a traditional buyer. In that case, an investor might be your best choice. Some people just don’t want to deal with the hassle of doing repairs, showings, or open houses, particularly if the property has a tenant currently living in the home.
If you find yourself needing to sell a distressed home in any of these circumstances, you should know how to sell to real estate investorsand the potential benefits.
Benefits of Selling a Home to an Investor
There are several benefits to an investor sale that can make it an attractive option.
It Saves You Money
There’s an old saying, “You have to spend money to make money,” and most traditional home sales require some investment on the part of a home seller.
Most of the time, a seller will have to pay a sizable commission to their agent and, sometimes, the buyer’s as well. Depending on the purchase price of your home, that number can be significant.
If you’re listing your home, your real estate agent will probably recommend some upgrades or repairs to make it more attractive to buyers. A recent estimate claims Americans can spend over $20,000 making repairs and paying realtor commissions when selling their home.
When you sell a home to an investor, you won’t pay any commission fees. Most of them are willing to buy properties “as-is”and don’t require you to make any changes or repairs to the home, saving you a significant amount of money.
It’s a Quicker, Simpler Transaction
If time is of the essence, an investor sale is a great choice. Typically, with a traditional sale, a buyer will require a 45-day escrow period to have the home appraised and inspected and their loan approved. Most cash investors can close on a house in less than a month and are more flexible with closing dates in general.
In addition, when you’re selling to a cash buyer as-is, you don’t have to waste time waiting for repairs and upgrades to be completed on your home before you can sell. As an added incentive, they may let you leave things in the home you don’t want, saving you the hassle of moving unwanted items.
Tips for Selling Your Home to an Investor
While there are several potential benefits to working with an investor, there are a couple of drawbacks to consider. Generally speaking, selling to an investor will mean a lower sales price. An investor is less likely to have the kind of emotional connection to a house that would have a traditional buyer offer more for a home. They’re also likely to factor in the cost of needed repairs with their offer. But because you’re saving money by forgoing repairs and commission fees, the difference may be negligible.
Another drawback to pursuing an investor sale is the potential for scams. Unlike a realtor, investors aren’t required to be licensed or credentialed to buy a house. There’s no shortage of companies that buy houses, but they aren’t all reputable. Sellers must use prudence and caution when deciding on a trustworthy, qualified investor. In researching a potential investor, there are some steps you should take.
Visit Their Website
An excellent first step in getting to know potential investors is to visit them online. Most professional investors have a website that will give you a feel for the way they do business.
Call Them
When you’re selling a home, you should have confidence in your buyer. You want to work with qualified active investors and not some fly-by-night operation. A great way to get to know the people you’re working with is to call their office. You can ask for a list of recent purchases and other materials to verify their business claims are accurate.
Check Reviews
It should be relatively easy to find reviews of potential investors online. Even small investment companies have some online presence. If you’re not seeing a lot of client feedback, it could indicate that the company is very new and potentially less experienced, or their client reviews aren’t favorable.
Look for Cash Buyers
Ideally, you want to sell your home to a cash buyer. Many investors have funds tied up in other endeavors, which can prolong the sales process. Cash buyers not only pay you in cash, but they also do it quickly and are usually willing to buy a home in almost any condition.
Reputable, Qualified Cash Buyers
If you’re looking to forgo the complications of a traditional home sale and work with an investor, Meli Homes is here to help. As Florida’s top-rated distressed home buyer, Meli is your only choice when it comes to selling your home quickly and efficiently.
We specialize in the purchase of as-is homes and understand the process. We know you deserve a fair price for your home, regardless of its condition, and can facilitate a satisfactory sale.
Meli Homes is comprised of qualified cash buyers, so we can skip the lengthy headache of escrow and loan approval. We can also help you to avoid unnecessary real estate fees.
We have years of experience and countless satisfied clients across Central Florida. We buy houses from Orlando to Melbourne and beyond. We encourage you to research Meli, visit our website, give us a call or explore testimonies about our many success stories.
Call Meli Homes
If you’re considering an investor sale of your home, Meli can answer any questions and provide the assurance you need to move forward.
We are qualified cash buyers with extensive experience in purchasing distressed homes, and we can help you sell your home fast in Orlando or Cocoa Beach, or Tampa.
So don’t wait. We can offer you a competitive purchase price with no hidden fees and a quick turnaround, and you can leave the stress of an unsold home behind you. Call us today at (407) 338-4183 to get started.
This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, real estate, insurance, or investment advice. Meli encourages you to reach out to an advisor regarding your own situation. Please consult with your advisor when making legal or financial decisions.
If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, even the slightest change of circumstances can lead to serious repercussions. Foreclosure can often loom menacingly in the background for many facing financial adversity.
If foreclosure is imminent, you may want to sell your house quickly to avoid the hit on your credit. However, it can be challenging to sell a house quickly, even when it’s in good condition. Listing your home yourself creates additional stress during an already challenging time, and a realtor will take a commission, decreasing the amount of cash you’ll get.
If you want to sell your house fast before foreclosure, you should work with a qualified cash home buyer like Meli Homes.
What is Foreclosure?
If you fall behind on your mortgage payments, your bank or mortgage provider has several steps to take before considering a foreclosure. You will receive several notifications reminding you of your late payments.
If you cannot continue paying your mortgage, your bank will sell your house to recover the cost of your defaulted mortgage. If at all possible, you’ll want to avoid foreclosure since it will have a drastic effect on your credit report for the next seven years, making it difficult to buy a home or a car in the future.
Can You Sell Your House in Pre-Foreclosure?
To avoid foreclosure, many homeowners decide to sell their property quickly and use the profits from the sale to pay off their mortgage. A house in pre-foreclosure becomes a distressed property, meaning that you’ll need to approach the sale differently.
In traditional sales, it can take months for you to find a buyer, hammer out a deal, and close. However, if you’re selling your property to avoid foreclosure, you’ll need to speed up the process.
How Can I Sell My House Before Foreclosure?
Once you’ve decided to sell your house, your strategy will be mostly determined by how far along in the foreclosure process you are. If you have just received your first notice, you have more time to prepare your home for viewing than if you have already had your final warning.
Before trying to sell your home, you’ll need to figure out how much you can get for it. Look at other houses for sale in your area in a similar condition to yours to get an idea of the going rate. You can also consult with someone experienced in buying distressed properties.
You can also try to increase the value of your home by making repairs. Foundation problems, plumbing issues, or visibly cracked walls can intimidate buyers and reduce potential offers.
However, even if you want to sell the property as-is, that is, without making any extensive repairs, consider making cosmetic improvements. A fresh coat of paint on the door and the walls, removing clutter, or cleaning up the yard can all be done cheaply and relatively quickly and significantly improve the buyer’s first impression of your property.
List the Property Yourself
If your home is in good condition, and the housing market is good for sellers, you could try listing the property yourself.
However, listing a property involves a lot of work. You’ll need to advertise, organize open houses, research potential buyers, and handle all the legal paperwork. You’ll likely want a lawyer to look over the documents before you both sign them, which will cost you money.
Work With a Real Estate Agent
If you don’t have time to list the property yourself, you might want to look into hiring a real estate agent. Although this will decrease the amount of time you’ll need to put into selling your property, it could take a long time and cost you more money.
Most real estate agents work on commission, meaning you won’t receive all the profits from the sale. If you need the money from your sale to pay off your mortgage and avoid foreclosure, working with a real estate agent might not be your best option.
Research Your Buyers
Even if your buyer is a well-known company, you should request information on their financial status and research their reputation. Read online reviews to see what previous customers experienced.
This step is essential, regardless of how you sell your home. If you don’t research your buyer, you may run into problems during closing. If the buyer doesn’t have the financial ability to make the purchase, you’ll need to start over, losing valuable time. For homeowners facing foreclosure, this setback could have disastrous results.
Work With a Cash Home Buyer
If you’re wondering “how can I sell my house fast before foreclosure,” then consider working with a cash home buyer. Unlike real estate agents, cash home buyers don’t take a commission, and they are prepared to pay for your house, regardless of its condition, in cash upfront.
Selling to Meli Homes
If you want to sell a home fast in Orlando, Tampa, or Melbourne, Meli’s process couldn’t be more straightforward. First, you’ll need to send a message through the online form or call to request a meeting. Within 24 hours, our team will respond to ask for more information about your property and set up a walkthrough.
To ensure our team at Meli sees your house at its best, try to clean and remove clutter before they arrive for the walkthrough. Once we’ve viewed your home, we will send you a fair and reasonable offer, often on the same day.
Take your time to review the offer. There are no strings attached, so you can pull out of the deal any time before signing the papers. Once you’ve agreed, we will handle all the closing and legal fees and ensure that everything is in order for the sale. Finally, you will receive your payment in full in cash.
The whole process takes under 30 days, meaning that even sellers with short timeframes can avoid foreclosure.
Sell Your House With Meli Today
If you’re facing foreclosure on your property, call Meli Homes today. With our simple process and helpful team members, we offer a stress-free option for homeowners who need to sell their distressed properties quickly.
Call us at (407) 338-4183 or fill out our online form to start the process of selling your home.
This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, real estate, insurance, or investment advice. Meli encourages you to reach out to an advisor regarding your own situation. Please consult with your advisor when making legal or financial decisions.
Meli Homes was formerly known as Simple Sale Central Florida as mentioned in this video and transcript, but the information provided is still just as valuable! If you have any questions, please reach out to the team at Meli!
For your ease, we have provided a transcript of the Distressed Home Q&A Recording.
Hey, this is Evan with Simple Sale Central Florida. We’re here for our monthly Q&A. It’s December, heading into the end of the year and we just wanted to make an introduction.
Simple Sale Central Florida’s mission is to bring transparency and accountability to distressed home sales. We buy properties throughout Central Florida – currently that’s Orlando, Tampa, Titusville, Orange County, Hillsborough, Pinellas County, Brevard, Seminole, Osceola and everything in between.
Simple Sale specializes in buying properties that have issues such as excessive repairs, probates, liens, judgments, foreclosures. Anything that isn’t typical in a transaction in buying or selling a house. We specialize in taking care of that. We also list properties for people that have a distressed property and that are in a rush to sell. We can list your property and work to take care of issues and help you manage your distressed home sale.
With that being said, we’ll get into the first question. I think we have 10 or so questions here that we’ll go through.
1. What is a distressed property?
As I was just saying, we typically define distressed as a property that has excessive repairs, or legal issues like probate, liens, judgments, foreclosures, anything of that nature, or disputes. Anything that brings complexity to a home sale is what we consider a distressed property.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be in bad condition, it may just be a property that has a complexity to be able to sell it. Maybe there’s a lien on it, maybe there’s ownership by a person that’s deceased. Or maybe there’s ownership by a person that doesn’t want to sell but you and other people need to sell your ownership of the property.
Whatever the case may be, we define all of those things as distressed because it makes the situation complex and it makes the situation confusing for the average home seller. That’s how we like to think about distressed property.
2. How can I get rid of my distressed home?
Really, there are a couple of options. (A) You can go out and find someone to try to buy it. As I was talking about, distressed may mean that there’s legal issues on the property. If there’s legal issues on the property a lot of buyers will not take on the property. You may have to get an attorney involved to take care of the legal issues. So one way is to go out and find buyers.
Option (B) is to work with an agent that specializes in distressed property cases. The benefit of working with a distressed property buyer specifically is because they’ll specialize in cases of distressed property. They’ll be used to working with attorneys on legal issues, working with HOAs on HOA foreclosure issues, HOA lien issues, working with the stop holds, things of that nature.
If you’re trying to sell your distressed property, you really want to be specific about who you find, that they specialize in those types of things. We often see buyers that don’t know how to handle those situations. You’ll go through 5 buyers and none of them are able to close on the property because they’re not used to dealing with those types of situations and do not want to figure out how to deal with those situations. We see that a lot.
Make sure that whoever you work with, whether it be Simple Sale or another company, that they do in fact specialize in dealing with distressed properties.
3. How does a lien work?
A lien is essentially put on a property, and whenever it is sold or changes hands, the title company and the underwriters for the title insurance will see on the title commitment that there is a lien on the property and that company or that person is wanting to get paid for what they believe to be money owed.
It can be a mechanic’s lien or an IRS lien, among others. A mechanic’s lien comes from a contractor or a vendor of some kind. Let’s say you buy doors for your house and you don’t pay for them. The vendor will put a mechanic’s lien on the property for their money owed for selling you the doors you never paid them back for. Things of that nature. They’ll put it on the property in hopes that they eventually get paid back if the property ever does sell. I would say a majority of houses that we deal with have some form of a lien.
Typically what we see are liens in the form of judgments owed to the county or city in which it’s in. That may be for things as simple as utilities to something bigger as lawyer fees or even IRS liens.
Essentially a lien just protects or helps a person or company feel that they’ll get paid back eventually for what work they feel they completed. Liens are negotiable in some instances. If a contractor wants to be paid back for work completed and you think he charged you too much so that’s why you didn’t pay him, maybe he’s charging you $10,000. Maybe you can negotiate those liens down to $7,000 or $8,000 or $5,000 – that is possible.
However, some liens are not, like IRS liens typically are not negotiable. That’s essentially the gist of how it works.
4. Do tax liens go away after you sell a property?
In almost all cases when we close on a property, those tax liens will be taken care of. They’ll be paid before closing on the property and they won’t go with you and they won’t be attached to the property. Depending on what type of tax lien, if it’s property tax liens they’ll be paid out at close and taken out of your disbursement for taxes owed that you haven’t paid.
In very rare cases we would buy a property that did have tax liens for whatever reason, but usually those are going to be paid and they will not follow you. Typically tax liens will attach to the house and they won’t attach to you personally. So, we do sell houses with tax liens. They will not travel with you to the next property you buy and they won’t attach to you personally. In all situations they are attached to the property
5. Should I sell my house as-is or fix it up?
We get this question a lot. I talk with people a lot about if they should sell their property as-is or fix it up and it really depends on your expertise in rehabbing property. If you’re confident in your ability to rehab a property or you know people that can rehab a property, I would always suggest that you fix it up yourself and sell it because you are going to get more money.
The problem we see – we’ll buy properties from people who tried to fix it up themselves and they got bad contractors, people they thought they could trust and they couldn’t. They charged them too much, they couldn’t complete the work, etc., etc. Make sure if you’re going to take the journey of fixing up your property that you are confident in your ability to make sure it gets completed with trustworthy contractors because it can be pretty bad.
We’ve seen people get taken advantage of when they try to fix up their property to get more money out of it and things go bad. They can be out a lot of money with very little work completed. It really depends on your expertise so that would be the deciding factor on whether you fix it up or just sell it as-is.
I would say for the majority of people Just selling the property as-is is going to be a lot less stressful and easier on the person. Even though you will definitely get less for it and you won’t probably net the same amount of money. You have to think about if things go bad when you are fixing it up, do you want to take that risk and do you feel confident that you can get it completed and get the house sold. It really depends on the person’s situation.
6. I found out the home I inherited needs probate. What should I expect?
We deal with a ton of probate properties. Sometimes the people know, but sometimes we are under a purchase contract and we go to buy the property and we realize that it does need a probate and the seller didn’t even know. We do get those situations, we’re dealing with 2 currently.
You should expect that it’s going to take anywhere from 30-90 days to go through the courts if it’s a simple probate, but we’ve had probates go for a year. However, in most situations it’s 30-90 days depending on how complicated the probate is.
If you were to work with Simple Sale on your probate you would be working with our attorneys in-house and essentially everything would be taken care of. We would just give you progress updates and ask you for documentation as needed. If you want to do a probate yourself you’ll go find a probate real estate lawyer that specializes in that and they’ll walk you through the process.
That’s really your 2 different options and you typically cannot sell the house you cannot close on the sale of a house until the probate. You get a motion for sale of real estate or real property approved by the courts which is late in the probate process and at that point typically the personal representative will be able to sell the property through a personal representative’s deed. That’s a very high level explanation on how the process would work.
7. How do you handle taxes on home sales?
This is an interesting one because without us explaining to the client how taxes work and that they’re going to be paid, people don’t really think about that money coming out.
For easy explanation, let’s say you sell the property at the end of June – you sell it July 1. You’ve owned it for 6 months of the year. When you sell that property if you’ve already paid the taxes for the year then you will be reimbursed one-half of the taxes that you paid. If you close on July 1 you won’t own that property for the last half of the year. If you paid $1,000 in taxes you’ll be reimbursed $500 in taxes because you paid out for the year.
Let’s say you haven’t paid taxes for the year and you’re late, it’s July 1 and you close on the house. You are selling the house for $100,000. $500 is going to be taken out of your proceeds to pay for the taxes that you haven’t paid yet.
You, as a seller will always cover the taxes for the period of time which you owned the property. If you owned the property for the first half of the year, you’re obligated to pay those taxes and a lot of people don’t think about that. We try to disclose that very early in the process that those are costs. Most people understand but some people don’t and it’s an expense that they’re not expecting.
There can be confusion but it’s something that if you own the property you’re obligated to pay those taxes. Then, for the rest of the year, the buyer – if it’s Simple Sale or someone else – would pay those taxes.
8. Do you have any tips or advice for selling a house that needs repairs?
I think this is pretty similar to an earlier question. The easiest things to do that can help are just make sure the house is clean and that junk is removed. Very obvious stuff, like cosmetic fixes. Really easy stuff is just painting walls. That can give the house a better appeal.
Maybe it costs you $1,000 to repaint, but it may bring you $5,000 because the feel of the house is improved. Let’s say the walls are yellow and you repaint them to a neutral color. It could quite possibly bring you a lot more for the house than what it costs. Maybe it’s $1,000 and it brings you $5,000 more dollars or something of that nature. Even though you may need repairs, taking little steps like that can help you with bringing out more equity in the property on sale.
It’s just small things like that. If there’s junk around inside and outside the property, take $1,000 and clean the property. Hire someone to clean the property and junk the stuff that needs to be thrown away. That, maybe it costs you $1,000 but it can save you $5,000. It can bring you $5,000 just because the appeal of the house is better. That’s really the biggest one and the easiest way to bring out more equity in the property.
9. Is it possible to sell a distressed home fast?
Yes, of course. It is possible, it depends on why it is distressed. If it’s distressed for legal issues, sometimes those can take a while. There’s also situations where it looks like we might need a probate and we end up figuring out how to avoid a probate. Distressed properties can be sold fast and probably the fastest sales are ones that just need repairs.
You can absolutely sell a distressed property quickly as long as there aren’t some outstanding complex legal issues. If there are, you’ll want to work with a company that handles those issues often and can fix them quickly. You can get a buyer that hasn’t worked with those issues. It may take twice as long to get through it just because they don’t know how to handle the situation. You want to be very cautious in who you pick to close the property with, whether it be an agent or a buyer.
10. What are the typical closing costs?
So this is a good one because an easy rule of thumb is 2%. If you’re selling a house for $100,000, typical closing costs will be 2% of that. In almost all of our transactions, we pay closing costs. I think most home buyers, more specifically cash home buyers, they pay closing costs as well, so it’s common.
If you’re selling your property on the market with an agent, let’s say you list it with Simple Sale Realty, you would pay closing costs and those are typically 2%. If you hire an agent they’ll typically charge 5-6% total which is 2.5 or 3% per agent. One for the listing agent and one for the buyer’s agent.
A good rule of thumb is 7-8% of the total cost, if you’re listing the property, will come out of your proceeds. That may sound like a lot, but if you are lucky to have time on your side and you list the property, you’re almost in all situations going to get more money for it if you remain patient and wait for offers to come. So typical closing costs 2% for closing costs, and then 5-6% for commissions.
11. I inherited my dad’s house and he was a bit of a hoarder. How can I sell his home?
For hoarder houses that we’ve bought, we’ll just buy the property as-is. We’ve had very complex situations. We once had a house that was in probate and a hoarder house. There was also a bio-hazard issue in which someone died in the property and wasn’t found for a few weeks.
We bought that property as-is, no contingencies. I think that one in particular we bought with no inspection period. We did one or two walk-throughs, bought the property as-is, did the probate and closed on the it, no changes. A biohazard team cleaned it up and we had a team clear out the property. You can absolutely sell that property.
I don’t know how many people would go to those types of lengths if it’s a complex situation. We do, Simple Sale does. I don’t know how many other buyers do deal with that. Other cash buyers will buy a hoarder house assuming that there’s no other complexities on top of it. Besides that you’re not going to be able to list it. In most situations you’re going to want to do an outright cash sale to a distressed home buyer.
Wrapping Up
So, that was the last question. If there’s any other questions – I don’t think I’ve seen any comments with questions – I see Dontae commented but I don’t see any questions. If there are no other questions we’ll go ahead and close this one out.
Once again this is the December Q&A. I appreciate people who are watching this and who view the recording. We always upload it on Facebook and on the website and on various social media. You can reach us at 321-732-6477or you can go to our website, simplesalecentralflorida.com.
Our mission, as I said at the beginning, is to bring transparency and accountability to distressed home sales whether that be we buy your property we clear up your lien issues or we list your distressed property. We want the client to have a transparent experience with an accountable
company that will work with them to get them through a stressful situation.
Once again, you can reach us at 407-338-4183 or at simplesalecentralflorida.com and put in your information. Whether it’s you, whether it’s a family member if it’s a friend you can input that information and we will do our best to help you out with your situation.
When it comes time to sell your home, one question to ask yourself is if it is “up to code.” In other words, are there any current code violations attached to your home? You may or may not be aware of any, but it’s crucial to find out for sure.
Consider having your home inspected to determine where you stand. If you find code violations, or if you already know you have code violations, it doesn’t mean you are unable to sell your home. However, it does mean that you have a choice to make on how you want to proceed with the sale of your home.
What are Code Violations?
There are federal, state, and local residential building codes in place to protect the safety, health, and general welfare of the overall public when it comes to the construction and occupancy of a home. When these building codes aren’t met, your home is in violation.
Building codes are constantly being revised, and if you own an older home, you may find you are not up to code in many areas. However, as long as your home is safe and livable, you can still sell it. From there, the buyer has the option to make updates to bring the house up to code.
If you have made your own improvements or renovations to your home, however, you may be in violation of several areas as well. Did you always file for the proper permits when making those improvements? Did you use appropriate and safe materials? Or, did you pay attention to codes when determining the placement of these improvements or additions? If you answer no to any of these questions, you most likely have a code violation or two.
Example of Code Violations
There is a wide range of common code violations, many requiring only a simple fix, and others being more complex. Some of these are visible, others are hidden. A buyer might never know unless you disclose it to them.
Examples of Code Violations include:
Exhaust fans venting into an attic instead of outdoors
Smoke alarms incorrectly placed
Inadequate ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection on circuits or outlets throughout the home
Polybutylene piping, used between 1978-1995, with poor manufacturing and installment
Unpermitted additions to the home, such as a garage or garage conversion into living space
Inadequate deck connection to the house
Addition of a water heater or other such appliance without a proper permit
Fence height requirement violation
Selling Options to Consider
Once you’ve determined what code violations your home presently has, your options at this point depend largely on how soon you wish to sell and how much you expect to receive for your home. Two options for selling your home include bringing your home up to code and selling it “as-is.”
Repair and Bring Your House Up to Code
To avoid any adverse effect on your home’s sale and price, you can choose to fix all the things that are not up to code.
First, determine what and how many violations your home currently has. For this, you may want to hire a home inspector to give you a full overview of the state of your home. Once you have a list of potential code violations, it’s time to assess your financial situation.
Prepare a draft budget to make the repairs and decide if this is truly an option for you or not. For instance, if you find plumbing is an issue and will cost up to $15,000, potentially, your wallet may not be compatible with making the update needed.
Determine how soon you want or need to sell your home. Can you make the repairs or renovations in time to meet that timeframe?
Sell your Home As-Is
A common option these days is to sell a house with code violations. In other words, sell your home, “as-is.” By disclosing to potential buyers that you are selling the house just as it is, with code violations and all, you can remove yourself from any repairs or renovations required to bring it up to code. In turn, this places the responsibility fully on the new buyer.
Why sell your home as-is? Here are the most common reasons:
Your funds are somewhat limited, and you cannot afford to bring the house up to code.
Your time is limited. Obtaining the necessary permits, making the repairs and renovations necessary, and putting in the labor (or paying for labor) can be time-consuming and lengthy.
Selling your home as-is affects not only your asking price but also the potential buyer pool. A few types of buyers are most interested in buying such properties and are known as distressed home buyers. A distressed home lacks upkeep or is under a state of financial stress, such as behind on mortgage payments and on the road to foreclosure. Homes with code violations also fit within this category.
Distressed home buyers include house renovators and flippers. They also include investors who are experienced in purchasing as-is homes. Meli Homes is an example of this type of buyer, so consider this option to sell your distressed home in Florida.
An investor, sometimes referred to as a cash buyer, will be familiar with the processes involved with buying a home as-is, even those with code violations. Offering you a cash payment, usually within 30 days, you not only rid yourself of the home and its needed repairs but do so quickly. Now you can turn around and purchase a home that is already up to code and sleep well at night.
Sell a Home with Code Violations with Meli
Selling a house with code violations doesn’t have to be complicated in the Central Florida area. Whether you live inTampa, Orlando, or Melbourne, Meli can help you! We can buy your home, list it, or point you in the right direction. Contact us today to find out how to sell your home, code violations, and all.
This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, real estate, insurance, or investment advice. Meli encourages you to reach out to an advisor regarding your own situation. Please consult with your advisor when making legal or financial decisions.
If your home has a tax lien on it, you’re probably experiencing financial difficulties. Often, homeowners struggling to pay their property tax or mortgage don’t know where to turn and eventually face foreclosure and a subsequent hit to their credit. But can you sell a house with a property tax lien?
There are ways to avoid foreclosure or other legal actions. To remove a tax lien, you need to pay allowed taxes and any late fees and interest you may have incurred. The easiest way to do this is by selling your property and using the profit to pay off your debts.
It’s not always easy to sell a property with a tax lien. To make the process easier and more profitable, follow these tips.
A tax lien is a type of property lien levied by the Florida Revenue Service when a property owner falls behind in their tax payments. Before placing a tax lien, the FRS will send you a delinquency notice and a bill (Notice of Amount Due).
If you don’t pay your taxes in full within 90 days after receiving the Notice of Amount Due, the FRS will take further action. They may outsource your debt to a collections agency, or they may file a tax lien. Failure to pay certain taxes like property within a set timeline automatically triggers a tax lien.
If you cannot pay your taxes in full, the FRS also has an option to set up a payment plan on a case by case basis.
The Internal Revenue Service can also place a tax lien on your home for unpaid federal taxes.
Removing home liens isn’t always easy. Often, homeowners cannot pay their taxes because of unexpected financial hardships, like lay-offs at work, medical expenses, or car accidents. In addition to causing money problems, these situations make life more stressful.
While the simplest way to remove a tax lien is to pay off the taxes, if you’re in dire financial straits, that may not be possible. The next best answer to how to remove a tax lien from your property is: sell it and use the profits to pay your back taxes.
2. Home Improvement
If you’re going to sell your house, you’ll want to do everything possible to make it attractive to buyers. If you have problems with your plumbing, foundation, or kitchen, you might want to fix them before putting your house on the market.
However, if you don’t have the cash or time, you can focus on smaller projects that will make your home look more appealing. A new coat of paint and a freshly mowed yard will give buyers a better first impression than high grass and cracked walls.
3. Know Your Home’s Value
When determining your selling price, you’ll need to look at several factors. First, you’ll want to see what similar houses are selling for in your area. You’ll also want to look at the current housing market and research recent trends.
Next, you should see how much you have left on your mortgage and how much you owe in property taxes. The goal is to sell your home for enough to pay the remaining mortgage and pay your back taxes in full.
Hopefully, your selling price will cover all your debts because any remaining tax debt will still be owed. However, if you set your price too high, it may take longer to sell your house.
4. Offer in Compromise
Another answer to the question of how to remove a tax lien is negotiating an offer in compromise. If you have almost enough to pay your tax debts, the FRS or IRS may consider allowing an offer in compromise.
Each case is decided individually. The tax service will determine whether you have the financial capability to pay the agreed rate, current expenses, income, and equity of your assets. If the tax service believes you will hold up your end of the bargain, they may agree to accept a lower sum for your tax debt.
However, this option is not for everyone. If your offer is too low, the tax authority may choose to foreclose on your home instead.
5. Find a Cash Home Buyer
So, can you sell a house with a tax lien against it? The answer is yes, but with difficulty. If you choose to go the traditional route of listing your home yourself or working with a real estate agent, you’ll need to add removing the tax lien to the list of things to do before closing. It can be challenging since the house cannot legally change hands with an existing tax lien.
Working with a cash home buyer like Meli makes the process easier. Instead of finding buyers, advertising, arranging multiple open houses, and handling the legal process yourself, you can let us do all the work for you.
Our 4-step process will have you closing in under 30 days, and you won’t need to pay closing fees. We can also provide information and guidance about removing a tax lien and how we purchase homes with existing property liens.
We pay you in full, upfront, in cash. Instead of waiting for a loan to come in or having to cancel a sale because of a buyer’s financial problems, you will receive your payment quickly so you can clear up your tax debt.
Contact Us Today
If you have a tax lien on your home in Florida, selling the property might be the best way to remove it. Call Meli today at(407) 305-5008 to start the process. Within 24 hours, a team member will respond with any questions and set up a no-obligation walkthrough of your property.
Any offer we make has no strings attached, and you can pull out of the deal at any point. If you have any questions throughout the process or merely want some more information about selling a house with a tax lien, our team is always happy to help.
This article is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, real estate, insurance, or investment advice. Meli encourages you to reach out to an advisor regarding your own situation. Please consult with your advisor when making legal or financial decisions.
