If you’re considering selling a house that needs repairs but don’t have the finances to make the required fixes, you have several options. One possible recourse is selling the home as-is. And believe it or not, you can even do so without losing money in the process.
Across central Florida and much of the country, it’s not uncommon for individuals to face financial misfortune that necessitates selling their house quickly. In many cases, these buyers need the money from the sale immediately. This may be to evade foreclosure, pay off property taxes, or resolve some other financial or legal issue. If they can’t find a buyer fast enough at their asking price, they may find themselves in deeper financial trouble.
Do you want to sell a house as-is without taking a financial loss? Here’s what you need to know about the process.
What Does it Mean to Sell Your House As-Is?
Selling a home “as-is” simply means that the seller lists their house for sale in its current condition, without making repairs before closing. For the buyer, this means that what they see with the property is what they get when they purchase it.
Under most state laws, including Florida, the seller must provide a disclosure document that details any defects or other conditions that could negatively impact the house’s value. These details must be disclosed before a sale can be made, even when a buyer does not specifically request them.
If you have a distressed property that you’re unable to maintain or need to relocate on short notice, you may not have time to make renovations or repairs. By selling to a cash home buyer, you can get the property off your hands within 30 days.
Can Settle Debts
For homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage and are on the brink of foreclosure, selling their house as-is can be a convenient way to readily access cash that can be used to help settle debts.
Unload Unwanted Inherited Property
Some homeowners may find themselves with a property that they inherited that requires too much work or money to transform. Regardless of your reasons for selling inherited property, selling as-is can help you bypass the tedious and costly process of improving the property. It can also allow you to focus on healing from the loss of your loved one.
It’s important to understand what’s expected of you as the seller and what you can do to sell it quickly and without financial loss.
Understand Seller Expectations
Once you’ve decided to sell your house as-is, you’ll need to follow your state’s disclosure laws carefully. Since you’re selling it without making any repairs, you legally need to disclose any faulty conditions within the home to your buyer. This transparency will help you avoid paying for any issues down the road that you failed to reveal upfront.
Additionally, being transparent to the buyer about any other financial issues, such as judgment or tax liens, will decrease the chances of them backing out.
You should also help prospective buyers understand that while you’re selling as-is, they still have the right to inspect. So, should they find anything they are not comfortable with purchasing as-is, they can back out of the purchase.
Understand Market Conditions
To set a realistic asking price, you’ll need to gain an understanding of your area’s current market conditions. You can utilize various tools and assistance to help you better determine the market conditions that pertain to your neighborhood and housing type.
These tools include online forums to find local opinions about the market in which you live, home value estimators, or real estate agents. Working with a real estate agent can help you obtain your home’s most accurate value. They can readily access data to perform quick and precise comparative analyses.
However, using a real estate agent entails commissions, which may limit your profits from the sale. You can save the most money by self-appraising your home.
Choose and Vet Your Buyers Carefully
Once you have offers, you’ll need to decide who you want to sell to and ensure you’re vetting them carefully.
No matter the buyer, it’s best practice to request financial records to ensure they’re capable of making the purchase. By working with a cash home buyer, you can reduce the buyer’s risk of backing out last minute or coming up short on cash. These companies typically are part of a trusted network of investors and don’t need to apply for a mortgage to make the purchase.
Additionally, working with a cash home buyer can help you skip the complex listing process, making your sale fast. Because these buyers prefer to purchase a house as-is, you won’t lose money on expensive repairs. Plus, with Meli, you won’t have to pay fees, closing costs, or commissions.
If you opt to go with a cash buyer, do your homework to ensure you’re working with a reputable company. Doing so will better your chances of being offered a fair price for your house’s value.
Just because you’re selling a house that needs repairs doesn’t mean you have to sell it for a loss. By providing the required disclosures, understanding market conditions, and leveraging the tools at your disposal, you can sell your house as-is without losing money.
If you’re ready to sell, Meli Homes can help. Send us a message through our contact form today! We’ll get back to you within 24 hours to initiate the buying process.
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.
Selling a home can be a stress-inducing process under the best circumstances. If you’re having difficulty selling a home, it’s additionally frustrating. Current figures estimate that it takes an average of 3 weeks to sell in Central Florida. So if your home is still on the market a month or more after the listing date, it might be time to reevaluate and figure out why your home isn’t selling.
The market naturally fluctuates, so sometimes a house sits for an extended period simply because there are too many houses on the market or too few buyers. While you can’t control the real estate market, you can control a lot about the home selling process. Here, we explore what makes a house harder to sell.
It’s Priced Too High
One of the most common mistakes people make when attempting to sell a property is pricing it too high. Especially if you think you owe more than the house is worth and want to sell, you may be tempted to price the home above the market to recoup as much as you can.
It can be tricky to find that balance between a price that’s attractive to buyers and satisfactory to the seller. Before pricing your home, determine its fair market value based on the sale of comparable homes in the area. You can browse local listings or ask a qualified realtor for advice when setting a price.
It Has Poor Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is an old real estate phrase that refers to the first impression your property makes on a buyer. Homes that appear run-down or have visible damage can turn-off a buyer immediately.
Sometimes a little cleanup or some fresh paint can spruce up a home’s exterior relatively quickly at manageable costs. Trimming trees and hedges, raking leaves, and mowing the lawn can be accomplished over a weekend and go a long way in improving the appeal of a home.
If your home requires a significant overhaul, you may not be interested in expending the energy or the money for major repairs or updates and prefer to sell the house “as-is.”
As-is homes can be difficult to sell on the traditional open market. They typically appeal to a particular type of buyer who is comfortable with property renovation and prepared to pay a fair price without requiring any additional work on your part. Cash home buyers like Meli Homes are always looking to purchase homes, even if they need some TLC.
It’s a Fixer-Upper
While some homebuyers relish the idea of a home they can customize according to their tastes, others are less eager to tackle a project.
For example, if the home is outdated, it may be less attractive to buyers looking for a turnkey property. Many buyers have difficulty seeing past undesirable cosmetic issues like damaged flooring or an outdated kitchen from the 1960s.
Some updates are relatively straightforward. You could add some fresh, neutral paint or switch out some old light figures or drawer pulls. Overly cluttered homes don’t show as well as cleaner, tidier homes. Simplifying and removing excess furniture or decor can open up your space and make it more appealing to buyers.
If you do the math and determine renovation costs will likely exceed any profit you’ll see from a sale, it might not be worth your time and money to renovate. If you’ve fallen behind on your mortgage, you’re in foreclosure, or the home isn’t up to code, your home may qualify as distressed under Florida law and require special consideration.
If you are trying to sell a distressed home, consider speaking with a professional specializing in difficult-to-sell homes. They can help you to determine your best course of action for a quicker, financially sound sale.
The professionals at Meli Homes have extensive experience in buying and selling distressed properties. Their 30-day process means you can sell your home fast in Orlando or anywhere in Central Florida, from Kissimmee to Tampa to Palm Bay.
You’re Getting Bad Advice
If your home has been sitting on the market longer than is desirable, it’s a good idea to consult with an experienced realtor who knows how to sell a difficult house. Working with the wrong agent often leads to lower sales prices and extended time on the market. You need an expert to help you navigate the unique circumstances of your home sale.
Any time you’re selling a property, you should know something about the company with which you’re working. We recommend taking the time to research potential companies, to read reviews and testimonials from previous clients. Past performance is a great predictor of future behavior. If you’re unable to find a lot of information about a company, it could mean they’re very new to the process of selling difficult homes, or they don’t have a good record with former customers.
In addition, difficult-to-sell homes are a niche market, and the success of the sale is heavily dependent on finding the right buyer for your home. At Meli Homes, we buy houses quickly for cash. We have helped countless home sellers get out from under the burden of a distressed property throughout Central Florida.
At Meli Homes, we have our finger on the pulse of the real estate market. We specialize in buying homes that are traditionally more difficult to sell. If you want to sell a distressed home at a fair price, ask us about our easy, 4-step process.
Call Meli Homes Today
The process of selling a home can be incredibly overwhelming, particularly if it isn’t the most updated one on the block. At Meli Homes, we make the selling process simple, quick, and efficient.
If you’re tired of requests for updates and repairs, prepping for open house weekends, and enduring the agony of waiting too long for your house to sell, give us a call or send us a message with the details of your home, and we’ll set up a walkthrough within 24 hours.
Let us take the stress out of the home selling process by giving you a fair price for your home. Call Meli Homes today at (407) 338-4183 for qualified, expert advice from our friendly team and make your home sale dreams a reality.
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 back here this month for our monthly Distressed Home Q&A, our January Q&A. Just to quickly introduce myself, I’m Evan Shelley, I run Simple Sale.
We buy distressed properties throughout Central Florida. That’s Tampa, St. Pete, Pinellas & Hillsborough counties. We even look down in Manatee, Bradenton area, and from there we look at Orlando, Orange County, even Osceola, Seminole Counties. Then on the east coast, Brevard County, including the cities of Melbourne, Titusville, Cocoa, all the way up to Palm Beach.
Like I said, we buy and sell distressed properties throughout Central Florida. We also do list properties if the situation fits. If your property isn’t extremely distressed, there are instances where listing your property makes more sense, so just wanted to put that out there. We do have a brokerage called Simple Sale Realty where we can list your property, and in some situations that does make more sense for the client.
The mission of the company is to bring transparency and accountability to distressed home sales. What that means is we are in a predatory industry where people will try to manipulate their client to get the most money possible, and what we do – yes, we try to make money, a business by definition cannot function without making money – but with everything we do we keep the client in mind. When we make a commission on a deal where we buy and sell a property and make a profit, we feel as if we’ve done everything we can for the client and it’s under our risk tolerance to where we felt that we bought the property at a price that we could make money and the client got an offer that was fair.
With that being said we’ll go on into the questions.
1. What’s different about selling a distressed home vs. a regular one?
If you have a distressed property you’re probably aware of it. To define distressed that means a property with excessive repairs, legal issues, in pre-foreclosure where you’re late on mortgage payments, you can be late on HOA payments for that matter. We recently bought a property that was a couple years late on HOA payments. That was a problem that would define distressed. A regular home is one that needs very little work, typically cosmetic work.
I actually just left a house earlier today that is going to be a listing because it needed very little work. There are some issues that are being worked through with a contractor, but it’s not to the point where this person needs to sell the property at a lower price to someone that’s going to give them a cash offer. It makes more sense to take the time to list it. They’re not in a rush and they’re going through a probate so we are helping them handle the probate with an attorney. We are going to take care of the few repair issues and list the property for them, and they’re going to net a lot more.
As I was speaking about the goal of the company, bringing transparency and accountability: we felt that listing the property made a lot more sense in this situation and the client will net tens of thousands of dollars more.
The difference between a distressed and a regular property is the amount of repairs, legal issues or something that you can’t overcome. You may need to sell the house very, very quickly – you don’t have time to list it and vet offers and let people walk the property. With a regular one, you can list the property, you can take time, you can let people view it. It’s not an issue, there isn’t anything extreme or extraordinary that’s wrong with the house.
2. What does it mean to sell property as-is? Do I need a realtor?
To sell a property as-is can mean something as extreme as you leave the property, you’re moving. We had a lady move to Tennessee and she just left the property literally as it was. She took the things she wanted, she left the rest of it.
That’s the extreme version of selling a property as-is you just kind of leave furniture, everything and you take what you want and you leave the rest and we take it with the repairs needed and then we’ll buy it as-is.
You can sell a property with a realtor as-is. The difference in the problem becomes the selling of property as-is with an agent or realtor is the timeline. If you’re wanting to sell the property in 30 days or less, you’re probably not best suited for listing as-is. You may get some offers that will close that quickly but sometimes it can take a while to get the best and highest offer.
We have a property that we sold as-is with our brokerage and I think we ended up taking maybe 60 days to really vet out offers, because in this industry you get a lot of offers that aren’t quite real. It’s just the state of the industry that we’re in right now. You’ll get offers that aren’t real and they’ll go into contract and they won’t close and then you’re back under contract with someone else and they won’t close. Then if you want to vet all that out you might as well go ahead and tell yourself you’re not going to close that property for 60 days. That’s just part of the process.
So if you don’t have that kind of time you should avoid the realtor route, but if you do, then you should definitely go that realtor route in most as-is situations.
3. What do cash offers for homes entail?
It really depends on the company you’re working with. With our company, a firm cash offer typically entails us have thoroughly vetted the property, we feel confident in the property, we’ve taken an inspection period – anywhere from 3-14 days depending on the property (and in some cases we do zero-day inspection periods) – and we’ve moved through the inspection period and we are ready to close.
With some other companies, they’ll make you cash offers without ever seeing the house. Knowing very little, they’ll just look it up online and throw you a number. It really depends on the company.
Going back to the mission of transparency and accountability, we try to make the process as clear as possible. With that firm cash offer that we make, we will tell you when we’re in this to close on X date.
Some other companies aren’t quite that confident in their offer so you just have to vet out those companies. Typically you can do that by reviewing the companies online, looking at the reviews and things of that nature.
4. When is the best time to sell a distressed house?
In almost all cases that I’ve seen it’s better to sell the house when you’re needing to sell it. I’ve seen cases where people refuse to want to sell for whatever reason. They say, “Well, you know, the offer isn’t high enough. We want your offer plus $30,000” or whatever the case may be. They have unrealistic expectations and things of that nature.
I’ve seen people become very emotional about it, then 3 months later they’re in a worse spot for whatever reason. Maybe there’s excessive repairs to the property, there’s a leaky roof and they don’t want to sell it for less than X price. They can’t get that price and the condition of the property is greatly worsened over that period of time. Then they come back 3 months later and things are worse.
So if your property is truly distressed, there’s some real issues, the honest answer is probably today. The day you think ”I need to sell this property” is probably the best time. It’s not going to get better unless you have the money for the repairs. Then I would highly recommend you make the repairs and then sell the house. In that situation that would be your best alternative.
If you have the money for the repairs and you understand construction and contracting, hiring contractors and vetting them, the scope of work, then you should fix the property. Make it a house that’s no longer distressed and then sell it.
5. I inherited a home, what are some pros and cons to renting vs. selling it?
If you inherit a property, let’s assume that there’s nothing owed on it. Renting the property isn’t a bad idea. If you know how to handle and vet tenants, or you have a very good property management company, that is not a bad idea at all to rent out the property.
The cons are if you try to self-manage, you’re going to have a lot of stress in your life for that rent payment every month. Just for general maintenance of the property, making sure your tenants pay rent, making sure that there’s nothing going on at the property that you wouldn’t approve of, things of that nature. It just can be a constant stress vs. selling it.
The pro of selling it is you’ll get your money out of the house quickly. The con is you don’t have that passive income that comes from renting it. I would never say renting is a bad option. Just be prepared and understand the responsibility that comes with renting a property. It can be time consuming and comes with its own headaches. However, there’s ways to mitigate those if you educate yourself.
So it really depends on your situation. If you don’t need the money I would recommend you rent it and find a great property manager. We can refer you to people if you’re in the Central Florida area, I would go that route.
6. Do you have any tips for selling a home when you’re going through a divorce?
We’ve handled a few of these and the biggest thing, the most important thing, in my mind, is making sure that you’re on the same page with that other person that you’re getting divorced from. I’ve been in situations where I talked with one of the spouses and they’re on a totally different page than the other. We’re talking about price and moving forward and the other person is saying “I don’t want to sell” or “I don’t want that price for it I want some other price.”
A lot of the time it just doesn’t work out and those people end up just fire-saling it to some random person down the road for whatever they’ll give, which is not ideal. So I would say it’s really getting on the same page with that other person. Even though you’re going through a difficult relationship you need to just take the time to be on the same page and understand “OK, we’re gonna sell this thing. We want this for it, we agree. Let’s sell it.”
Otherwise, you’re just going to spin your wheels and talk to people and try to get it sold and nothing’s ever going to happen. I would just have a clear plan and obviously, you know, a good attorney.
7. Can I sell my house in foreclosure?
We purchase properties in pre-foreclosure all the time. There are definitely instances where there’s a foreclosure, and you can sell your property and get out of foreclosure.
There are variables there. How much do you owe on the mortgage? Is there any equity in the house? If not, there are various ways you might be able to get it sold and make some money. We could discuss that with you, or another company you’re talking with can discuss that with you. Hopefully they’ll help you understand different ways you can sell in foreclosure even if you don’t have any equity.
What “no equity” means is you may owe more on the mortgage than what the home’s actually worth. There are ways to get around that and possibly put money in your pocket. We can definitely talk with you about that.
8. My house is in very poor condition, but I can’t fix it and I need to sell it. Can you help?
That’s what we do. The majority of the properties that we buy are in very poor condition for various reasons. That’s exactly what we do. We buy those properties as-is, no repairs. You don’t have to clean the property up. We’ll just buy it as-is with all the repairs on it. That’s exactly what we do.
9. How can I sell a property in probate?
Simple Sale deals with a lot of probate deals and essentially the first step is getting an attorney that you trust. We have attorneys that we use for all our probate deals. We’re very comfortable working through the various complications that can come with a probate deal. If you have a trusted attorney I would say reach out to them. If you don’t, reach out to us. We can recommend one to you and we can help you through that process.
Some of the big things are how many heirs are there? Are all the heirs wanting to sell the property? Do all the heirs want to sell it for around the same amount? Things of that nature. You really want to get on the same page with the heirs. If it’s only you, you just need an attorney you trust and to find a buyer for the property.
So that can be us or another company that you trust. Selling a property in probate does have its complications, but if you work with someone who actually works in probates and works with attorneys regularly on probate deals then it can be pretty simple on your end.
10. Can you sell a house with a lien on it?
So you definitely can sell a house with a lien on it. We’ve bought many properties that do have liens. We typically pay those liens off prior to closing or at closing those will get paid off, but also we have bought properties and closed without paying the liens.
In mid 2020 we bought a property that had $364,000 in liens on it. The house was worth much, much less than that. We renegotiated those liens over the course of 6 months down to just a few thousand dollars. We can really handle any type of situation and we’re prepared to take the risk of negotiation.
If you do have a lien or substantial liens feel free to reach out to us because we can handle those and we will take those risks with a property.
Wrapping Up
With that being said I think that was the last question that I’m going to answer today in our January Q&A. I do not see any questions in the comment box, so I’m just going to go ahead and close it out.
Thanks for watching this Q&A. You can reach us at 407-338-4183and if you want to refer your distressed property you can go to simplesalecentralflorida.com and leave your info and we will reach out to you and talk with you about your property and see if we’re a good fit. Not all properties are a good fit just depending upon the situation.
We like to work with people who want to work with us and we want to continue to expand our mission of bringing transparency and accountability to distressed home sales and taking care of our clients with every decision we make.
People find themselves stuck selling a house that needs repairs for several reasons. The long-term financial difficulty may have made paying a mortgage difficult and regular upkeep and repair to the home cost-prohibitive. You may have also inherited a house that’s outdated or could use some repair.
Upkeep on a home is expensive, and if you’re looking to sell a home that needs some work, you may be facing the dilemma of spending more money on upgrades or repairs to the house before it’s ready for the open market.
Selling a house in disrepair can be a little more challenging than the average real estate deal. The good news is that no matter your home’s condition, you do have a few options. Whether you choose to make minor repairs or sell “as-is,” you can secure a fair price for your home.
Make Minor Repairs
Regardless of its condition, most real estate professionals recommend small updates or repairs to make it more attractive to buyers. A little sprucing up of a property often goes a long way in improving a home’s appeal.
Many buyers let curb appeal, the impression they get when viewing the house for the first time, influence their decision. Cosmetic upgrades to the exterior of a home can be relatively inexpensive and straightforward to do. A fresh coat of paint or an updated fixture on the porch are easy fixes that can pay off.
Pick Your Priorities
If you’re selling a house that needs repairs, you may be unable to afford an overhaul to the entire home, but you can prioritize one or two upgrades that will bring you a decent return on your investment.
Most home buyers are willing to overlook some need for improvement, so it’s best to put your effort into the most crucial improvement items. Buyers are usually hesitant for a few reasons. Foundation problems, mold, water leaks, and the need for new major appliances are just a few.
A real estate professional can advise you on repairs that will be most beneficial to the sale of your home.
Sell the Home As-Is
Selling a home “as-is” is precisely what it sounds like. You choose to sell the house with the understanding that you won’t be doing any repairs or upgrades. The buyer purchases the home knowing that it needs repairs.
For many, selling “as-is” is the easiest option, requiring minimal effort on the seller’s part. It saves a lot of the time and money associated with getting a house ready and presentable for sale.
Selling a house that needs repairs tends to be quicker than a traditional sale, and it can help a seller settle outstanding debts.
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Tips for Selling a House As-Is
There are some pros and cons of selling a house as-is, and although it’s fairly routine, it’s a little different from selling a home on the open market and requires some particular considerations.
– Know the Value of the Home
Just because you’re selling a house that needs repairs doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. Too many people jump into the market without really knowing what their property is worth and lose money as a result.
You’ll want to look at other comparable homes in your area that are in a similar condition to your property. As-is properties tend to sell slightly below market value, but a trusted real estate professional who knows how to sell a distressed property can advise you on a fair price.
– Disclose Everything
If you’re wary about the home’s condition, you may try to keep some of its unsavory aspects under wraps, but honesty is the best policy here. In Florida, you’re legally required to share any known issues with the property, even if the buyer doesn’t ask for that information.
You should be completely upfront with any buyers about the property’s condition and all needed repairs you’re aware of.
– Connect with Interested Buyers
Some people are comfortable buying homes that need major repairs or upgrades. They welcome the challenge of making the space their own. But many home buyers are less willing to tackle a major remodel.
When you’re selling a house that needs work, it pays to connect with buyers looking for that kind of home. Plus, some distressed homes don’t qualify for a traditional mortgage, so you’ll want a cash buyer. Cash buyers like Meli Homes are frequently willing to buy houses in any condition.
– Consult an Expert in As-Is Home Sales
The process of buying and selling a home is often really complicated. If you’re facing the additional challenges of a property in need of repair, consulting with an expert can save you time, money, and hassle.
As Florida’s top-rated distressed home buyer, the professionals at Meli Homes are well-versed in all the intricacies of buying as-is homes, and we can give you the fairest, most amenable price for your property.
You don’t have to try and navigate this process on your own. As qualified cash buyers, we have bought countless as-is homes from happy clients from Orlando to Melbourne to Cocoa Beach and can do so for you as well.
Our simple 4-step process means we will contact you within 24 hours of your initial inquiry to schedule a walkthrough of your home. After we see your property, we’ll deliver you a fair offer, usually on the same day. As soon as you’ve accepted the offer, we’ll begin the buying process. We cover all closing fees, and we will close within 30 days.
Meli Homes is Here to Help
At Meli, we understand the Florida real estate market, and we can help you avoid the unnecessary stress that often comes with selling a distressed home. If you’re ready to have the sale of your home resolved as quickly as possible, call us today at (407) 338-4183 to get started.
Buying difficult-to-sell homes is our specialty at Meli Homes. We have the expertise to walk you through the process and look forward to speaking about your unique needs.
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.
