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For your ease, we have provided a transcript of the Distressed Home Q&A Recording.

Hey, it’s Evan with Simple Sale Central Florida. We’re back here again for our February 2021 Distressed Home Q&A. We’re discussing some common distressed housing questions to help better educate clients that could be in these situations.

Simple Sale Central Florida’s mission is to bring transparency and accountability to distressed home sales. We work in an industry that can be very predatory. Some people will do or say anything to get a property under contract or have control via contract. They then try to manipulate the client into whatever is most beneficial to them. That may entail reducing the purchase price or not closing on the property last minute with false expectations. There are several other ways to unfortunately manipulate them.

We work to be accountable and credible, as you can see on our Google and Facebook reviews. We’ve had great experiences with our clients. We do everything we can to try to make sure that the client has a great experience. That is really what we strive for. So, let’s go ahead and get started with the questions:

1. Why do I keep getting calls and letters and postcards about my property?

In our industry, unfortunately there’s a lot of companies that do cold outreach. They’ll cold call, cold text or send postcards. We actually don’t do any of those things, but most companies in the industry do.

Most companies do cold outreach where they’re calling you weekly. You may be on a list because you have code violations on your home. People order those lists from the city, town or municipality then call everyone hoping that they’re looking to sell. Some people think that’s fine.

We aren’t trying to talk bad about those other companies, but we do not do that. We do what’s called inbound digital marketing. Someone will see our ad online and if they’re ready to sell their distressed property, they’ll reach out. But we don’t ever go cold calling potential clients that are in a distressed situation. To represent the company properly, cold calling someone, to us, is not the best way to go about it.

When someone’s ready to sell their house, they’ll go looking for someone to buy it. You don’t have to convince them that they need to sell. We let our reviews and our mission speak for itself. These distressed home sales are done one client at a time. We work very hard with each and every client that we are fortunate enough to work with. We try very hard to give them a great experience one client at a time.

I don’t know if I did a great job of answering that question, actually… You’re getting those because someone sees you on a list and they want to make you an offer. It’s very common in the business. So let’s go to the next question because I could ramble about that one all day.

2. What are the benefits of working with a cash home buyer?

There’s positives and negatives to everything. Working with someone who’s going to purchase your property for cash obviously has the benefit of speed. They’re probably going to be able to close in less than 30 days in almost all situations. They should be able to do that. If they’re not doing that, they’re probably not a credible company.

You’re also able to sell the property as-is to someone who’s going to buy it for cash. It won’t be based on a mortgage or note, where they have to qualify for funding at the bank. That boils down to you avoiding making repairs on your property to make it appraisal or inspection-worthy. You can sell it as-is, so there are some benefits in that nature.

In almost all situations if you don’t have a time constraint, if you don’t need to sell in the next 30 to 60 days and you’re just trying to look for the highest offer possible, I would always recommend you work with a brokerage. Hire them to go out and find the best offer possible.

For example, we are currently working with a client that actually should have closed today. It’s going to be pushed to Tuesday for various reasons. There’s open permits on the property that are taking longer than expected to get closed out. We did list that property for them. It had a probate issue, liens on the property, and open permits which we’re still working on.

Our team was able to resolve all those issues. We helped educate the client on what they were dealing with and what it was going to look like. We told them how much proceeds they were probably going to get and what the time line was. And we get paid a commission to bring our expertise to the table of educating them on that process.

There’s a false sense that if your property has liens or things like that that you can’t list it. That’s just not true. Our client reached out in September and we’re closing in February. There wasn’t really a time constraint, but there were various legal issues that needed to be taken care of. With our team and our attorneys, we got it done and walked them through the process and did a listing. Fortunately they netted much more than we ever really had hoped for. I was very, very happy with the outcome, and I hope they feel the same way.

In that situation our cash offer wasn’t competitive. We looked into purchasing that property but it just wasn’t a good fit for us from a cash-buying standpoint. But when you put it on the open market you never know why someone is looking at that property. Maybe it’s a rental for them and they’re able to pay more. In this situation that’s exactly what happened. Someone came in, paid cash and paid a lot more for it, so it was really great for them.

So there are some benefits but also at the same time, working with agents isn’t always bad. If you think you have to sell your home for cash, that may not always be the case.

3. What kinds of companies buy distressed properties?

There’s a few companies out there. As far as credible companies, there aren’t actually that many. There are several people that claim to buy and sell distressed properties, and there’s a handful online. For example Opendoor, Offerpad, or Zillow Offers, they do make offers on properties but they do not buy distressed properties like we do. So that’s where we are different. We will buy properties with liens, code violations, properties that need probate. A lot of those guys don’t.

So that is the difference. Like I said, there aren’t many credible companies out there that are currently doing what we do. To be honest it’s not easy – it can be very complicated. We know our niche in the market and we do everything we can to give the client a great experience.

4. What should I know about selling a house in poor condition?

Honestly the biggest thing is finding a company or person that knows what they’re talking about. Someone who can handle and actually purchase that property that can walk you through the process. There isn’t any magic to it or anything of that nature. I don’t know if there’s anything in particular like tips or anything like that. The biggest thing is just finding a good person or company to work with that understands the process. They should be able to take care of everything for you.

We try to educate our clients but we also try to make it as simple as possible for them. They don’t have to handle any of the aggravating things that come with selling a property in poor condition. The one thing is, you need to manage your expectations if it needs a lot of work.

Honestly, in our experience working with people, they’re pretty aware of what the situation is. If the property is in really poor condition, they’re typically not oblivious to what’s going on with it. On rare occasions people may be a little blind to the property’s current condition, but most times they’re aware.

5. Can you sell a house in foreclosure?

Yes, you definitely can. I would say maybe a third of clients are in some form of pre-foreclosure when they reach out to us. We are able to buy them every single time if there isn’t an issue. You shouldn’t have any issues.

If you find a retail buyer that’s trying to buy with a mortgage, that’s going to be a no-no. That’s probably not going to work out. You would definitely have to have someone that’s going to buy the house quickly for cash.

Read More: Selling Your Home Before Foreclosure

6. Is it possible to sell a house in probate in Florida?

I kind of already talked about this during my rant earlier. It is definitely possible to sell a house in probate. It’s possible to list a house in probate. In a lot of situations if it’s a probate deal, a listing is actually probably a better idea. You’re going to net more for it.

Like I said we have a brokerage, Simple Sale Realty. We can list properties throughout Central Florida. With probate deals, a lot of times we do that because our cash offer probably isn’t going to be competitive compared to a landlord that’s looking to pay a premium for a property because it’s right beside all of their other rentals.

It’s definitely possible to sell one, and in a lot of situations I would recommend that you list it. We can list it for you and take care of the probate. We have the team to get it done, and we can take care of any other issues out there.

7. What do I need to know before selling my home as-is?

That’s pretty similar to the other question about selling a house in poor condition. I think we kind of covered it already. Selling your house as-is with someone that isn’t quite helpful can be a stressful experience. Depending on the situation of the home, if there’s legal issues and things of that nature, a lot of times those have to get unraveled before the closing. That can become pretty stressful if you don’t have someone experienced or they’re not being truthful with you about the situation.

It goes back to what I’ve already said. You really have to work with someone that’s credible, a company or a person that’s credible. You can find reviews online that they’ve given their client great experiences, because without that it can be tough. It can be a bad experience so I would definitely say just do your research on a great company.

8. Why should I sell my house to Simple Sale instead of through a realtor?

It really just depends on your situation. If you’re looking to sell quickly and there’s legal issues, a distressed situation, or excessive repairs, we’re going to be very competitive. If you want to close a property in 3 weeks with a short inspection period, we’re going to be very competitive.

But, if you had an agent you were looking to use, they’re probably going to be able to get it done for you but the time lines typically differ. It’s more of a 60- to 90-day process because they’re vetting offers, getting offers, getting buyers under contract. As you may know, contracts fall out. Just because you get an offer for a price doesn’t mean it’s sold. In our business, people make a lot of offers and not a lot of people close. That’s just the reality of the business.

We’re proud when we get a property under contract and we get through the inspection period and we close. That’s one of our main promises to the client: we don’t back out last minute. It’s just not something we believe in. We don’t ask for price reductions last minute or anything like that. Re-trading on price, we do not do that, we will not do that. It goes against everything that we believe in.

9. Do I have to take everything from the property and clean it before closing?

No you do not, you absolutely do not. We’ve bought what people call hoarder houses and houses with bio-hazard issues. You don’t have to take anything from the house. You can leave whatever you don’t want and we hire crews to clean the property. It’s pretty simple. We just tell clients to take what they want and they can leave the rest.

We had a client in Haines City that recently cleaned most of the house out. It wasn’t really an expectation of him to do that, but I think he’s just a really nice guy. He just wanted to take the extra step of cleaning everything and he did a good job. We didn’t have to worry about it, but sometimes clients leave a lot of stuff and that’s totally fine.

10. Can you give me an example of a difficult home you’ve bought?

Hmm… There’s a lot, but I’m trying to think of the most recent. The one in Haines City was interesting. There was a title issue that we cleared up. In the last 2 or 3 months we bought a property that had 7 heirs. So there was a house where there was a husband and wife. The husband and wife then got divorced after having 4 kids.

They got divorced in the 70s or 80s and then the wife stayed in the house, she passed away in 2000. The husband moved to Pennsylvania, got married again, had a child, and died in Pennsylvania in 2002. So they both have ownership in this house and have 5 kids total. They both passed away. Some of the kids passed away and their kids had kids, so it was the original owners’ grandchildren that reached out.

So you can imagine how you get 7 heirs out of that situation. It took us over a year to untangle everything and find the heirs. We had to find people that didn’t even know they had an interest in the property and then we had heirs in 4 different states. But, we kept at it and we were able to close on it in December of 2020. So that one was a journey and it was a great experience.

As far as legal complexity, that may have been the most complex one. It was definitely the longest, but may have been the most complex one we have ever done. It’s just an example of how we just don’t give up, we keep at it. They wanted to sell the property and no one – literally no one’s crazy enough to untangle that and take the time. We had a 5-figure lawyer bill out of it that we had to pay, and we were at risk for because there was no guarantee that we were going to close at the end of the day.

So that’s what we do. That’s the business we’re in and we love helping clients get through these situations. We bought the property and will do well on it and that’s great too, but at the end of the day we got something done that no one else could. There were multiple other people that had tried and that had said they would get it done but they couldn’t. So that one was really great. It was a good experience.

Wrapping Up

So, I think that’s it. Are there any other questions? Anyone out there? I don’t see any comments or questions.

So as always, thanks for viewing. You can call us at 407-338-4183. You can also just go to our website, simplesalecentralflorida.com. Just fill out the form, you’ll put in your address, your email and your phone. That will allow us to reach out to you and discuss your situation and see if we’re a good fit.

We are Central Florida’s trusted distressed home buyer and we pride ourselves on bringing transparency and accountability to distressed home sales. I appreciate you tuning in and listening and we will be back next month to answer more of these questions. Feel free to reach out any time! Thanks. Bye.

You’re ready to put your house on the market. Maybe you’ve accepted a new job in another state or want to buy a bigger house or downsize now that you are an empty nester. Or perhaps your home requires one or more significant repairs, and you don’t have the time or money to make them happen. If any of these examples describe your current situation, you may want to skip the hassle of repairing your home and quickly sell your house as-is.

What does Selling Your House As-Is Mean?

Selling a home as-is refers to your decision not to make major repairs, instead offering the property in its current shape to buyers. Fully disclosing this fact and making potential buyers aware of the as-is condition of a sale relieves you of the pressure, and expense, of making the most needed repairs and can potentially speed up the sales process.

There are many reasons to go the as-is route when selling your property. If personal circumstances mean you cannot fix code violations, pay your mortgage or property taxes, your property may be considered distressed.

What is a Distressed Property?

You may have passed by a house that has been neglected. The shutters are hanging loosely, or the paint is peeling. These are just a few of the visible ailments of a home, but there can also be many others that go unseen. These properties are considered distressed.

However, upkeep is not the only indicator of a distressed property. Other reasons houses fall into this category include financial hardships leading to falling behind in mortgage payments and facing foreclosure or an inability to bring the home up to code. Legal problems, like divorce or a lawsuit, can also result in distressed property and a need to sell as-is quickly.

Weather damage can also cause your house to fall into a level of disrepair. For instance, heavy rains can flood your basement, causing erosion and damage to the foundation. Or your HVAC unit has died, and you need a whole new set-up, which could also expose other issues in the home, including electrical and plumbing problems.

A few more common issues found in as-is properties include mold or mildew damage, a leaking roof, non-working electrical outlets, and structural problems. Additionally, there are often code violations such as an unpermitted addition to the home or installment of an appliance, such as a water heater.

Skip the Repairs and Sell House As-Is

Financially, you may find you cannot afford to make the major repairs your home needs. If you’ve also fallen behind in your mortgage payments on top of any needed repairs, escaping a looming foreclosure quickly can alleviate the stress and constant anxiety and put you on a new path.

Even if money is not the issue, you may decide you do not want to deal with the time and effort of hiring others to complete the repairs. Repairs can sometimes take weeks or months to complete, and you may need to find temporary housing.

Regardless of which of these circumstances you may find yourself in, you should consider selling your house as-is and avoid the hassles involved in bringing it up to code or making necessary improvements or repairs.

How to Sell As-Is Properties

Once you assess your situation and the needs of your home, you may decide that selling as-is is the right action for you. There are different ways you can sell your property; however, each comes with its own significant pros and cons.

When you’re selling your property as-is, consider these three methods.

• Hire a real estate agent: The most formal and often chosen method of selling a home is hiring a real estate agent to bring in potential buyers. You will need to disclose all defects and needed repairs of the house to your agent before getting started. From there, it could take several weeks or months for your agent to find a buyer willing to pay your price.
• Sell your as-is home yourself: Today, many people are choosing to sell their homes themselves. However, this will take a lot of work on your part, from advertising to showing the house to potential buyers. Interested parties will likely want to have their own home inspection conducted, adding more time and stress to the process. You also may have problems receiving the price you’re asking, especially if you’re in a hurry to make the sale.
• Avoid the hassles and sell to a cash for homes buyer: If you’re expecting to sell your house as-is fast, you may need to consider other options. To avoid a long wait or a time-consuming and stressful process, consider selling to a cash home buyer like Meli. We can help you unload your house so you can move ahead and on to better things in your life. In the Central Florida area, Meli pays you upfront and usually can close the sale within 30 days, making the process as easy and hassle-free for you as possible.

A Cash Home Buyer is Here to Help You Avoid the Hassle

Who are cash home buyers? The most widely recognizable cash home buyers are flippers and investors with experience in the as-is home market. These buyers understand the as-is buying process and are familiar with the problems that arise, causing properties to move into the distressed category. Usually, these buyers offer payment and closing within a 30-day window in a no-hassle transaction.

At Meli Homes, we make the entire process easy. Once you contact us, we will ask you several questions and schedule a walk-through of your property at your convenience. On the same day as your walkthrough, we will send you a fair offer for your home.

Meli Home is highly experienced in situations such as yours, and we will handle all the paperwork, including dealing with outstanding liens or judgments. Once you accept our offer, we will close on your home within 30 days: no staging, no open houses, no commission fees, and no closing fees. You receive our full offer. We’ll even work with you on your move-out date. 

Contact Meli Today

Are you ready to know more about how to avoid the hassle and how to sell a house as-is in the Tampa, Orlando, or Winter Park areas? Give our Central Florida office a call at (407) 338-4183 or connect with us online to set up a walkthrough of your home and learn more about our 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.

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Many factors can result in a distressed property due to code violations. Whether your area had a catastrophic weather disaster, you started a home improvement project but couldn’t finish it, or you lost your job and can’t keep up with the upkeep of the house, you may want to sell quickly. Selling a house with code violations can be challenging because many individual buyers want somewhere they can move in immediately. However, several options will allow you to sell your distressed property quickly and repay your debts.

What does “Up To Code” Mean?

State and federal regulations govern whether a property is “up to code,” meaning that it’s safe to live in. Federally, there’s the National Electric Code (NEC), which covers all installation and use of electric devices. All your wiring will need to follow the guidelines. The NEC changes regularly, so you may find your wiring out of date even if it was up to code in past years.

Florida also has many building codes you’ll need to adhere to, including the stability of the structure and fire safety regulations. These can range from the placement of smoke alarms (a relatively inexpensive fix) to having the wrong material for your piping (a more involved project).

You can also receive fines from your Home Owners Association (HOA) if you have one for failing to follow their rules for property maintenance. Many HOAs require trimmed yards, certain types of paint, and regular roof cleaning. If you continually fail to pay your fines, your HOA can place a lien on your house.

Depending on how much work you need to do to fix your home, it might be worth trying to bring your house up to code before selling.

Bringing an Old House Up To Code

Your first option when selling a house with code violations is to try to bring it up to code. Getting the home to the minimum code requirements can increase your selling price and interest more buyers.

However, you’ll need to seriously consider your financial situation first. If you need to borrow money to complete the construction work, calculate whether you’ll make that back on your sale. Some companies purchase homes as-is, including those with extensive code violations, so it’s not worth losing money over the construction work.

Even if you can’t bring the house up to code, you may want to consider painting the outside, tidying up the yard, and removing clutter from the inside. The nicer-looking the house is, the more interested your buyers will be. Clutter and dirt may make the home seem like it’s worthless, resulting in a lower offer.

If your home was damaged in a natural disaster like a hurricane or a flood, you might be eligible for some funds through FEMA’s Disaster Housing Program. While they may not be enough to get your home back to its former glory, they could help you make the necessary repairs to increase your asking price.

After natural disasters, many con artists target people in the area. Ensure that if you hire a construction company, they are registered and will work up to code.

Disclose Any Code Violations

Florida requires that you reveal code violations before your sale, and it’s in your best interest to do so. Your buyer will likely learn about the problems either during the walkthrough or just before closing and could withdraw from the sale.

If you spend time working with a buyer, preparing your home, and paperwork for the sale, a last-minute back out will result in wasted time, energy, and money on both your parts. It’s better to have the buyer offer a slightly lower price upfront than have them pull out just before the deal is finalized.

Chose Your Sale Method

If you can’t handle your home on your own, you may want to consider selling it. Because the code violations make it a distressed property, you’ll want to choose between three options. These are working with a real estate agent, selling on your own, and selling to a cash homebuyer. You can also choose to sell your house as-is or try to make improvements.

There are pros and cons for each option, depending on your particular situation and the housing market in your area.

• Working with a real estate agent: If you have time on your side, you may want to consider working with a real estate agent. Depending on the housing market, it can take several months to sell a house this way. It can take even longer if it is a distressed property.  While a real estate agent may be able to get you a higher price, you’ll have to factor in paying closing costs and their commission.
  Additionally, many buyers that real estate agents connect to are interested in a ready-to-live-in home. If you have outstanding, extensive code violations, you may struggle to sell this way.
• Sell it yourself: If you want to avoid paying a commission, you can try selling your house yourself. Although this method will save you money, it requires a lot of time researching local and state real estate laws, background research into your buyer, and advertising your listing. You will also still need to pay all your closing and legal fees, and the process could take months.
• Consider speaking with a company that buys distressed homes: These companies can purchase your home with cash, usually closing within 30 days or less. At Meli Homes, we will buy a house in any condition, including code violations. Additionally, we cover all closing fees, so you receive 100% of our offer.

Meli: The Process

If you live in Central Florida and own a house with code violations, consider working with Meli. Our process is straightforward and stress-free.

Give us a call or complete our online form with information about your property. We’ll give you a call back with more questions. From there, we’ll schedule a walk-through.

After the walkthrough, we’ll help you find the best solution for your home. That may be buying your home, listing it, or simply consulting you on the best course of action. If you agree to sell or list it, we’ll start the process, including settling any liens or judgments you may have against your house. However, until you sign the papers, you can walk away from the deal at any time.

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Consultation

If you want to find the best option for your house with code violations, call Meli today at (407) 338-4183 for your free initial consultation. We’ll help you decide if selling a home with code violations is the best option, or if there’s another solution that’s best for you!

This article is meant for informational purposes only. It 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.

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Have you been putting off selling your home because you’re dreading the process or don’t think the house is fit for sale? If you haven’t got the time or money to make improvements to your property before putting it on the market, selling it as-is could be a viable option.

But what exactly does selling property as-is involve? And how will you know if it’s the right choice for you and your family? Let’s take a closer look at what to expect when you sell as-is.

What Does it Mean to Sell Your Property As-Is?

It’s common for people selling a property to do some renovation work prior to listing to achieve the highest possible price. In some cases, potential buyers who are interested in the property will request that the owner make certain repairs as part of the negotiations.

In an as-is sale, however, the buyer agrees to purchase the property in whatever state it’s in, without the homeowner having to make improvements. In these sales, if the buyer does request some things are fixed, the homeowner has the right to refuse.

Legal Obligations to Disclose Defects

What details a homeowner legally must disclose about their property to the buyer vary from state to state. In Florida, the seller is legally obliged to inform the buyer of any defects, restrictions, and obligations the property has, even if you’re selling as-is. If you don’t reveal these issues and answer the buyer’s questions honestly, you could be liable.

Your specific disclosure obligations depend on the type of property you are selling. For example, those selling a coastal home must divulge any potential for erosion and construction restrictions, while people selling homes in communities with homeowner’s associations should inform buyers of the association’s rules and any mandatory fees they will be subject to.

Reasons For Selling Your Property As-Is

The speed and ease of selling property as-is make it an attractive option to homeowners for many reasons, including:

• Needing to move quickly, for instance, because of a job offer or after a divorce.
• Your house has been on the market for a long time without receiving any offers.
• If economic instability makes paying your mortgage (or other debts) impossible, selling as-is can help you avoid foreclosure.
• Other issues in your life mean you need to sell in the most hassle-free way possible.
• You don’t have the cash to make repairs before selling. This is common in cases where people inherit homes in poor condition.
• You are unable to finish building or remodeling a property, perhaps due to a lack of funds.

How Long Does it Take To Sell Your Property As-Is?

Selling a home on the open market can often take months, and selling property as-is can take even longer. Real estate experts often recommend investing in repairs and renovations to make your home appeal to buyers and secure a quick sale. If you leave a property untouched and put it on the market, you may be waiting a long time for a buyer unless you significantly drop the price.

The best way to sell property fast is to work with a cash home buyer like Meli. With Meli Homes, you could close on your house within 30 days of receiving your offer. This impressive speed is undeniably helpful for those who need money to make next month’s financial obligations or who have a rapidly approaching moving date due to a job relocation.

How Does Selling Your Property As-Is Affect Its Price?

When an interested party makes an offer on a property, they take into account all the work they’d need to do to make it work for them. Even if a property is in excellent condition, a buyer is likely to try to get some money off the asking price to make up for moving costs and any cosmetic changes they’d like to make.

Because of this, expect that you will receive offers lower than the market value when you’re selling property as-is. The offers will also vary depending on the specific property and its condition. For instance, if a house is in a particularly desirable location, the physical condition may have less impact on the offers.

Concerns about having to accept a low offer on their home are one of the issues that put people off selling property as-is; however, when you sell to Meli, you will always receive a fair price. At Meli Homes, we also don’t charge fees, meaning you won’t need to pay closing fees from your sale.

Sometimes accepting a lower offer now, instead of holding out for months for a better offer or shelling out for renovations, can actually save you money in the long run.

The Process of Selling Property As-Is to Meli Homes

Selling a house can be as stressful as getting a divorce or starting a new job. Given that it can involve a substantial emotional and financial upheaval, that’s no surprise. Selling property as-is to Meli Homes is a much less stressful experience all around. Our straightforward process involves four clear steps:

1. The initial contact: within a short time of you reaching out to us, we can give you all the information you need, including an initial estimate.
2. The walkthrough: after we’ve established mutual interest in proceeding with the sale, we will schedule a walkthrough of the property, during which we will appraise the value. You will receive an official offer from us on the same day.
3. The selling process: once you’ve accepted the offer, we will begin the selling process. We will clear up any liens, title issues, or judgments and work hard with our partners to meet your desired schedule.
4. Receive your money: you won’t pay any fees so, as soon as the sale has gone through, you’ll receive every penny of the offer.

Ready to Take the Plunge?

For many people selling property as-is is the ideal solution. The speed and ease with which a sale can be completed are unparalleled, so choosing this option gives you time and energy to focus on other areas of your life.

If you decide that this is the right option for your Florida property, the highly experienced team at Meli Homes is here to make your sale run as smoothly as possible. With our network of realtors, attorneys, and investors, we can help you sell your home in under 30 days.

For more information or to request an initial estimate of your home’s value, call us at (407) 338-4183.

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.

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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.

Benefits of Selling As-Is

While there are pros and cons to selling your house that needs repairs, one of the most significant advantages of this method is convenience. However, there are several other fantastic advantages, including:

• Fast Process

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.

There are many companies that buy homes as-is, including Meli Homes in Central Florida.

How to Sell As-Is Without Losing Money

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.

Own a distressed home? Read our blog to learn how you can sell distressed without losing money.

The Takeaway

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.

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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.

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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 407-338-4183 and 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.

Thank you all very much and have a great weekend!

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.

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.

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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 investors and 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.

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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.

If you want to sell a distressed home in Florida before foreclosure, there are a few paths you can take.

• Determine Your Home’s Value

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.

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