Are you or someone you love looking to sell your winter snowbird property? If you are someone who only resides in Arizona during the winter months, it can be a challenge to get your winter home ready for the market. Traditional listings take patience, effort, and time. For those who don’t live in Arizona year-round, a typical market listing may not be ideal. Selling your home for cash may be the right solution for a homeowner who’s looking to get rid of their vacation home. Not limited to homeowners wanting to sell winter homes, but these tips are also extremely applicable to those trying to sell a vacation home at any time of the year. When you are retired or simply in the area for your vacation months, your time is precious. Quick Cash for Homes can help you as a seller use your precious time wisely when selling your home.
The first step is to start shopping for cash offers. Legit cash investors can vary in their assessor’s offers by an average $20k-$80k. By searching for legitimate cash offers and looking for multiple offers, the seller can acquire multiple opinions. Selecting the first offer doesn’t allow the seller to compare net offers, closing timelines, or other contingencies. Recognizing and avoiding the “We Buy Homes” signs littered across Maricopa County sidewalks, so-called Craigslist or Facebook investors, and door-to-door investors is key. A seller won’t receive legitimate, reputable offers when following those routes. Shopping multiple legitimate offers allows the seller to get a true feeling for what their property is worth. With Quick Cash, not only do we give fair offers that the seller receives 100% of, but we will also compare and outbid the other offers you have received.
Knowing when offers are fraudulent or a scam is crucial to the process. Our article, “Common Scams to Watch for When Selling Your Home for Cash,” goes through all the most notable scams while giving tips on how to prevent this practice. Honest and true cash for home buyers will never pressure a seller into providing funds upfront, or without a proper AS-IS contract. Brushing up on the prevention of home-buying scams is extremely important when a seller does not reside in Arizona for full time.
If probable, look to sell the property while you are still residing in Arizona. If it is possible, you as a seller are more likely to receive a better offer as buyers do prefer access to the property they are interested in. If approvals or any other paperwork is needed, it can be done with no fuss or extra problems if the seller is local. Above all, a smoother closing on the property can and will happen if the seller is local. Now, it’s not to say that it is impossible if you have left Arizona for the season. Everything can still be done remotely, but either a Mobile or Remote Online Notarization must be used to sign important documents. Even if the seller is out of state, the Remote Notary must reside in Arizona and have certification to give notarization services in Arizona.
It can be easy to confuse a legitimate cash buyer with a wholesaler. At Quick Cash, John Rowan, who is our licensed investor and licensed agent, makes the process painless. The entirety of the initial inquiry, home assessment, and cash buyer is all done by John without a middleman. No stress over transferring contracts or finding an end buyer. Wholesalers don’t truly intend to buy your home; they look to resell your contract and pass it along to an investor. When a wholesaler fails to find an investor, they may back out of the whole deal at the last minute. As someone retired, or out of state, having someone interested back out of the sale at the last minute can be devastating. When looking to avoid wholesalers, signs can include long-elated inspection periods and terms such as ‘finding an end buyer’ or assignable contracts. On the other hand, legit cash buyers will show verified proof of cash funds, non-assignable contracts, and short inspection periods.
Although cash buyers will buy the property as it is, even though there is no maintenance that must be done, it is very important that utilities are kept on. The home assessor will still need to make sure that HVAC and utilities are properly working by the time it comes for the final walkthrough. This helps prevent the possibility of property damage, avoiding liens, and ensuring property security until the property ownership legally transfers. This not only protects both parties, but most importantly, the seller from liability costs and excess repairs. Even though the seller may want to turn off the utilities, especially on a vacant property, turning off utilities poses the risk of delays in the process, contractual issues, and further unexpected costs that can rack up thousands more of the monthly utility bills. The seller is held responsible for their property until the final closing.
In many cases, snowbirds or those with Arizona vacation homes acquire the properties through parents or relatives by inheritance. A cash buyer can be a wonderful option for inherited vacation homes, or inherited homes overall. Cash buyer sales can happen “as-is”, without cleaning out the property, and flexible, easy to work with timelines. If the personal representative appointed has legal authority before signing the documents, the process can be done just as simple. The estate must clear the probate process first, but the process will still be simple to sell the home for cash.
When time comes to get your home ready to sell for cash, the seller must discuss what furniture and items will be left in the home. The property inside will follow the sale agreement, with what stays and what goes listed. Cash buyers have no problem purchasing properties with leftover furniture, broken fixtures and appliances, but it is up to the seller to choose what they will be taking with them when selling the property. Cash for homes is extensively useful for snowbirds or vacationers who want a fast and easy timeline, without having to take multiple trips out to the property.
Selling a property for cash works best if a seller is:
– Leaving Arizona soon, with or without intentions to return
– Has no desires to run multiple showings of the property while out of state
– The property has maintenance needed, or damage to the property
– Has a need to coordinate a quick close due to state-to-state travel
– Avoiding excess commissions given to the realtor and buyer agent
In some cases, buyers may lower their offers due to vacant home concerns. This may be because of an unknown level of maintenance needed, carrying costs from taxes, insurance or utilities, and security risks. Vacant homes may get discounted offers if an investor fears a list of potential problems with the property. If your property is vacant or remains vacant for part of the year, it’s important to keep a maintained, “lived-in” look. Using timers for interior/exterior lights, maintaining heating and cooling through Arizona weather, keeping landscaping manicured, and having someone local check on the property weekly are great options for managing a vacant or semi-vacant property. As tempting as it may seem, do NOT post that the home is vacant, or that you are a lister from out of state. This attracts burglars, fake dishonest buyers, and wholesalers who see that you are in a vulnerable position.
Real as-is cash offers do not require repairs or cleaning, do not penalize the seller for leaving items behind, and do not tamper with the price after inspection. If someone tries to renegotiate later at any point after the inspection and assessment, walk away from the offer. At Quick Cash for Homes, not only do we have a plethora of five-star reviews across the internet, but we are an honest, reputable cash for homes service. Fill out a form and let us give you a call to learn more about your property and how we can help you today!