In order to sell a house, it takes a buyer, a seller and… a lot of time. To be more precise, the average home sale in New York, even in a hot market, takes many months from listing to closing. After all, people have to get the word out, list, walk through the house, make offers, vet offers, get a mortgage and have a bank do its due diligence. Dot those I’s. And there are lots of them.
You go into contract and, if all goes well, you go to a closing months later that can feel a little bit like a wedding and a match made in bureaucracy. Actually, there is another way to sell a house that does away with nearly all the delays. You can sell your house in days or weeks not to a resident, but to a real estate investor.

Selling to an investor, like Handsome Homebuyer, the company I lead, can simplify the process, saving you headaches and heartache and getting you money faster and a good price.
There’s no mortgage and no bank, because it’s a direct deal with a professional buyer who funds the deal in-house. We don’t have the same costs, because the process is simpler. We save you the carrying costs – utilities, taxes – by closing quicker. From Hempstead to the Hamptons, Brooklyn to Queens, selling to a real estate investor can be an efficient, rewarding route.

Hurry up and wait

Finding the right buyer is only the beginning of the conventional process, particularly in New York, where deals often take longer. The average time to sell a home from listing to closing in New York in 2021 was 104 days, according to Clever.com.

• Get an Offer – It takes time to list and get offers
• Vet offers – After an offer is on the table, you have to vet the buyer and offer
• Contract – You go into contract with due diligence
• Closing – After providing paperwork, you unite and, if the deal doesn’t fall through, finally close

Factors impacting time

Many elements will impact the amount of time it takes to sell a home to a new resident:

1. Price – different price ranges lead to different times
2. Location – Some markets are hotter than others or take longer. New York takes nearly 30 percent longer than the national average.
3. Time of year – Houses sell faster during certain times, such as June, with longer lag times in the winter, where February is the worst month.
4. Condition – Everything from appearance to appliances can impact time
5. Time to prepare house – You need to prep the house for showing and empty it so the new owner can move in

Finance factors

You can’t do a deal if the buyer doesn’t get the funding. Even good intentioned deals can go by the wayside, when buyers can’t get the cash.

• Buyer credit rating– If a buyer’s credit’s not good, they may not get a mortgage
• Mortgage rates – Mortgage rates can change, impacting offers
• Home condition – If a house is damaged, banks may not issue mortgages
• Disputes- Properties caught in divorces and inheritance can end up in a tug of war
• Time to approve loan – Even if everything is in order, it can take months for a loan to work its way through the pipeline

Fast cash

When you sell to an investor, the process is entirely different. It is a transaction between you and the buyer more like a conventional purchase.

• An investor uses their own cash – Investors like Handsome Homebuyer fund purchases with their cash, so they don’t need to seek it
• No mortgage necessary – Since the investor is using their own money, no bank is involved
• Purchase as is – An investor like Handsome Homebuyer buys a house as is, identifying factors quickly affecting price
• Priority – A real estate investor prioritizes deals: This is all we do, rather than making it part of a bigger business, as a bank does
• Margins – Handsome Homebuyer does more than 100 deals a year, so margins can be thinner with offers based on prices we hope to get after we renovate with work done at a discount

No reason to fall through

There are many reasons deals fall through, such as failure to get bank approval, environmental or financial issues, adding weeks or months to sales time. Those typically don’t apply with real estate investors:

• No mortgage, no problem – A real estate investor like Handsome Homebuyer funds the deal, so there’s never a need for a mortgage.
• Experts on staff – Handsome Homebuyer has professionals on staff including architects to solve problems.
• Tenant troubles – No rent, no problem. We’ve bought houses with non-rent paying tenants and have experience in working with, making offers and resolving.
• We empty the house – If you inherit a house, it may have a lot of belongings of little value that could be difficult to remove. We buy the house as is, including items you don’t want.

How to sell your house fast for cash

While many people may want to go the traditional route, selling to a real estate investor is a way to sell quick for cash. It’s a largely hassle-free way of selling houses. Brokers and owners often reach out to real estate investors. Brokers can benefit as well: They keep commission and after we renovate, we go to them to resell.

Handsome Homebuyer buys more than 100 houses a year. The reason so many people sell to us is the process and the price works for them. If you’re selling a house, you may want to consider talking with Handsome Homebuyer. We may be able to save you time and money and get you a price that’s right for you.