Selling your house in Roanoke during the Coronavirus crisis doesn’t need to insight panic.
We have entered market territory that has never been witnessed in the history of humankind. This is not meant to scare you. This is not meant to sensationalize the situation at hand. This is just a fact.
Two weeks ago we were in the midst of arguably the best economic period of growth ever recorded for the USA. Unemployment was at a 60 year low and across the entire USA real estate was selling at record highs.
Then Coronavirus.
In a matter of days the economy has stopped. And unlike economic slumps of the past this was not brought on by a top down financial or market fluctuation, this was a government mandated, bottom up, shut down.
This is going to cause things no one has ever seen in the market. Realtors I have spoken to are reporting that contracts are being terminated, open houses canceled and no new scheduled showings of current listings.
Sellers that need to sell are in a panic and buyers are pulling away. Even investors I work with on a daily basis are saying they are holding their money right now to see how things shake out over the next few months.
To the sellers I say take a deep breath. You probably have more options than you think if you are selling your house in Roanoke, even if the timing turns out to be bad right now. Here are five options:
Option #1: Go ahead with that listing. Give your local realtor a shot at getting this done for you. More people will see your house this way than any other method below. However, don’t forget to factor in the timeframe defined in your listing agreement. If things continue to worsen economically you may not want to be tied to a restrictive agreement that doesn’t allow for a faster option to sell yourself.
Option #2: For sale by owner, or FSBO as we investors call it. FSBO allows you to get the word out and show the house at your discretion. There are many websites you can use for selling your house in Roanoke if you chose to go the FSBO route. The biggest piece of advice I can give you here is to make sure you price your house right. FSBO’s are historically listed too high and they never go anywhere.
Option #3: Rent your vacant house. I know this is not “selling” but it can have it’s benefits over selling. If you can cover your costs of owning the house (mortgage, maintenance, taxes, etc) by collecting rent it is almost as if you have sold the house. However, you still get to keep some of the tax advantages of owning the house. Just please, don’t rent to family. It does not work. Trust me!
Option #4: Rent to own your house. With this option you are selling your house in Roanoke to your tenant. They pay a substantial down payment to lock in the terms on their purchase. The rent is collected for the set amount of payments and they are required to close on the house before the term is up. This can be a challenging relationship to manage so this method of selling is not for the faint of heart.
Option #5: Selling your house in Roanoke for cash. By far the fastest way to sell your house is by selling your house for cash. Cash investors can close quickly and all the traditional hurdles that cause sales to fall through are avoided. The unfortunate side of a cash sale is that it does mean a discounted sales price. However, when you factor in the expenses associated with the traditional methods of selling; days on market (making payments, taxes, maintenance), commissions, closing costs, inspections, negotiations, etc., you will oftentimes find that the numbers are not that far apart. In fact cash buyers at times will net sellers more than traditional sales because we save you all those expenses!
I hope this post finds you well and calms you if you are selling your house in Roanoke during the Coronavirus crisis.
If we can be of service, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Thanks and God bless.