If you’re getting ready to sell your home, you’re likely thinking about all the stresses ahead. You’ve got to tidy it up, get it ready for sale, have pictures taken, find a realtor, be prepared to be out of the house whenever there’s a showing, and so on.
Or do you?
Ibuyers allow you to skip all of the turmoil of trying to find a buyer and hoping the sale goes through. But is the convenience of an ibuyer worth the cost?
What is an ibuyer?
An ibuyer isn’t some kind of app or computer, the “i” in “ibuyer” actually stands for “instant buyer.” This is where a company (like us) allows you to contact them with details of your home and they’ll call you with an offer in a matter of days. Ibuyers are cash buyers, meaning they can buy your home in cash as soon as you are ready to move (and all the normal legal formalities are complete).
What are the benefits and reasons to sell to an Ibuyer?
So why would you choose to sell your home to an ibuyer over going the traditional route? Here are some of the benefits and reasons to sell to an ibuyer:
- They buy homes in as-is condition – Selling your home through a realtor is going to be difficult if there’s something wrong with the property (such as needing a new roof). Ibuyers take any repairs into consideration with their offer but will often happily buy a home that is in need of costly repairs or cosmetic updates.
- They buy homes that would normally sit on the market – Often for many of the same reasons as in the above point, many homes go on the market and remain there for months. Other than in cases where the seller is insisting to get an unrealistic amount of money, an ibuyer can be the easiest way to sell a home that isn’t selling, especially if the market isn’t good.
- They offer privacy – Realtors are marketers and salespeople, they’re not magicians. They can’t sell your house easily without putting it up for sale online. That means your neighbors, family, and anyone else who wants to have a nosy can look at your home, which not everyone wants.
- It can be a safer way to sell – Building on our point above, sometimes someone needs to sell without letting someone or a group of people know they’re leaving. An ibuyer allows you to sell in private.
- It’s fast – Need to sell your home ASAP? You won’t find faster than an ibuyer. You can usually go from offer to closing in just 2-3 weeks. No other method of selling can compete.
- There are no fees – Realtors charge 2-5% of the sale price, but an ibuyer shouldn’t charge you any fees because they’re buying the house from you.
So why are ibuyers a more controversial way to sell?
With all those benefits, you may wonder why ibuyers are a point of controversy for some people. There are two primary reasons why people are wary of ibuyers:
- Ibuyers will typically offer less than market value
- They’re concerned an ibuyer will take advantage of people in need.
Remember, an ibuyer is a company – that means they’re looking to buy low and sell high, like any other business. An ibuyer should still offer you a fair offer, but in most cases, it’s for less than a realtor would say you could achieve. Of course, this depends on the property. An ibuyer will offer you less than market value, but it’s also going to sell in significantly less time. Even if your house flies off the shelves, so to speak, an Ibuyer can move 2-3 times faster.
The second concern is that an ibuyer will take advantage of people in need. While we can’t speak for every ibuyer, and we absolutely encourage you to do your due diligence and find a buyer that’s well-reviewed, we can speak for ourselves and say that our intention is to help people while still being a business. In the same way Walmart doesn’t discount groceries for the unemployed, no business or charity will buy a home for more than it’s worth.
You may have seen houses sit on the market for months or even go on and off the market for years without selling. Sometimes people feel trapped paying for a home they can no longer afford or no longer want to stay in. Sometimes they’ve inherited a home from a relative that didn’t maintain their home. And sometimes, people are just looking for the fastest way to get out of the stress of an impending foreclosure.
What these people usually fail to acknowledge is that sometimes people run out of time, money, or willpower. When this happens, it starts to seriously affect their mental health and, often as a consequence, their physical health.
Whether someone’s struggling or just wants to sell their home as soon as possible so they can buy a new home in another state, an ibuyer can be the answer that gives them the freedom to act now, rather than in 3-9 months’ time.
One Isn’t Better Than The Other – It’s What’s Right for You
People are always entitled to their opinions and there will always be people who think a few thousand dollars is worth a lot of stress, but you don’t have to. We all pay for convenience, whether it’s paying for a better seat on a plane or getting our groceries delivered. Selling to an ibuyer is just another form of paying for convenience.
If you’re selling your home, you need to decide for yourself what is most important. Are you willing to wait for a higher price? Do you have the bandwidth to deal with the stress of a traditional sale? If so, then selling with a realtor will likely be the best next step for you.
However, if your home may be challenging to sell, you’re losing sleep from the stress of living in or owning your home, or you just want the process to be over as soon as possible, then an ibuyer will likely be your best option. If you’re selling your home in Massachusetts, you can learn more about our process here.