Selling an investment property can sometimes seem too daunting to be worth the time or effort it requires. Maybe your home has been trashed by its tenants and needs a complete overhaul before you sell. Or maybe you inherited the property, and you have no idea where to start when selling your investment home for cash.
Regardless of your “why,” when you opt to sell your investment home for cash, here are a few steps to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible and that you get the most profitable deal possible.
Make any necessary home improvements
If you are selling your home to a cash buyer, the home improvements required of you might be relatively small and easy to undertake. For example, you may need to put up a fresh coat of paint on the walls, deep clean the carpets, change a leaky faucet, or undergo other minor upgrades.
However, if you plan to list your home for sale and not sell for cash, the buyers might require you to make significant changes and repairs to your home. For example, maybe your investment home needs a new roof, has termite damage, has been destroyed by mold, or needs a septic tank repaired. Buyers who use loan companies might require you to fix these issues before purchasing your property. Often, these upgrades might be too costly to improve, and it soon becomes worth exploring the option of selling your home for cash.
Determine your selling price
It’s no surprise that the price you opt to sell your home for is an important part of the selling process. A house priced too high can sit on the market for months. A house priced too low can sell quickly – but you could potentially leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table.
To determine your price, look at some comps in the area to find out where your house falls in, and try to price accordingly. If you need cash now and want to skip this step – reach out to Coveway Properties, who will have a cash offer in your hands in a matter of days.
Don’t forget capital gains tax
Before you sell, remember that your real estate investment is still subject to capital gains tax. However, if the money earned is reinvested (whether into stock or another property), you can avoid that tax altogether – as long as it is done promptly. Capital gains tax can be tricky to navigate and calculate, but there are ways to sell your rental property for cash and use the capital gains to your advantage.
Use high-quality photos
When you’re ready to list your property, make sure you take quality photos. People will want to see what they are buying and if the pictures are blurry or don’t show the house in its best light, buyers might be turned off. Hire a professional photographer if needed – it will be worth the cost when your home sells quickly.
Ask your tenants to buy
Many people don’t consider this, but if you have good tenants living in your investment property that have been with you for a while, you might want to consider asking them to buy the property from you. They already know the house and might be more likely to take care of it if they own it. You can also offer them a good price to make the deal even sweeter.
Hire an agent or a realtor
If your agent is familiar with the area and the market, they might be able to assist you with selling your investment property. They help organize the transaction and can help ease and speed the process along. However, hiring a real estate agent can be extremely costly, and their services may cost you about 6% of the cost of the transaction. To make more money and skip an agent, consider Coveway Properties, who will buy your property – without the fees – and for cash!
Sell your investment property today
There are plenty of reasons for you to sell your investment property. For example, maybe you’re moving and would like to alleviate the burden of property ownership. Perhaps you would like to cash in on the appreciated value of your real estate. Or maybe the property is losing value, and you would like to liquidate it.
Whenever you are ready to sell your property for cash now, contact Coveway Properties. At Coveway, our team has decades of experience buying Bay Area homes for money and can help you navigate every scenario and possibility.