Fastest Way To Sell A Central Ohio House

It sounds super simple, but the fastest way to sell your Columbus or Delaware, Ohio house today is for you to open up your web browser and type in “sell my house fast [city] [state]”. That “sell my house fast” phrase is one of the most searched phrases on the internet in regards to selling your home according to several popular search engine optimization tools including Google’s suggested search phrases. As such, cash home buying companies are attempting to rank high on internet searches and are targeting that keyword phrase specifically: in short, home buying companies are searching for you more than you are searching for them.

Once you search that phrase, you will see Franklin and Delaware county cash home buying companies in the top search results for your area. Those are going to be the largest and for the most part, best home buying businesses in the market. You should then click on the first 5-7 non-ad search results that you see. Each one of those companies is going to have similar pitches like ‘we buy houses as-is, fast for cash in as little as 7 days.’ Additionally, on each of their home pages there will be a ‘Get an offer’ button which is just a form that requires you to submit your name, contact information, property address, reasons for selling, etc. Look over the companies, make sure they seem reputable, and go ahead and fill out that form for the top 5 or so home buying companies in your area. If you don’t reach out to 5-7 companies that okay, it’s just a good idea to reach out to more than one for several reasons as follows:

• You’ll get the best price for your house. If an investor knows that you have spoken to other investors, they are less likely to give you a lowball offer because they want the house, and they know that if they are too conservative in their offer, they might lose the deal to a competitor. They are going to negotiate less with you, and you’ll get their best price at the beginning.

Additionally, most investors follow very similar formulas when coming up with an offer. They look at similar fixed-up houses in the area to determine an “after-repair-value”, and determine how much it would cost them in fees, permits, and construction costs to be able to fix up your house and bring it to that condition. After they figure out the after-repair-value and their costs, they are going to add a little bit of margin to pay themselves for doing the work just like a general contractor would if they are doing a kitchen or bathroom remodel for a client. The cash home buying company is going to take that after-repair-value and minus the repair costs as well as how much they want to make on the deal to come up with your offer. To bring this back around to getting the best offer for your house, just like some contractors have higher costs than others, different investors are going to have higher or lower costs for fixing up properties depending on their skill set and what their exit strategy for the property is. That’s why you’ll want to reach out to multiple.

• You’ll know how much your house is worth. When you’re in a hurry to sell your house, there is always a fear that you might not be getting as much money as possible for it. By reaching out to multiple companies and getting multiple offers, you’re going to know that you have gotten the very best deal and will have a more accurate idea of the true value of your property as evidenced by actual offers. There is a peace of mind in knowing that you didn’t leave money on the table. Additionally, for further peace of mind, if you want to know how much you could get for your house if you listed it on the market, you can reach out to a local Columbus real estate agent or get an official appraisal for around $500. You can find a licensed appraiser using the same google techniques in the paragraph above.

• You’ll be less stressed out. Reaching out to multiple companies also means you’re going to have a better experience because you can choose who you want to work with. Additionally, companies are going to focus on your customer experience more and make your life easier because they know that you can always go to one of their competitors. For example, some cash home buyers will let you close when you need to close, which gives you extra time to figure out where you’re going to live and what you’re going to do with all your stuff. That’s a huge relief to many sellers.

Once you submit the form, you should receive either a phone call or an email response within hours (most of the time you can specify how you want to be contacted as well). They are going to set up a time to come out to the property in person and look over the house to determine what repairs need to be made, if any. Because of how competitive the real estate market has been these past couple of years, they typically can view the property the same day and send you a formal written offer within 24 hours after that.

At this point you can now compare the offers and determine which is best for your situation. Keep in mind that you aren’t obligated to accept an offer just because it has been sent to you. If you have any questions regarding verbiage on the contract or how you should proceed, you should reach out to a local real estate agent or attorney for help; however, home buying companies typically value a positive customer experience before and after the sale and will assist you with any questions that you have regarding their offer. They don’t want to risk their reputation, so they are typically very helpful and will walk you through everything.

Once you decide which offer you want to go with, you’ll sign the offer and send it back (usually electronically via Dotloop or DocuSign). At this point the home buying company is going to send the signed offer to a title company, and the title company is going to handle the transaction from this point forward just like in a typical real estate transaction involving a listing and real estate agent. Now everyone waits on the title company to do its job.

The title company’s job is to coordinate with all these parties and follow the instructions that are on the offer so that on the day of closing everyone gets what they are entitled to: you, the seller, get your money, the home buyer gets the house with a clear title, the existing loans and liens are paid off, and everyone pays or receives what is due. While this stage of the home buying process is similar to how a traditional real estate transaction proceeds, what makes this different and faster is that home buying companies typically don’t have inspections and financing contingencies in their offers where traditional buyers on the market include them. Because home buying companies pay cash and evaluate the property before they make the offer, transactions can be as short as 7 days depending on how quickly the title company can run a title report and reach out to the different lien holders. For reference, a typical transaction on the market with a real estate agent takes anywhere from 30-45 days.

After the title company gets the title report back and is clear to close, they will reach out to all parties to determine a closing date that works for everyone. Closings can be done remotely where a notary gets sent to your residence, or you can go in person to the title company’s office to sign. After all parties sign, the transaction closes, and you, the seller, should receive funds within a couple business days. You’ll need to move out by the deadline on the contract, but many home buying companies will let you leave whatever you need to behind. Since they are rehabbers and house flippers, they’re used to messes and typically won’t ask that you clean anything up before you leave. The last thing to do after moving out and before celebrating, is to call your different utilities like your cable, internet, gas, electric, water, and sewer companies and let them know that you have moved. Additionally, reach out to your post office and ask them to forward your mail. Now you can relax. You've made it.

From google search to closing it can take as little as 7 days to sell a house in Columbus or Delaware, Ohio if you’re selling to a professional home buying company in the area. Cash home buying companies are a one-stop-stop when it comes to selling your house fast, and it’s considered the fastest way to sell a house.