Whenever I need to sell a house fast I usually do some thinking about selling it myself. And some of the things I think about are special techniques that are guaranteed to bring me a buyer as fast as possible.
Here’s how it works - I start by making a few phone calls to my fellow real estate investors, people I know personally who live in my area. Actually, this is an excellent way for me to sell a house fast, and it’s worked for me time after time. Over the years I’ve been investing in single family homes, I’ve worked with many other investors who also buy and sell homes, and at any point in time one of those investors may be looking to buy just the house I have to sell. As with many other things in life, it’s all about timing. Whenever I need to sell a house fast I just assume that there’s somebody who needs to buy a house fast, and that way it works out for both of us.
As you can imagine, real estate investors frequently buy homes in need of actual repair and also some remodeling might be in order, so they are usually looking for a new project to keep occupied. If an investor is not doing the hands-on work himself, then he has a crew that needs work everyday. Of course I realize this is a completely different situation than most homeowners are facing. A homeowner wants to sell a house fast for his own personal and financial reasons, while an investor is merely looking for a project house to resell for a profit.
You are thinking clearly when you want to sell a house fast yourself if you go ahead and post it for sale on craigslist, which has been another very successful technique for me. Buyers these days look for homes on craigslist no matter where they are looking to buy. So, if somebody living in another state is looking for a house like yours in your area, they will definitely be looking on craigslist, and they will see your house posted on craigslist if you make sure to post it there. When they see it, they’ll email you through craigslist or they will give you a call. I’ve lost track of the number of houses I’ve sold this way myself, mostly to buyers from another area who saw my posting. I always post on craigslist when I want to sell a house fast since it is free to post in the areas where I own houses. I understand they charge a fee to post in specific parts of the country, so be sure to check on that yourself.
Another technique to sell a house fast involves calling an auctioneer. It may sound too simple to be true, and it’s not a common practice in most cities, but you’ll see it quite often in rural areas and in small towns across America. Actually, many licensed auctioneers are also licensed real estate brokers, so it’s a natural fit for them to auction houses and land. The auctioneer places the advertising in print and posts it online in order to draw a crowd to your auction. He or she will sell your home to the highest bidder on the specified date, at the specified time. Auctioneers require adequate lead time for advertising their auction in order to draw a big crowd for you, but usually their plans can be accomplished in a couple weeks, assuming there’s time for your house on the auctioneer’s schedule.
Because it’s possible to set a “reserve price” on the sale of your house, it won’t be sold for less, so you are safe. Your reserve price can be set in advance with your auctioneer, and you will know in advance your bottom price when you want to sell your house fast.