Sellers seem to have the advantage in Tampa right now (though the market is getting cooler), but with so many options for how to sell your house, how do you know you’re choosing the right one?
Many factors apply when making your decision. How quickly do you need to sell? Do you need to make structural or cosmetic repairs before putting your home on the market? Are you stressed about showing your home over and over again? Are you worried that an inspection will ruin your chances of getting a fair offer—or cause the whole deal to fall through?
Let’s compare selling your Tampa-area home for cash to KM Home Buyers versus selling with a realtor.
| Selling with a Realtor | Selling to KM Home Buyers | |
| How many showings? | Can be MANY | Zero |
| How many days on the market? | An average of 77 days | Zero |
| Will there be contingencies? | Very Often | No |
| How much are closing costs? | You’ll pay about 1% of the selling price | No |
| How much is commission? | You’ll pay between 4-7% of the selling price | You pay ZERO agent commissions |
| What if repairs are needed? | Most commonly, you make them prior to the sale | You make ZERO repairs |
| How soon is closing? | About 50 days | As few as 7 days |
There you have it: if you need to sell quickly, without hassles and money out of pocket, selling to KM Home Buyers is a viable solution.
If you have lots of time, unlimited financial resources, and tons of flexibility in your schedule, you can opt to go with a realtor. Here’s how that plays out:
Showing your home. Once your home is listed, potential buyers will want to see it. How many times you’ll have to show before you get an offer varies greatly. It’s one of the most unpredictable parts of the process. That means keeping your home in tip-top shape around the clock. You never know when a request will come in. If you’re not at work, that means leaving your home while the showing takes place. That gets exhausting!
Waiting for offers. Right now, in Tampa, the average time a home is on the market is 77 days. Ask yourself: do you have time to wait?
Dealing with contingencies. There are many contingencies that may be included in your contract. The most common are appraisal, inspection, and financing contingencies. Any of these could cause the selling price to be renegotiated (lower, of course), require costly repairs to be made prior to closing, or allow the buyers to back out of the deal—and then you’re back to square one.
Paying closing costs. In nearly all cases, you, the seller, will pay the closing costs. Closing costs in Florida are currently about 1% of a home’s selling price. You pay most of those to the lender.
Paying commission. Realtor commission averages about 6%, but can be as low as 4% or as high as 7%. Depending on the value of your home, that’s a lot of extra out of your pocket.
Making repairs. If your home needs some work, either to make it more appealing to sell or because necessary repairs are discovered during an appraisal or inspection, it’s most likely you’ll be making the investment. That’s certainly true for any improvements that have to made before you put your house on the market. While occasionally sellers can negotiate to have the buyer to pay for contingency repairs, the buyer would have to be fairly desperate to do so.
Waiting to close. You’ve managed to get through most of the process: you survived the showings, the inspections, and the lowball offers. That’s months of being on pins and needles. And, now, you have to wait some more. About 50 days on average—if things go smoothly. Longer, if not. Again, you have to ask yourself: do you have time to wait?
What about going the For Sale By Owner route?
It’s true, you can save a little on realtor commission if you try to sell your house yourself. But, often, you’ll still end up paying a smaller commission to the buyer’s agent—and, on top of that, you have to manage every aspect of the sale. Are you savvy enough? Are you prepared to expend that amount of time? Don’t forget: commission is really the only part of the process you’ll be spared by going FSBO. And, if you fail to sell your home on your own? Now what?
If you need to sell your house fast without all the inconveniences, KM Home Buyers will buy your house for cash. Zero hassles, zero repairs, zero fees of any kind, and zero surprises. Just 100% satisfaction.
