Buying and selling houses can involve a lot of people and a range of emotions. When you decide to sell your home, you don’t want to put yourself in a position where someone can benefit from your mistakes or naivety. You should be able to move through the process with capability and confidence. Less stress would be great, too.  In this article, we’ll discuss three ways to protect yourself when selling your home and explain why working with a cash buyer can alleviate most of your fears.

Why Should I Be Honest on My Seller’s Disclosure?

To make your house seem more appealing in your seller’s disclosure, you may be tempted to skip over certain events that have happened, such as water damage or a cracking foundation. Don’t do it. You have a chance to protect yourself when selling your home right from the start just by being honest. If something is found during the inspection or after the sale that you didn’t reveal, you’ll not only have to fix it, you could face legal consequences. Being upfront on your seller’s disclosure prevents anyone from saying you withheld information from them. When you work with a cash buyer, there is no seller’s disclosure to fill out, which means there’s no threat of the new owner coming back later and saying you held something back. The house is sold as-is, so there’s nothing to hide.

Why Does Everything Have to Be in Writing?

You may have nothing but faith and trust in your potential buyer, but when it comes down to it, this is a business transaction and you need to treat it as such. That means no verbal consensus or firm handshake—or “you have my word” type of pacts.  When you sell your home, you must protect yourself by making sure all changes, agreements, and deals are in your purchase agreement. This ensures something brought up in casual conversation doesn’t become an issue.  Imagine getting to closing day and the potential buyer says you agreed to leave the trampoline in the backyard, but it’s not in the paperwork. What are the chances you’re going to let the deal fall through over something like that at this point? Having every fine detail listed in writing allows you to set expectations and eliminate unnecessary quibbling.  When you sell your home to a cash buyer, there’s no bargaining and negotiating or wheeling and dealing. It’s a much more straightforward process. A cash buyer is likely not concerned with whether the trampoline stays or goes. Their main focus is on the house’s potential as a fixer-upper and its resale value once it’s renovated.

Why Should I Clear Away Personal and Valuable Items?

Anyone with internet access can see what’s in your home once it’s listed and pictures go up on all the various real estate websites like Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia. You should take away or hide anything that may make you vulnerable to identity thieves and hackers.  Your home will likely be visited in person by potential buyers as well. You must remove prescription medications, valuables, and anything else you’d like to keep. This includes pets. Animals can be a liability if they are in the home, get spooked, and attack someone. Anyone who’s allergic to pets could also bring up health issues. When you’re dealing with a cash buyer, there are no pictures of your belongings on the internet. No strangers will be traipsing around your home and going through your things. You won’t have to quarantine your pets somewhere every time someone is interested in your house. It’s a simple deal that consists of making an offer and accepting the terms.

How Sellers are Taken Advantage of

Now you know at least three ways to protect yourself when selling your home and how a cash buyer could be of service to you.  First, be honest on your seller’s disclosure so no one can say you weren’t forthright about things that were wrong with the house. Next, get everything down in writing to prevent last-minute debacles over minor issues that could throw the whole deal in a tailspin. Finally, take valuables (including pets) out of your home so there won’t be any missing items, liability issues, or health concerns. Sellers don’t have to worry about any of these matters when working with cash buyers. There’s nothing to disclose and there are no under-the-table dealings. You don’t have to lock up your valuables and your pets don’t have to go to a kennel.  A cash buyer like New Again Houses® can make you a fair offer and close the deal in as little as seven days. Tell us more about your home and we’ll get going!

Andy Vincent

Andy strives to help individuals get out of troubling situations with their unwanted properties. With a business management and entrepreneurship background as well as being a realtor, he is able to help individuals come up with the correct resolutions to their issues and make the process easy and transparent for every party.

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