Congratulations! You’ve got more than a few people interested in buying your house. That’s good, right? From a completely objective standpoint, yes, it is. But your troubles aren’t over yet. With a lot of potential homebuyers lining up outside your doorstep, the question now goes from “How do I sell my house?” to “Who should I sell my house to?”
Finding the right buyer can be a tricky question, especially if each candidate seems just as deserving as the rest. Just as you would be careful about choosing a seller, you should employ the same discerning eye when picking a buyer. Many factors can contribute to your decision, but there are also strategies that you can employ to help you decide faster and more efficiently. Here are five strategies that you can try to find the right buyer for your house.
1. The First-Come-First-Served Strategy
This one is simple. It’s exactly as it says on the tin. The first buyer to come to you with a complete offer gets the house. Granted, sometimes it’s not as simple as that, and the first offer you get might not actually be the best one. Someone else could be waiting to give you a higher offer, or the first buyer might not seem all that trustworthy or doesn’t have the right qualifications. But if you really want this to be done as soon as possible, you can sell to the first buyer that comes knocking.
Who knows, you might get lucky and get an excellent deal right from the get-go. But generally, this strategy doesn’t really work out if you want to earn back as much of your investment as possible. Still, it is one quick way to decide if you don’t have the time to weigh all the options.
2. The Highest Bidder Strategy
This one is probably the most obvious. You can sell your house to the buyer with the highest bid or offer. It not only ensures that you get the best price for your money but also takes into consideration every single buyer’s offer, so nobody feels left out or looked over. The only downside to this is that it might take some time, as some people might need to make a couple of arrangements or discuss with their family or friends before making a decision, and what could be “high” to you might actually be lower than what your house is worth. But for the most part, selling to the highest bidder is a sound enough strategy.
If you’re unsure about how high the highest price should be, find or calculate the overall value of your house. The bidder that’s the closest to that value, or who can actually afford that value, wins.
3. The Smallest Concession Strategy
Seller concessions are expenses the seller covers to pay for additional costs, such as repair, property tax, and closing fees. Asking for seller concessions is a common strategy in the homebuying scene, and you can expect many buyers to ask you what kind of concessions you’ll be covering as the home seller. For the most part, you want to keep the concessions at a minimum, as much as possible. After all, you don’t want to have to spend more than you earn.
You can’t always avoid it, though. Some buyers might demand more than a few concessions, especially if your house is old or needs some repairs. With this strategy, you can pick the buyer who’ll be willing to buy the house with the fewest concessions possible. They might not have the highest bid, but if you want to avoid losing any more money, you can go for this strategy to earn as much as you can.
4. The Fastest Closer Strategy
Closing a deal can be a lengthy process and is definitely a waiting game for many people, sellers, and buyers alike. As much as you want to wait for the best deal, you might not have the time to wait for a potential buyer to close when another buyer is more willing to close on a home faster than the others.
If you want to save on time and effort, picking the fastest closer might be your best bet. This goes hand in hand with the first-come-first-served strategy, except you can most definitely wait for the highest offer and do your best to speed up the process. Then afterward, it’s only a matter of waiting for someone to take the bait.
When All Else Fails, Consult a Realtor
Consult with your realtor if all this talk of strategies and closing gives you a headache. Unlike any average home seller, a realtor is a professional who knows all the ins and outs of purchasing and selling properties. They’ll have a discerning eye when it comes to which buyers are trustworthy or deserve to purchase your home. Then, they can help you close the deal sooner than expected. If you ever find yourself unsure of what to do in the process, contacting an expert is always best.
Conclusion
Selling a home can not only be an emotional process but sometimes a pretty exhausting one too. Choosing the right buyer can be a lot more complicated than you expect, let alone finding one. But if you know what your house is worth and know what to look for in a buyer, you’ll be able to find someone who fits all your criteria in no time.
