Should I Sell My House at an Auction?

There are thousands of homes being auctioned off every month. These properties are bank owned, facing foreclosure, or distressed properties. Sometimes, home owners who want to sell the property quickly opted to sell it in an auction. Auction offers a fast and efficient way to sell but is it the right option for you?

As a home owner, when you sell your house at an auction, you will get the benefit of not having potential buyers snooping through the house for months only to find out that these potential buyers are just looking around.

In an auction, buyers are aware that they are bidding at a house that can be less than perfect. Most of the times, houses in an auction are sold as is, where it is, and in its present condition. The whole selling process can only take a few minutes with a maximum of 45 days to close.

Types of Real Estate Auction

Auction with Reserve – This type of auction allows the seller or agent to accept or reject any bid offer. For example, if the highest bid does not match with the seller’s reserve price, he has the right to decline the bid. This type of auction is sometimes a deterrent to buyers because they don’t have the assurance that they can purchase the house even if they offer the highest bid.

Minimum Bid Auction – A minimum price is predetermined by the seller and the auctioneer will only accept bids equal to or above the minimum reserve price.

Absolute Auction – In this type of auction, the house will be sold to the highest bidder regardless of the offered amount. Seller may or may not receive a fair market value offer to his property.

There are other options to sell a house quickly. One of the fastest ways is to sell to private investors. Private investors offer cash for your houses or any property, buy houses as is, and offers a fair price for your property.

Contact Lucas Properties today if you are ready to move your house.

Top Reasons Why People Sell Their Home

Home owners sell their houses for a variety of reasons. Some people who have lived in one place for 20 to 30 years often wonder about this. Let’s take a look at why people sell their house.

People sell their houses if they want to upgrade or downgrade their property. Upgrading is applicable to a growing family. When they first bought the house and there is just the two of them, one-bedroom house is just enough. And then they grow in numbers; they now have babies and pets and they realized that they needed a bigger house. So, they sell the smaller house in exchange for a bigger and better one. On the other side of the coin; as their children found a family of their own, they are back to being just the two of them. Hence, the reason for selling their house.

Some people sell their house not because they want to, but because they have to. Change in job location can move people to sell. When it is more expensive to keep the old house and rent another one near the working place, it seems logical to sell. People sell when they do not want to spend hours commuting to and from work.

Personal relationship is one of the common reasons why people sell. If each of the couple owned a home prior to getting married, they would want to sell and buy a new house together. On the other hand, divorce or separation causes the couple to sell because they want to get rid of the bad memories including the house that they once lived in.

Change in neighborhood is also a major factor why people sell. When they first move into a certain place, it was once a quiet place. And then, it changes over time. Their neighbors started to receive visitors at 2 AM or maybe there is a new freeway constructed nearby.

Whatever your reasons for selling, you can have a quick and easy sale with Lucas Properties. Lucas Properties buy houses in any condition at any time. Receive cash for your home with Lucas Properties.

Finding the Best Agents

You are considering selling your house but you don’t know where to start. The easiest way is to hire an agent but agents don’t work for free. How much are you willing to pay for their services? Do you have enough money to pay for them? While it is not impossible to find an agent which charges low, you have to be cautious in hiring one. You should be looking at an agent’s success rate in moving a house instead of setting your focus on his service fees.

Where to

Search for agents online. Top caliber agents are very much updated with the trends. They knew that people nowadays use Internet, most of the times, in searching for products and services so more likely they have an online presence such as personal website, directory, and social media accounts.

Search for agents locally. You can’t discredit agents who do not have online presence. Agents who prefer to work locally do not find the need to build a personal website because they find clients through family and friends’ referral. What is good with local agents is that they knew the marketplace already – which house has sold, at what price, what marketing strategy to use to attract buyers, etc.

Who to choose

Look for at least three agents to represent you and have them evaluate your house. You will know that an agent is any good if he is able to provide you with a sound marketing plan, success rate over period of time, and relevant experiences from his past clients.

Once you find the ‘one’, determine exactly what services does he offer. You should know the agent’s limitations and if you are willing to go with them. Otherwise, you can always find another agent to work with.

Selling a house can be overwhelming especially if you are time constrained. There is one sure way to do it – sell your house to Lucas Properties.

Lucas Properties is a private investor which buys houses; this means that you don’t have to spend money to sell your house. Received cash offer from Lucas Properties and close the deal in as short as seven days.

Why You Should Sell Your House During Christmas

Christmas is a time to be jolly but when it comes to selling a house during this holiday season, it is often viewed with mixed emotions. There are advantages and disadvantages of selling your house during holidays. Should you choose to sell your house during the holidays, make sure that you can find an agent who is not also on vacation during this time. Searching for an agent is not a problem if you are selling the house on your own.

There is no doubt that you will encounter challenges when selling a property but when you know what to do and how to do it, you’ll be able to overcome these challenges. You can turn it into your advantage if you view holiday season in the following situations.

Most people are happy and relax during the holidays. When people are in “good mood” they are more likely ready to negotiate and to act. This will be easier for both parties involved.

Christmas add a romantic appeal to your house. In preparing your house for the sale, you can make the festivities an excuse to decorate your house lavishly. Decorations need not be overly expensive; few Christmas lights when placed strategically will transform your house into a warm and inviting place to live in.

Inventory of houses for sale during Christmas is low. This means you have less competition. Buyers will have fewer houses to choose from; so if you make your house stand out you will be able to close the deal before the holidays are over.

But, should you wait for Christmas before you sell your house? The answer is NO. You don’t have to wait for Christmas or any holidays to come because Lucas Properties buys houses anytime.

Lucas Properties buys house as is and they pay with cash. Just fill out the online form and an expert will contact you.

Home Selling: How to Choose a Real Estate Agent

Selling a home can be easy if you know what to do. There are many ways to sell a home – for sale by owner or FSBO, hire a real estate agent, through an auction, or sell privately.

When you do a quick search for real estate agents, you will be surprise to know that there are hundreds of them. Choosing the right one can make or break your deal. Referral from family or friends is always a good start in getting a good agent since they have had a first-hand experience with that agent. They can tell you if that agent is any good or not.

If you don’t have a referral, you can still get the best agent to sell your home and these questions will help you identify that agent.

How long have you been an agent? Although new agents bring in fresh ideas, veteran agents still take the lead. They have more experience and they know the market well, so they will more likely represent you better.

How can I contact you? There is nothing more frustrating than not be able to reach your agent. A common complaint from home owners is that after they hire the agent, they hear nothing. A good agent should keep you well informed. He should be available in common communication channels such as phone, email, and social media.

How many home units have you sold? The higher the number of units sold the better. This goes to show that an agent is good at what he does. The number must be recent, that is within the last six months or at least a year. If he has not sold a unit within a year, then he should have a good explanation for it.

How will you market my home? A good agent should be able to list your home in MLS; this listing targets a wide range of potential buyers. He should be able to provide you with a marketing plan with proof what option works and what does not based on his experience.

If you do not want to work with an agent, you can sell your home privately. This is done by working with private investors. Unlike hiring an agent, you don’t have to pay for their services. Private investors, like Lucas Properties buy houses all the time regardless of its condition.

Advantages and Disadvantages of FSBO

FSBO also known as For Sale By Owner has definite advantages in certain situations. What made it popular to home owners is the cost they save on realtors’ or brokers’ fees. At most, home owners save up to 6% of the asking price when they opt for FSBO. At times, this amount can be tempting enough to forego the realtor’s services. But before you make a decision, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of going the FSBO route.

Marketing

Realtors have marketing leverage. They can list your home in MLS plus they have contact with other agents through their network which gives you the advantage because you are sure to reach wider prospects. On the other hand, since realtors handle multiple clients at once, you cannot expect them to devote their time on your property alone. It is true that realtors can list your home in MLS but it will only become as one of their many listings.

Property Showing

When you hire a realtor, he will take care of showing your property to prospective buyers. He will help you prepare or stage your house before the showings. He will answer questions from buyers, set up open houses and handle financing and closing issues. With FSBO, you will be doing all these work by yourself.

Money

With FSBO, you can save up to 6% of the asking price. Let’s examine this further by taking a look at these situations:

• You will be paying your own advertising – online listing, local papers, making of signage, flyers, posters, and print ads.
•  You will be paying for an attorney who will be handling the legal issues and drawing up of contracts.
•   If you don’t know how, you will be paying for a consultant who will do the comparative analysis of your home.

Do you think you can still make the most money after examining these costs? Do not forget that when you choose FSBO, you will also invest time and effort in the selling process.

Are you still decided to go with FSBO? You can skip the marketing and property showing and still save on the realtor’s fee by selling your house to private cash investors.

Sell your house for cash to Lucas Properties LLC. Unlike realtors, they do not ask for commission. They take away the strain by taking care of the closing documents making every transaction hassle free.

Why it is good to Sell Your House Today

The economy is starting to get back up again and mortgage companies have been less strict in their loan requirements. FHA has a ‘back to work’ program which allows boomerang buyers to be back in the market looking for a new house.
These mean that more buyers are now searching for new homes to acquire.

Given these circumstances, is now a good time to sell your house? It is difficult to predict the housing market. It is like predicting the stock sales. As a home owner who is trying to sell, the decision should be based on not just “When can I sell to get the most money?”

If you have moved out to a new home because of job relocation and your old home is just sitting vacant, then you will have to decide whether you can afford the maintenance costs of two houses or not. You can have it rented however if the revenue is not enough to cover the maintenance costs, then it may be wise to sell your house today.

Location, location, location. In real estate, this is one factor that is not time sensitive or bound to market conditions. It is true that real estate market is recovering in most areas; if you want to sell your house now, do a comparative market analysis in your area so you can position your house aggressively. If you price your house based on other locations’ market condition, you might overprice it. That is to say, a house in the farm land may cost less than a house in the heart of the city.

If you simply want to move on with your life, if you think that the new home will bring more happiness to your family, if the new home will bring in more revenue, then today is as good as any to sell your house.

Lucas Properties LLC is a private investor who has been in real estate industry for years. They buy houses in any condition regardless of the market condition or location. Visit their website to get more details.

Get Rid of Unwanted House

Disposing of unwanted house can be credited to job relocation, downsizing, divorce, impending foreclosure and family emergency. If you find your way in one of these situations, what will you do?

Give the house away. This is the fastest way to get rid of your house. This is very common to rich people where the property can be handed down from grandparents to grandchildren. It only requires simple paperwork which can be done by an attorney or title company depending on which state the property falls under.

Donate your house to charity or any organization. This is not just for the well to do but this is most beneficial to owners whose property is a financial setback. With donation, property owners can do away with liability exposure, property taxes, and insurance costs. Certain regulations apply for real estate donations and these can vary depending on which state and who is making the donation. It is recommended that paper works should be done by an attorney to avoid legal complications.

Trade your unwanted house. Although this is not common, it is worth to be given a thought. You can do away with your house by making offers to trade it for another property, may it be another house in another location, vacant lot, or even a car. Ask a tax consultant for advice regarding property exchange.

Sell your house. It may not be the easiest however this is the most efficient way because you get to be free of the property and receive monetary compensation as a result of the sale. You can use the property as leverage to earn money. Invest the funds to earn more or simply spend it on a much needed vacation. Do a little research and know the different ways in selling a house.

Sell your house quickly to Lucas Properties. As a private investor, they buy houses in any condition any time. You will receive a no hassle cash offer on your property and expect to close within a week.