Selling a home in today’s market can be an adventure—and not always an enjoyable one. According to market watchers, the Kansas City area has experienced sharper appreciation in home prices than many other major U.S. cities in recent years. That makes it a good time to sell for many homeowners, but not necessarily for everybody.
Even in a seller’s market, attractive, modern homes that are move-in ready may still sit on the market for months before they sell. There may also be a big difference between the price home sellers believe their properties are worth and what real estate agents will tell them—even after a lot of time, effort, and money have been put into a property to make it ready for sale. Competition is stiff, and there are few guarantees.
That’s why smart home sellers—especially those with distressed properties or a tight timeline—often turn to a professional house buyer in Kansas City to sell their property quickly and with far less hassle than they would experience selling it on the open market.
If you’re a home owner looking to sell your house in Kansas City, a realtor may tell you that your house isn’t worth as much as you thought simply because it hasn’t been updated in some time. That’s what happened to Bill and Karen, a couple in Kansas City, MO, who were hoping to get out from under a home they could no longer afford before foreclosure.
Bill and Karen owned a typical home in Kansas City, but they found themselves struggling to pay their mortgage. After working hard for the better part of a year, they finally decided to call a realtor. To their surprise, the realtor was very critical during her walk-through. By the time she was ready to leave, Bill and Karen had what seemed like a mile-long list of things that needed to be done before she could list the home on the market.
They needed to paint the walls, update the bathrooms, and put in new flooring throughout the house. Apparently their kitchen had seen its best years in the 1980s. The realtor also mentioned extensive landscaping that needed to be done to give the house better curb appeal. Bill and Karen estimated that they were looking at around $30,000 in remodeling and repairs, all before an inspector had even visited the property, leaving them to wonder what else needed fixing before they would be able to sell. Plumbing? Wiring? Foundation work? Roofing?
Bill and Karen found themselves faced with some tough decisions. They didn’t have the money available to make all of the changes that the realtor was asking for; if they had that much money, they wouldn’t have been selling their house in the first place. Should they begin working on these repairs and remodels in what little spare time they had or should they tackle some of the most obvious work and then try to sell the house for sale by owner (FSBO)? But an FSBO sale can take up to 20% longer than selling a house through a realtor, and Bill and Karen needed to get out from under their home before foreclosure.
Their best bet was to find someone who could buy their home right away, as-is. That’s why they turned to a professional house buyer in Kansas City.
Many people who are attempting to sell their homes in Kansas City find themselves in situations similar to Bill and Karen’s. Just because the typical KC home appraises for $150,000 doesn’t mean a realtor is going to agree. Most realtors demand renovations and updates before they’ll put a home on the market, and this can cost an average of $23,000 or even more.
Realtors and prospective buyers look at the age of your home, its location, size, number of rooms, and your neighborhood when determining a list price or offer amount, not to mention home improvements to the roof, foundations, appliances, and more. Popcorn ceilings were once all the rage, but these days they’re unpopular. If you’ve got a popcorn ceiling in your house, a realtor may ask you to remove it before your home goes on the market.
Plus, when you list a home with a realtor, there are realtor fees (usually around 6%), closing costs (3%), appraisal fees that can run an average of $400 to $800, inspection fees, escrow fees, and more. Once you factor all that in, the price that you’re actually getting for your house may be a lot lower than what you’re selling it for.
What’s a person to do if they need to sell a home quickly and get on with their life in Kansas City? Can you rid yourself of a distressed home before an unsustainable expense in time, effort, and money makes the situation worse? How can you preserve what you have for the future?
Like Bill and Karen, you may benefit from reaching out to a professional house buyer in Kansas City. Home buyers like HouseMax specialize in helping Kansas City-area homeowners sell distressed houses quickly. Rather than going FSBO or listing your home with a realtor, a house buyer in Kansas City will buy your house directly from you, in as-is condition.
How does it work? A home buyer like HouseMax isn’t trying to find someone else to buy your home; they are the buyer. Unlike a real estate agent, a professional home buyer will give you a generous offer based on you home as it is. They won’t require a laundry list of improvements and renovations. You can then close on the sale in as few as seven days.
The housing market is constantly changing. Right now is a good time to sell in Kansas City, but this market might not last long. Employment is up in KC, but new home manufacturing is expected to decline this year, driving up property values for existing homes. You don’t want to get left behind, especially if you have a distressed home and need to sell quickly without the added expense in time, effort, and cash that comes with selling a home through a realtor. A professional home buyer in Kansas City might be just what you need!
