When I use the phrase “We Buy Houses In Massachusetts,” most people come to mind some traditional concept of “Buy and Own” home. “We Buy Houses” has nothing to do with owning a home at all. It just refers to buying a home when you need to and not paying for it. When saying Buy Homes As is, it means exactly as you describe it: As is and in ANY condition except for foreclosure.
Let’s think about this for a moment, shall we? When you say “We Buy Houses,” you are referring to real estate agents who buy homes as-is. They do not go through any type of financing or mortgage and simply list the house as is. They take whatever you are looking for, and deal with the people who occupy it thereafter. If your house has dirty clothes on the floor, missing furniture, no cooking utensils, no trash on the ground, no toys in the bedroom, etc, you can leave it in its current condition, pay the fees for the sale and manage the remainder. The only thing that may change from that is if the buyers pay cash.
So what does this have to do with the phrase “We Buy Houses As is”? This simply means that you can actually negotiate a “We Buy Houses” cash offer down from the current value of the house. That is right, your current house can be offered for cash. This may sound like a good idea to you, but there are a couple of things that you should know. First of all, you must remember that you are dealing with local real estate agents who will typically be working with a buyer’s association. Secondly, most cash offers are typically not a matter of negotiation but are based solely upon the property.
This is where some wholesalers can step in and save you a bundle. Because they deal directly with the owners of the homes, they can often negotiate prices lower than that which would be available to the public. Why? They buy houses from real estate investors, unload them when the owners decide to sell them, and then offer them below market value – since they bought them at a wholesaler’s expense.
How do they do this? Investors who do not have their own homes will often use the services of wholesalers who act as intermediaries. What they do is they set up a special bank account where the investors’ money is deposited. The wholesaler then buys up large numbers of homes and offers them up for sale through an agency or classifieds. Many buyers will be interested in buying houses quickly, so you may find yourself competing against other wholesalers who are offering cash purchases as well.
If you want to compete against other real estate investors, you have to offer them something in return. The best way to give something back is to make sure the properties you purchase from them are below market value. In fact, if you are able to buy houses at or below the market value – and some wholesalers are able to do this – you will get a very attractive price for them. Some investors will offer to take a percentage of the market value, but that’s just flat-out better than buying a home at retail market value. It’s really not all that difficult to find a wholesaler willing to work with you.
One thing you can also do to make a really attractive offer to wholesalers is to offer to buy houses at “addition” prices. This means that you are willing to offer more than the current market value for the property. For instance, if the wholesaler has two units available, you might offer them four for a total of ten. This is a great way to drive up the demand for the properties that you are offering, and you will often be able to negotiate a good cash offer once you’ve closed a deal with the wholesaler.
The nice thing about being a cash buyer is that you can often negotiate your way to a “close” on a deal. Real estate agents often try to “pre-sell” buyers by showing them houses that are on their list but aren’t ready to move in yet. They sometimes hold off listing these homes because they are waiting for a particular type of buyer. You can usually negotiate your way to the close on any deal if you know how to talk to the right people.