i-Buyers and “We Pay Cash for Homes” – What Does This All Mean?

As technology continues to change so is the way real estate is being purchased.  Unfortunately for you, these buyers do not have your best interest in mind. They are seeing the $$$ in profit that your house represents for themselves.  This blog will focus on two them.

i-Buyers: an iBuyer is a new form of entity that reaches out to consumers with the notion that they will buy your home without you needing to clean, stage, repair, prep for sale, or even put your house on the open market.  They say they’ll pay cash and you determine when you close.  Sounds great, right?  Well, reality is that Zillow has started their iBuyer business and although they are buying some homes (word on street is ~200 in Phoenix) their strategy is to market this on a broad scale to get as many interested owner/sellers to respond so they can obtain your contact information.  In most cases, although they will not buy your house themselves, they will turn around and market you as an interested seller and sell the information as a lead to multiple agents.  Also, as Zillow is procuring real estate licenses in multiple states, part of their agreement to agents likely includes a referral fee so when one of these Realtors buys you as a lead and sells your home, Zillow (or another iBuyer) gets paid a percentage of the commission as a referral fee.  Bottom line, you took the bait and the iBuyer just made a huge profit off your home, and they never paid $1.

“We Buy Homes for Cash:” these investors are popping up everywhere – signs on the street, in front of houses they’ve bought, on billboards, advertised on vehicles, in emails, texts, and phone calls. Like an iBuyer, these people want to buy your house but only for a fraction of the market value.  Their game is to find people who want or need to sell, appeal to their plight, and pay as little as they can so they can move in, remodel, and sell for much more.  I’ve had these people contact me and I played their game: they try to get you to tell them what you’d sell for and will not tell you the value.  If this is for you, go for it.  But Seller Beware!

My proven solution: I work with 7+ investors who will also buy your house for cash, and generally on your terms.  Because I have a group of investors looking for properties, I can shop your house to get you the best price in cash and close on your terms.  I worked this out for a couple on Spokane’s South Hill and was able to get them more than they were hoping for and made it very easy for all involved. 

As the real estate market changes, so does the way property is bought and sold.  The best approach is to be fully educated and work with a trusted, knowledgeable, and professional realtor.  I’m happy to say I meet all three of these qualifications and am taking on new clients.  You can reach me at ssilbar@johnlscott.com.