Don't Give it Away
By Jim Palmer Jr.

The airwaves and internet reels these days are full of persistent ads by predatory home buyers who make their living preying on others misfortune or impatience.  You can probably hear the catchy tune of their ad jingle as you think about how easy they say it is to sell your home, …if they are the buyer.  “We’ll buy it no matter what condition, with no appraisals, no commissions or fees and with a short closing date,” they say in their upbeat ads.  Oh, and I forgot to say, their offer will always be cash. 

If you are struggling to sell your home and adverse circumstances are trying your patience, these type of ads can certainly make you wonder if you’d be better off to give it away like that and just be free, eliminating all of that angst and hassle from your life.  After all, the people in those ads sure seem like nice guys!  The prospect of a short closing date, no fees and no hassle sound good too, and why would you want to hire one of those real estate brokers and pay them a bunch of commission?

The truth is that if you decide to sell your property to one of these buyers, expect that they typically are only willing to pay 50 – 70% of the actual market value. If you sell to this type of opportunistic buyer you’d be walking away from thousands of dollars of equity.  Are you really willing to give that much away simply because you have become impatient in a slow market? 
The total selling cost to the seller in a traditional home sale transaction (that includes hiring a real estate broker) is approximately 9% of the sales price.  According to Spokane Realtor® statistics for the past year (on Realtor® brokered sales), homes sold within a 2% margin from the original list price. 

When you add together the 9% closing cost and a discount of 2-3%, that cost to sell is still a far cry from the much larger discount you would give up by selling to one of those predatory cash buyers, even if it meant you would have to endure more hassle and more wait time.

Most brokers offer free market analysis that would enlighten you on the approximate current value of your property.  If you are thinking about giving it away to one of those slick cash buyers, at least discover the true market value from a professional market analysis before succumbing to their seductive spiel.