Plain answers to the questions homeowners ask before they sell: how fast a house can sell, what a cash offer is worth, and what to do when a family change, a missed payment or a repair gets in the way.
Every fact and figure links to the public source it comes from.
How fast a house can sell, what a cash offer is worth next to a listing, and how to check a buyer before you sign.
The fastest way to sell a house is usually to sell it as-is to a cash buyer, because there's no buyer's loan or appraisal to wait on and the closing can happen once the title work is done. If your house is in good shape and you can wait a few months, listing it with an agent at a realistic price often brings more money, so compare what you'd take home from each.
List with a realtor if your house is move-in ready and you have time to wait for a buyer, because buyers with a mortgage usually pay the most for a house in good shape. Take a cash offer if the house needs work, you need a certain closing date, or you'd rather skip repairs and a buyer's loan that can fall through, and compare the two by what you'd take home, not by the price.
There's no standard discount: a cash buyer's offer starts from what the house would sell for in good condition and subtracts the repairs, the costs of owning and reselling it, and the buyer's profit, so the more work a house needs, the further below that price the offer lands. The fair way to judge an offer is by what you'd take home from it next to what you'd net from a listing after commissions, repairs and the months it takes to sell.
A legitimate cash home buyer never charges you to make an offer, puts every term in a written purchase contract you can read before you sign, and closes through a title company or closing attorney you can look up yourself. Check the company's registration with your state and its complaint history with the Better Business Bureau and your attorney general, and ask in writing whether it will buy the house itself or assign the contract to another buyer.
Who can sign, what the court has to approve, and how the money is split when a house changes hands in a family.
First make sure you have the legal right to sell it, which usually means a probate court has appointed you executor or administrator, or the house has already passed into your name. Then agree with any other heirs, keep the loan, taxes and insurance paid until closing, and sell it as-is or after repairs; tax is usually owed only on any gain above the house's value on the date of death.
Yes, in most cases the executor or administrator can sell a house during probate once the court has given them authority, through letters testamentary or letters of administration. Whether the sale also needs a judge's approval depends on your state and on the powers the will or the court gives the executor.
Most divorcing couples either sell the house and split what's left after the mortgage and costs, or one spouse buys out the other and refinances the loan in their own name. Both owners usually have to sign the sale, so agree in writing on the price, the timing and how the money is split, ideally in your settlement or a court order, before you accept an offer.
What happens when mortgage or property tax payments fall behind, how long you usually have, and how a sale settles what's owed.
Yes, in most cases you can sell your house any time before the foreclosure sale, and the sale pays off your mortgage at closing, which ends the foreclosure and leaves you any money that's left. How much time you have depends on your state and how far along the foreclosure is, so call your loan servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor right away.
Yes, you can sell a house with unpaid property taxes, and the overdue taxes, penalties and interest are paid from the sale price at closing, the same way your mortgage is. What matters is selling before the county's tax sale, because getting the house back after one costs more, and the deadline depends on your state.
Selling a house that needs work: what you have to disclose, what buyers' lenders allow, and your options besides fixing it first.
Enter your address to start. It takes about 2 minutes.