So you have a house you need to sell. And you need to do it fast. Look, things happen. I get that. And whether your house is located in West Boca Raton, East Boca Raton, or surrounding areas, please listen up. Because the truth is that real estate in Boca Raton is in high demand. And if you have a home that you need to offload quickly, then make sure you pay careful attention.
People need to sell properties for a number of reasons. Divorce. Bankruptcy. Job loss. Relocation. Inheritance. Whatever the reason is, selling a house in a short amount of time through a real estate agent is highly unlikely. Even when you’re at the height of the market. And even when we’re talking about Boca Raton, Florida, it just doesn’t happen that fast.
When you take your home to a real estate agent in Boca Raton, or any other city in Florida, the process moves slowly. Not with all agents of course. But often, there are so many steps involved. There’s scheduling for the initial listing appointment, the photos, videos, 3D tours, then the MLS posting, showings, more showings, and so on.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get an offer in 90 to 120 days out. If not, you could be waiting around for 6 months to a year, or even more. Now, if you can wait that long, then by all means just go with a traditional agent. There are some really good realtors in Boca Raton and surrounding areas. But if you need to sell your house way faster than that, and you need cash fast, with a quick close, here’s what you do next.
Real Estate In Boca Raton
Boca Raton is home to some of the most iconic parks and beaches in all of Florida. Some people call it the Beverly Hills of Florida. And that’s certainly true. Boca Raton sits on Florida’s Gold Coast and is filled with Intracoastal waterways, making it a haven for waterfront luxury real estate.
However, Boca Raton is also home to many golf courses and sanctuaries as well. At its epicenter is Mizner Park, which is filled with high-end residential buildings, sprawling luxury estates, designer shops, and gourmet restaurants.
Boca Raton is part of South Florida, the destination where most people come to retire. The weather, especially in the wintertime, make it an ideal place to live year-round, without worrying about snow storms or icy road conditions. However, it is a place that does experience hurricanes.
Depending on where your property is located in Boca Raton, real estate here often doesn’t sit on the market for too long. Depending on the price point and economic climate, most of the time, real estate in Boca Raton sells relatively quickly.
How To Sell Your House In Boca Fast
Now, if you’re in a position where you need to sell your house in Boca fast, listing it with a traditional realtor is not the way to go. It will take way too much time. So what are the alternatives to ensure you can sell your house in days or weeks rather than months or years?
There are plenty of ways to do this. So let’s look at the options you have on the table. Keep in mind that most people think very cut and dry about real estate sales. The truth is that there are always creative options if you’re willing to find one.
1 — Offer Seller Financing
One way to quickly offload your property is to offer seller financing. This works if you have equity in the home. If you don’t, clearly it’s not an option. But seller financing is an option where you act as the bank and payments are made from the buyer directly to you.
This is especially attractive when interest rates are high. Not so much when they are lower. Still, it will allow you to sell your place way faster when you’re open to creative financing options like this one. Typical terms of seller financing will be somewhere in the range of 3 to 5 years. At the end of the term, there’s usually what’s called a “balloon payment” that’s due.
Seller financing includes things like:
- Assumable mortgages
- All-inclusive mortgages
- Junior mortgages
- Wrap-around agreements
- Land contracts
- Fixed-rate mortgages
2 — Find Cash Buyers
The fastest way to sell is to a cash buyer. You get 100% of the value of the property that you agree to with the buyer and it’s fast. Oftentimes, this can happen in as little as a week. It all depends on the situation but cash buyers work incredibly fast.
This is ideal for most people because you don’t need to make any upgrades, repairs, or renovations before you sell. You can sell your property in as-is condition. That’s about as cut and dry as it gets. And if you’re in a situation where you need to sell, this is ideal.
This works best when you’re:
- Behind on your mortgage
- Pre-foreclosure
- In the midst of a divorce
- Job loss or relocation
- Tax delinquent
- Inherited property
- And more…
3 — Sell It “Subject To”
Another way to get out from under a property is to sell it “subject to” the existing mortgage. In this situation, someone literally assumes your payments for your house. This falls under the creative financing umbrella.
Rather than directly financing it to the buyer, you allow them to take over your payments. So how do you know they’ll make the payments? This is often done through a loan servicing company that ensures it gets paid on time every single month.
So why would a buyer want to do something like this? For example, if you have an attractive interest rate on your mortgage, and existing interest rates are high. If the buyer maybe cannot qualify for a loan, this also works well. Finally, if the buyer is looking to insert a tenant who will cover the note, this also works.
The idea here is to be open to various options. Especially when it comes to creative financing, there are simply so many ways that this can work if you need to sell quickly.
4 — Lease Option Your Home
A lease option is another method available. While this is not necessarily considered selling your home immediately, you do provide the option to purchase to a tenant. In a lease option, a portion of the rent goes towards a down payment on the home.
This gives someone the possibility to buy the home who might not be able to afford it. They also may not be able to qualify for a mortgage at that moment. There are often two components to the agreement. There’s the lease agreement and there’s the option agreement.
The option agreement grants the right to purchase the home. Not the obligation. Also, depending on the terms, there’s often an option fee. This fee is paid upfront and is non-refundable. This allows you to get some cash to sell your home upfront.
5 — Auction Your House
Another lesser-known option is to auction off your house. In Boca Raton, there is high demand for real estate. So auctioning off your home is a viable option. However, keep in mind that there are different types of auctions.
- Absolute Auction: This auction type sells the home to the highest bidder. Period. This is regardless of the price it sells for. So if you’re looking for top dollar for your Boca pad, this is not the route to take.
- Minimum Bid Auction: When you have an absolute rock-bottom price you need to get, a minimum bid auction is viable. You simply decide on the lowest amount you’re willing to accept and it goes from there.
- Reserve Auction: The other option is a reserve auction. This is when you set your minimum sales price but there is no obligation to sell unless it’s met. So if the auction’s highest bidder does not meet the reserve, you can back out of the sale.
Can A Real Estate Agent Help You Sell Your House Fast?
There are some really good real estate agents out there. Especially in Boca Raton. But the question is whether they can help you sell your property. And do it quickly. The answer to that really depends on your expectations and your circumstances.
Some really good real estate agents can take your property as a pocket listing. Meaning, they won’t actually go through the whole process of prepping it and placing it on the MLS. What they will do is tell people that they have a pocket listing that is about to hit the market.
This creates a form of urgency and scarcity, two of the most powerful concepts in marketing. However, for this to really work, the real estate agent has to be a seasoned veteran with great contacts. Should you go this route? Not if you really want to sell it fast.
However, if you don’t have to enter into a listing agreement, and can simply give it as a pocket listing to an agent, it might work out. Again, it all depends on your expectations and your circumstances. If you need to make money fast, it’s likely not the option to go.