
Selling To House Buyers vs. Listing With An Agent
We love agents. We work with them every day. You may be best served listing your house with an agent. Gasp…did you just say that??
Of course! If we feel that way, we’ll tell you. But even in a seller’s market like Metro Atlanta, it’s smart to look at your options and see what will actually help you best reach your goals with the sale of your house. While you may be able to get a higher “top line” sales price listing with a local agent, that doesn’t always boil down to more money in your pocket or less headache. Dive into the details below to compare your options.

Selling To House Buyers vs. “We Buy Houses Investors”
If you decide not to work with an agent, you still have lots of options. The good news: there are so many “We Buy Houses” folks out there, it’s mind-blowing. The bad news: it can also be difficult to differentiate between them all.
The chart below should help. And definitely read below where we deep dive into the “We Buy Houses” industry.

So, You Want To Sell Your House?
Probably Fast. Probably Easy. And You Want Cash.
Geez…you want it all!
Well, here’s the cool part…YOU CAN!!!
But not all “We Buy Houses” folks are created equal.
Just like these three. All different.


First off, most “We Buy Houses” folks say the same thing:
“We’ll buy your house, as-is, with cash, close in 30 days, we’re awesome, we’re the best…..”
Not everyone can be awesome. Not possible.
And some claims are just plain crazy:
“Give me your address and I’ll send over a contract in 10 minutes”
It’s not possible to prepare an accurate offer that quickly, especially without seeing your house.
Unless they have a lot of these guys.
Here’s Where It Gets Really Interesting
Common Strategy #1…..Present you a low-ball offer
Why?
Hope and pray you’ll accept.
Make enough low-ball offers and you’re bound to get one or two bites.

Common Strategy #2…..Present you an unrealistically high offer

Why?
Because you will accept it.
But that amazing offer will come tumbling down following an inspection.
More on that below.
Now Let’s Go Past the Offer Delivery Process. This Gets Wild.
Most “We Buy Houses” folks are not even the real buyer. They won’t be the one shaking your hand at the closing table. This basic strategy is called wholesaling. Here’s how it’s done:
Sign purchase contract with you → Market that contract to their network of actual investors (with a marked-up price) → Select a buyer → Assign that contract to them.
It’s legal, effective and some do a tremendous job at it.
But, here’s where it can be problematic for you…..
Problem #1
They may not find a buyer. And you have wasted 30 days (or more) and still have the same headache property. And don’t get us started on how many times you may have to show the property.
Problem #2
You’re paying a middleman (the wholesaler) to sell your house instead of putting that cash back in your pocket.

And you’re left feeling like this.
Final Thoughts
What’s described above does not include every “We Buy Houses” group. There are some great folks out there buying headache properties and making a a real difference in communities.
Whoever you decide to sell your house to, please, please…PLEASE ensure they have your best interest in mind.
Ask them the tough questions and make an informed decision.
There are many highly reputable “We Buy Houses” folks out there…..
Allow Us To Demonstrate

We won’t know for sure if your house will fit our model until we do a one-time inspection. We may even suggest that you go an alternate route, based on your current situation.
So many things can alter an offer price beyond just area comps and a Google Maps photo.
Some examples we’ve seen: a strange layout that may result in changing the home’s footprint (i.e. taking down walls), a yard slope that results in flooding after every hard rain, or simply a different neighborhood feel than expected.
It works the other way too. There may be positive features with your property that have to be seen, such as room to add more square footage or a beautiful park nearby that will absolutely attract people. And we promise you this, no one will increase their offer based on these things if they already have you hooked.

We base our offers on the value of your property once it’s been fixed up. That’s important to remember. We’re looking at your property as if it will one day be featured on HGTV. What does that ultimately mean: we can usually offer a better price.
Plus, it’s in our best interest to make you the best offer we can – it increases the chance we’ll work together. We know…it’s very selfish of us.
If we do present an offer, we won’t come back in the 11th hour and request a price reduction. We can’t stress enough how common this is.
We always use either our own cash reserves or a personal lender whose relationship we’ve cultivated for several years.
Please ask whoever you’re working with how they’re really paying for your property. “We buy houses in cash” is so overused and not always accurate. Yes, you’ll eventually receive cash, but not everyone actually has that cash sitting around waiting to send to you. Those that don’t generally won’t be able to close as quickly as stated.
In the spirit of 100% transparency, know where your home buyer is getting their funds. This is the biggest reason why home purchases fall apart. So instead of being frustrated dealing with someone who wasn’t straight up with you from the beginning, you can be like these guys.

Whatever you decide to do, you have many options
Please ensure you’re working with someone fair and reputable.
If you have any further questions about us, or “We Buy Houses” folks in general,
please call us at (404) 800-6158
Or you can click below to put our process to the test.