iBuyer vs REALTOR®: Comparing the Options for Your Ideal Home Sale

More often than not, timing is everything—especially when it comes to selling a home. Ideally, you’d like to get a fair cash offer on your house from a qualified buyer who can close quickly and make the transaction easy at any point in time. Unfortunately, the real estate market doesn’t always work that way.

In times of crisis, however, it can be too much to think about what the market is or isn’t doing and whether or not it’s a good time to sell. If a family member is ill, a parent has died, or you’ve lost your job, you may not have any other option than to take your chances and sell the house. Or, at least, try to.

When it comes to how you sell your house—whether it’s during a good market or bad—you’ve got a couple of options that may help you quickly get through your difficult situation: using an ibuyer or hiring a real estate agent. We’ll cover some of the key differences, including the costs of going with either one so that you can choose between an ibuyer vs REALTOR® fast.

How to Choose Between an iBuyer vs REALTOR

You probably know what a REALTOR—or a licensed real estate agent—is and what they do, but you may be less familiar with the term “ibuyer” (or even have no idea what an ibuyer program is). You’re not alone, and we can catch you up. Of course, they’re alike in that they can both help you sell your house. They differ, however, in several important ways. For example:

A licensed real estate agent can:

• Point out which home repairs may be critical to make as well as recommend any cosmetic upgrades that may help your home sell fast.
• Help you stage the furniture and advise on how to improve curb appeal, then take photos that show the entire property in its best light.
• Market your home online and around town and answer any calls and emails that come in from potential buyers or their real estate agents.
• Hold open houses and schedule individual appointments for people who need to see the house before they’ll make you an offer.
• Negotiate the price and terms of a contract with interested parties on your behalf—even advise you on which offer you should take.
• Handle all closing paperwork to ensure you get paid for the sale.

The biggest benefit to using a real estate agent—particularly one with a lot of experience and a good reputation—is that they can handle the hard work for you. You will have to pay for that help, however: as much as 6% in commissions and fees. In California, that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars out of your pocket. In any real estate market, that can get expensive.

Unfortunately, a real estate agent’s commission isn’t the only cost you could be responsible for when you hire a REALTOR to help sell the house. Repairs and upgrades combined with cleaning and staging can cost anywhere between $20,000 and $100,000. Then, there’s title insurance, prorated property taxes, and other closing costs you may also have to pay. All of these extra fees can add up to an additional $10,000 or more.

And, there is never a guarantee your house will sell fast. In fact, when homes are listed with a REALTOR, it can take several months for a home to sell—even when times are good.

You can sell your home without a REALTOR and go with an ibuyer instead. This can help you save on these costs—and even reduce some of the hassles associated with a traditional home sale. Here’s why:

An ibuyer can:

• Purchase your home directly from you.
• Make an offer on your house without seeing it first.
• Take your home as-is, even if it needs major repairs, is outdated, or hasn’t been cleaned.
• Close on your house fast—sometimes in a few weeks or less.
• Pay all cash.

iBuyers work primarily online, using specialized software that helps them determine how much they can pay for a house. This technology allows ibuyers to give online quotes to sellers fast after the homeowners have submitted information and pictures or video of their home.

Since many ibuyers are real estate investors and experienced home-buying teams, you can typically count on them to have the funding to actually close on your house. A legitimate ibuyer that’s well-respected and honest will also keep the transaction transparent and simple.

There are still pitfalls to using some ibuyers that you need to be aware of. You may have to pay some form of the commission fee, for example, depending on the program you use. A lot of ibuyers also add miscellaneous service charges to their bills and make closing costs your responsibility as well. They often make unfairly low offers, too. So, you could still end up with very little cash.

The Ideal Home Buyer Makes the Sale Fast, Easy, and Fair

You’ve got a third option, one that is more than ideal: selling your home to Sell Your House Direct.

SYHD isn’t a REALTOR, and we aren’t a traditional ibuyer either. We’re home-buying specialists as well as real estate advisors. We will make you a cash offer that is fair, and we can also close fast. In fact, we’re faster than many ibuyers, closing deals on as-is homes in about seven days or less.

But if we feel we can’t offer the best deal you can get, we’ll connect you with pre-vetted ibuyers or even a real estate agent—so you can take whichever route works best for you. We charge zero commissions and fees for our service, too, because we know that, even when times are easy, selling a home can be stressful.

So, as you’re trying to decide between using an ibuyer vs a REALTOR, give SYHD a call first and let us help you get a fast, easy, and fair offer.