Steps for Successfully Selling Your House for a Job Relocation

The good news is that you finally got the dream job you’ve been working towards for years. And as a bonus, it’s located in a city where you’ve always wanted to live. The bad news is that, since they wanted you yesterday, you’ve got to sell your house today—or, as close to that timeline as possible.

Selling a house for a job relocation under the best of conditions, however, can be a source of never-ending stress. When you also need to sell the house fast because the new chapter in your life starts soon, stress frequently shifts into overwhelm. To curb the anxiety about how to move on quickly, consider taking at least one of the steps below.

Quickly Selling Your House for a Job Relocation

As exciting as this time is in many ways, selling a house for a job relocation can, unfortunately, temper that excitement. It’s a heavy lift to be sure, especially if you have to sell a house with water damage, an old and failing electrical system, or an unsightly mess of cracked and peeling paint. Maintenance issues can slow a sale down, whether you decide to perform repairs or not. Most traditional buyers want a move-in-ready house, which means your home could linger a while on the market while you try to find the right buyer. Of course, renovations take a long time, too—as well as more money that you simply may not have.

Since moving in and of itself can also be a pain, you might be tempted not to sell the house at all. You certainly wouldn’t be alone. Some homeowners initially decide to rent their home out or let a friend who is willing to cover the mortgage stay in the house. But these options usually present a host of other problems that make them regret their decision.

Paying two mortgages is about as unappealing as being a long-distance landlord.

For example:

• It takes as long or longer to find a trustworthy renter as it does to find the right buyer to take over living in the house.
• All the repairs will still be your responsibility and, with tenants in the home, you can’t legally put the work off.
• Just flying back and forth to handle any issues will be a big hassle, not to mention an expensive use of your time and resources.
• Should an eviction of the tenant be needed down the road, your costs will just go higher—particularly when damage is done to the property or you have to hire a lawyer. If you’ve rented to a family member or friend, an eviction is sure to ruin the relationship, too, especially if they’ve been missing payments because of a job loss, divorce, or serious illness.

Plus, because paying two mortgages is about as unappealing as being a long-distance landlord, selling the house is really the best choice you have. So, how do you ensure that the sale of your house can quickly go through without incurring more than the necessary stress?

Try one of these approaches:

Seek a Short Sale for Your Home

Most homeowners who aren’t in financial trouble don’t often think that seeking a short sale is actually an option. They may generally be aware that when comparing short selling a house vs foreclosure, homeowners should always go for the short sale first. But when payments are on time and the home is in great shape, asking for bank approval to short the loan doesn’t necessarily come to mind.

Of course, it’s precise because your home is in good shape—if, in fact, it is—that the short sale might work, especially if what is still owed is more than the home is currently worth. And, with the house listed on the market at a discounted price, you’re bound to get a lot of interested buyers more than willing to compete with their terms. Find one who can close quickly as well as pay what the bank approves, and you could be moving on faster than you’d expect.

The short sale process for sellers is a complicated one, however, and it doesn’t always work out in a homeowner’s favor. Some lenders take weeks, even months, to give an approval, and it’s not always at the number that your buyer has offered. So, if the buyer backs out, as they often do, you’ll be back at square one trying again to sell your house.

A great advisor will include an offer to buy your house—and charge you zero fees, whether or not you take their advice.

Ask for a Fast, As-Is Cash Close

As another option, you can still put your home on the open market and ask for a fast, as-is, all-cash close. You’ll typically find that it’s a real estate investor who takes an interest in the deal since they don’t need to rely on traditional loans to purchase a house. A reputable investor will make sure that the terms of the transaction are a good deal for you, too.

Giving you a fair cash offer on your house shouldn’t be all they do, however. Ideally, they’ll also have you point to what you want to keep and simply take responsibility for removing the rest. So, not only can you avoid the hassle of performing any repairs; you may not even have to pack up old things that can be donated or haul away any trash.

Unfortunately, it can still take time to find the right buyer. On average, it takes about 30 days for a home to close. If your local market is leveling off, it could take even longer. You should also build in more time if you’re selling during the winter or an economic slump—when home buying everywhere tends to slow down. You’ll still have to hold showings and allow home inspections, too—unless your cash buyer can take your home sight unseen.

Consult a Trusted Real Estate Advisor

Deciding which of these options is the best one for you does present another problem, however. With so much in your life already moving so fast, making a well-informed decision quickly may not be possible. There may even be other choices that are better for your unique situation, which is impossible to determine without all the details laid out.

A good advisor will help you find ways to net more from the sale of your home while also helping you sell it as fast as you can.

That’s where working with a real estate advisor you can trust comes in. Though that may sound like an expense you can’t afford to take on, consider the time and energy you’ll save by having the hands-on help. Plus, a good advisor will help you find ways to get more from the sale of your home while also helping you sell it as fast as you can.

A great advisor will include an offer to buy your house, too, and charge you zero fees, whether or not you take their advice.

When Change Comes Quickly, It’s Time to Sell Directly

The benefit of working with the real estate advisors at Sell Your House Direct is that they will help you determine the best avenue for quickly offloading your home. Yes, they are as-is, all-cash buyers who can take your house off your hands in seven days or less. They can even help with your transition by hiring movers.

Their main concern, however, is finding solutions for sellers that provide the quickest, easiest, and fairest return. So, they’ll first supply you with a document that outlines all of your costs and what you potentially stand to profit from. It may turn out that short selling your house for the job relocation is your best option as long as you don’t mind risking that it will be a hassle. They might even suggest that performing repairs and putting your home on the market is the best course if it appears you can net a lot from the sale. In either case, you’ll also get the referrals you need from SYHD.

But, if you just want to sell fast so you can begin the next chapter, the best option you have will almost always be to sell to an investor. And if the team at SYHD can’t give you the best price, they’ll also work to find you another reputable investor who can—for zero fees.