What Is an iBuyer Program? And How Can It Help in Tough Times?

Times of crisis are almost always overwhelming. An economic downturn that destabilizes your small business or an illness that stops your health in its tracks and sends you to the hospital can quickly turn your world upside down, emptying your pockets and most of your hope. And when everyone is feeling pinched, as they do during a recession, or scared for their health because a new flu-like virus has been discovered, it can make you want to drop everything and retreat, whether you’re being forced to or not.

If you’ve been preparing to sell your house—or think you may need to since life has drastically changed—you’ve potentially got another, new problem on your hands. When times are hard for everyone and you may not even be able to show your house, how in the world can you expect to get your home sold? Using an ibuyer is one method that’s getting traction with sellers. But what is an ibuyer program, and is it your only—or best—option? Let’s take a look.

What Is an iBuyer Program?

An ibuyer is a real estate investor, team, or company that can conduct the purchase of houses almost exclusively online. By using different tech tools, like automated valuation software, they gather and analyze data about other home sales which allows them to make offers on houses they haven’t even seen.

Making sight-unseen offers on houses isn’t all that ibuyers can do. Because some automated valuation models (AVMs) compare sales of comparable homes quickly and accurately, ibuyers can also give online quotes on homes fast—so you don’t have to wait long. Usually, they’ll pay cash and take houses as-is, too.

Some ibuyers can get the process rolling much faster than others. Local San Diego-area ibuyer Sell Your House Direct can make you an initial offer in about 24 hours and close on your home in a week or even less.

The Process of Selling to an iBuyer

The process of using an ibuyer is fairly straightforward—an added benefit when the things happening in your life and around you are stressful. Individual programs may vary, of course, depending on the ibuyer; but here’s all you usually have to do to sell your home to one that is reputable:

• Fill out an online form with details about your house.
• Review the automated offer that gets generated.
• Schedule a virtual “walk-through” and home inspection with your ibuyer.
• Accept the offer by signing the contract.
• Pay any closing costs and fees that weren’t already deducted from the initial offer price.

The obvious upside to this process is that selling your home quickly, easily, and safely can be a reality. And times don’t have to be tough for you to want the sale of your home to run smoothly. If you need to sell the house fast because you’ve been offered work out of state, for example, going with an ibuyer may still be a better choice than hassling with a more traditional transaction.

While an ibuyer program generally offers more convenience and opportunity during particularly tough times, it’s still critical to find the right ibuyer that is committed to serving its community. Some ibuyers may take advantage of sellers’ pain points. Find out more about how a trustworthy buyer compares to a big box buyer.

The Downsides to Using a Traditional iBuyer

Unfortunately, there are downsides to using an ibuyer that you should be aware of, too:

• Offers that are generated by an AVM are frequently low.
• You may still have to consent to a home inspection to finalize the offer.
• With some ibuyers, you may still be responsible for all closing costs and commission fees.
• There are often various service charges that get added to your bill later, too.
• It’s easy to get scammed.

These potential downsides bring to light a few critical points. For example, if you’re behind on your house payment or medical bills are stacking up, you may need to close faster than what a traditional ibuyer can promise. You’ll certainly want a cash offer on your house that is fair—no matter when you close—without it costing a lot of extra fees. And, if you can’t show your house or don’t want to because of your health, you should still be able to sell fast—and you deserve a transaction that’s easy.

Using Sell Your House Direct, Close Fast for a Fair Price

When times change, for better or for worse, the way you sell your house might have to change, too. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. As the saying goes, the only constant in life is changes.

But when times are tough, most of us need options in order to effectively adapt and move on, especially when it comes to selling our homes. To some degree, that’s what an ibuyer program is: one modern alternative that gives homeowners a different way to still sell their houses.

What a traditional ibuyer isn’t, however, is a home-buying specialist who cares about your unique circumstances and who takes into consideration more than just automatically-generated data. That’s exactly what the California-based team at Sell Your House Direct, on the other hand, is.

SYHD can also make you an initial offer in about 24 hours, as well as close on your home in one week or less. They’ll make the entire transaction as easy as possible, too, including helping to pay for your move. You won’t have to do any cleaning or hire a real estate agent, and you won’t be charged closing costs, commissions, or fees. And as long as you provide photos or video chat to share detailed information, SYHD will always pay you a fair cash price for your home.