Meet five home sellers who wish they never called "We Buy Ugly Houses." (2023)

FAQs

Why am I getting unsolicited offers to buy my house? ›

Homebuyers will sometimes partner with real estate agents to send unsolicited offers to homeowners to try and make an off-market deal. This type of deal is advantageous to homebuyers looking to avoid bidding wars in especially competitive markets.

Petit says most of the calls are from real people looking to invest and flip. They get your name and address from public records and the auditor's office. It could be worth your time to explore if you're looking to sell or in a bind with your mortgage, but as with anything, there are red flags to look out for.

A good reason why you may want to offer below 5% is when you're paying with cash (although companies who offer sellers cash for their home will typically offer 65% below market price).

The National Do Not Call Registry was created to stop sales calls from real companies. It's free to register your home or mobile phone number.

In many cases, these letters are designed to let you know of someone's interest in purchasing your property. Most letters will explain that a client wants to buy your property. Although the rest of the actual letter may vary, it will generally express a desire to purchase your property along with proposed terms.

Beware of anyone who asks you to sign over the title to your home based only on their promises to sell your property. If you're struggling to pay your mortgage, speak with your lender directly. If you're looking to buy or rent a home, never pay money upfront before signing a lease or contract.

Most unsolicited offers come from investors (both large companies and individual people) looking for opportunities to make below-market purchases for resale profit.

Some real estate professionals suggest offering 1% – 3% more than the asking price to make the offer competitive, while others suggest simply offering a few thousand dollars more than the current highest bid.

What is the rule of thumb when making an offer on a home? ›

The rule of thumb is usually between 5 and 10 percent of the home price. Bear in mind that you could lose the money if the deal falls through, so it's important not to put up so much that you'd be ruined if you lost the cash.

A home's value is affected by local real estate trends, the housing market, the home's condition, age, location and property size.

In general, a staged home will sell quicker than a non-staged home, and at a higher price too! 95% of staged homes sell in 11 days or less, and a staged home will sell for 17% more than a non-staged home.

Businesses must follow rules around who they call, how they sell, and when they pick up the phone. But cold calling is definitely legal and with the right techniques, it can be an effective sales tool in your toolkit.

Simply text “TPS” and your email address to 85095 from your mobile phone. There is no charge to send a message to - or receive confirmation from - this number.

Sometimes realtors may struggle to find available homes to sell or may work on behalf of buyers who are having trouble finding available properties. These realtors might hire companies that distribute spam texts.

The most effective letters focus on a potential buyer's connection to a specific aspect of the property. Letters make an impression on some sellers, but not everyone. Dolan said in his area, some sellers like to know that they're not selling their home to a developer who may knock it down and build something new.

Is it unethical to write a letter to a home seller? ›

It's not against the law for a home buyer to write a personal letter to the seller. But some buyer love letters can invite sellers to unwittingly violate fair housing laws.

John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999.

“Investors piled into the housing market in 2021 due to rock-bottom mortgage rates and surging housing demand, and are now retreating amid projections that home prices have room to fall,” the report said.

That's one of the key takeaways in a new UC Berkeley research paper which chronicles the state's continued decline in homeownership among all age groups, especially younger adults. The state's homeownership rate for people aged 25 to 75 dropped to 43.5% in 2021, down from nearly 50% in 2000, the paper found.

Be on the lookout for these red flags: Being asked to pay money in order to receive a prize or get a job. Pressure to act immediately. Use of scare tactics, e.g. telling you a loved one is in danger, that your computer has been hacked or threatening arrest if you don't act now.

What's the lowest you should offer on a house? ›

Typically, a lowball offer is considered to be at least 20% below the asking price. If you're offering 10% below, the property should be in a good condition but may just need some cosmetic work done. The goal of offering 10% below the asking price is to use those extra funds to cover the repairs.

Age and condition. Typically, homes that are newer appraise at a higher value. The fact that critical parts of the house, like plumbing, electrical, the roof, and appliances are newer and therefore less likely to break down, can generate savings for a buyer.

This delay in itself will not cost you extra money, but if the 3-day delay pushes the repayment of the old loan too close to the weekend, you could end up with a longer overlap in interest payments. You will ideally want to sign your documents on a Tuesday or Wednesday to avoid this issue.

The average time it takes to sell a house in California is 72 days — 37 days to get an offer and an additional 35 days to close. This is approximately 13.3% faster than the national average. Keep in mind that these are annual averages and the numbers will vary by month and/or season.

A low offer may be upsetting to the sellers, but if you and your real estate agent present the offer along with an expression of your appreciation for the property, it's more likely to be accepted than a low offer accompanied by a half-complete contract or an insult about the property's condition.

If you're ready to buy a home, you're probably wondering about how to write “a strong offer.” When we say “strong offer,” we're talking about writing the best offer – an offer that's going to have the best chance of getting chosen by the seller.

As a home buyer, you have every right to offer less than the asking price if you feel it's too high. On the other hand, the seller has every right to reject your offer, if they feel it's too low. So be sure to do your homework and tread carefully.

The Framing

A home's framing is its skeleton. Because so much material and skilled labor is required, this is an incredibly expensive part of building a home. While framing may not be as expensive as the foundation or lot, it is typically more costly than other items.

At what age does a house start losing value? ›

If you haven't renovated your home in the past 30 years or so, it won't show well when you put it on the market. In other words, it won't get the same price as a similar home that's been maintained and updated.

When you're painting your house to sell, you'll want to stick with neutral or earthy tones, though you can choose white, beiges, greys, or even off-white colors. Depending on the room, you can even choose neutral shades of blue or green (like in the kitchen). You'll also want to avoid white in bathrooms.

Colonial. Colonial-style homes have the highest resale factor when all other elements are equal. These two-story homes that often have a boxlike appearance are popular because of the amount of functional living space that they often have.

The rooms buyers most closely inspect (and judge) in a house are the kitchen and master bath. These are the interior spaces where the most value can be added during a sale, so they need to look their best.

Shows off open space and home design

An unfurnished home can more effectively present the home's open spaces and architecture. Some buyers will appreciate seeing and imagining the full potential of the space through their own eyes rather than seeing other people's belongings cluttering up their vision.

Fresh Paint will make your Home look Expensive

Light airy neutral paint colors make a room look expensive. Choose from white, beige (yes beige is back!), cream and off-white colors. Dark brown and black are also on trend so will make your interiors look more upscale as well.

Sticking to a square or rectangular floor plan makes the building and design simple. Generally speaking, building up is cheaper than building a sprawling one-story home, so you may want to consider planning for a multiple-story home if you need more space.

While it isn't always a scam, if you receive a text message from a random number asking to buy your house, you should probably ignore it. Most of these texts are simply trying to get personal info from you, and trick you into sending funds or your bank account info.

Sometimes realtors may struggle to find available homes to sell or may work on behalf of buyers who are having trouble finding available properties. These realtors might hire companies that distribute spam texts.

Can you decline offers on your house? ›

Rejecting an offer is entirely legal as long as you do it for the right reasons and with good intentions. There are many reasons that are legally acceptable, including low offers and concerns about the buyer's financial position.

More than 49% of people say that they want to move for career advancement opportunities. Relocation for work is the most common reason people sell homes. A person living in City A might consider moving to City B when an employer offers to pay them a significantly higher salary or let them work on exciting projects.

Why am I getting spam text messages? Spam texts are both intrusive and pose a security threat. If you are getting spam texts, it's more than likely that whoever is sending you a spam text message is trying to get access to your personal information—bank accounts, passwords, social security number, online IDs and more.

Put yourself on 'do not text' lists

If you're getting a lot of marketing calls and text messages, adding yourself to the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call Registry may help stop them, the security firm Norton says. If a marketer contacts you after 30 days on the list, you can report it to the FTC.

If you receive any unwanted email, the best approach in almost every case is to delete it immediately. It is often clear from the Subject line that a message is junk, so you may not even need to open the message to read it.

Home sellers aren't obligated to accept any offer on their home—no matter how much money it's for. 1 There may be other offers on the table or, in some cases, they may want to hold out for more money. In those cases, a seller may reject an offer, even if it's at the asking price—or even above it.

Your offer price may have been too low or too high, or they may have simply received a better offer. Other reasons could include the listing agreement commission structure, specific contract requirements, or personal reasons.

Perhaps your home feels like an extension of who you are, so selling feels like letting go of a piece of your self-identity. In other cases, financial woes could make downsizing feel like failure, where it's hard to let go and agree to a deal.

So what we're saying when we say, "text me when you get home" is: I'm here for you, whether you're standing in front of me or miles away. Whenever you need me, whether it's because you're scared, heartbroken, or just bored, I will be there. It's a reminder that we have each other, even if nothing official binds us.

Can I refuse to sell to someone I don't like? ›

It is not always illegal to refuse to sell to a buyer, but there are a few instances where saying, "No, thank you," is not acceptable. Those reasons are if you're discriminating based on age, sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, disability, or any other discriminatory reason as outlined in the Fair Housing Act.

The right way to reject an offer. The proper way to give a buyer's agent the bad news is as follows: Promptly call, write or send a text message to the agent thanking him or her for the offer. Politely and graciously explain that the homesellers have accepted an offer that they like better.