4 Best Ways for Selling a Home in Arkansas

A private sale is an all-cash transaction that closes quickly, sometimes in only a matter of days when it’s needed.

You won’t have the risk that your buyer won’t qualify for a mortgage to buy your house. You’ll also avoid the headache when your home appraisal doesn’t match your sales price.

There’s also an element of personal privacy in this sales approach. You won’t have any public showings or images of your home posted online for everyone to view.

So, what kind of buyers will purchase your home privately? The next section of this article answers that.

What Are Home Buying Companies?

There are companies that buy houses fast and for cash. That’s their way of investing in real estate.

Investors may be a mom-and-pop family operation that buys a fixer to repair and resell. Or, it may be a group of investors pooling their cash to buy rental properties to keep as a source of regular income.

Home buying companies have individualized business plans. Some look for single-family houses, while others buy all types of properties, including multifamily, manufactured homes, and even vacant land.

A number of Arkansas property investors focus exclusively on buying rental homes or houses that can be converted into leased units.

They buy investment properties in Arkansas in a wide range of conditions. Some home buyers focus on fixers, sometimes properties requiring major repairs, while others purchase only turnkey homes that are move-in ready.

To sum up, there is a local cash investor interested in your property — regardless of its type or current condition.

Many investors specialize in helping homeowners sell a property in a difficult situation that involves legal problems or urgency. They work with people:

• selling a house to avoid foreclosure
• selling a house with sitting tenants
• selling a house to avoid bankruptcy
• selling a house that needs work
• selling an estate home
• selling a house with unpaid property taxes
• selling a hoarder house
• selling a home to downsize to a smaller house
• selling a home during divorce
• selling a house for a job relocation

Home buying companies typically work with an Arkansas investor-friendly title company who has experience in fast-moving cash sales.

Evaluating the pros and cons of an investor sale is a good way to decide if you should sell to a home investor.

Pros of Selling to a Home Buying Company

• When selling a house in Arkansas to a cash house buying company, you can count on it to do it much quicker than a traditional real estate sale.

• Arkansas cash house buyers don’t need to go through the process of home qualifying. They bring cash to the sale. There’s no lender underwriting or property appraisals involved in an investor sale.

• Cash investors buy homes in as-is condition. You don’t need to do anything to get your house ready to sell.

• Investors don’t take a commission. You won’t have to pay either the listing agent or buyer’s agent fee (provided you aren’t using a realtor).

• Cash home buying firms generally pay the home seller closing costs, as well as their own transaction closing fees.

But selling your home privately also has one potential downside.

Cons of Selling to a Home Buying Company

• Cash property buyers in Arkansas generally don’t make offers for homes that match market values.

But it’s important to note that it’s wrong to compare an investor’s offer to one made by a buyer in a traditional sale.

Instead, you need to compare net proceeds — the money you’ll take home when all fees and closing costs are paid.

The price on the investor’s offer is exactly the amount you’ll net — your walk-away money. When a realtor brings an offer from a buyer they found for you, it’s not what you’ll actually net.

In a realtor-managed sale, you’ll need to deduct the cost of agent commissions and closing costs to see your net amount, which suddenly becomes lower than market value, too.

So when you compare the net proceeds in both cases, as well as consider the speed and ease that an investor offers, you may find that it works better for you than hiring an agent.

How to Find an Ethical Home Buying Company

Just like real estate agents or mortgage lenders, not all home buying companies are honest. This segment offers tips for you to vet cash investors so you’ll avoid the not-so-ethical firms.

Begin your screening by collecting a list of investors in your local area. An online search can assist you with this.

Search by using terms such as “we buy homes for cash in Little Rock” or “cash for homes in Bentonville” (of course, use the name of your city instead).

Once you’ve collected a list of prospects, it’s time for the vetting. Look at the investors’ websites to find a page that identifies the company and the investor.

You should see the name and bio of the investor and some background info covering the buyer’s training and experience.

If that isn’t listed on the website, scratch that investor from your list. Reputable investors are transparent about that information.

Look for at least three years in the real estate field and membership in professional organizations and community groups.

Screening investors takes time and effort, but there’s an easier way.

Simply request a cash offer on your home by using our online form, and we’ll match you with a professional investor in your area.

We’ve done the legwork of vetting the investor for expertise, professionalism, and the ability to close transactions.

There’s no charge and there’s never any obligation to sell — regardless of the number of offers you receive.

You’re probably aware of the traditional home sale either through your own experience or by observing friends or family who have sold or bought a home by using a real estate agent.

Who Are Real Estate Agents?

A real estate agent is your personal fiduciary. They’ll list and market your home, manage the property showings, and consult you on any offers you may receive.

Agents also supervise the escrow and closing process once your home has been sold. Your agent is a trained professional who works at a licensed brokerage.

The type of legal arrangement you have with your agent is outlined in a written agency disclosure you’ll sign with their real estate firm.

An agent using the title of “Realtor” is a member of the Arkansas Realtors Association.

Realtors take an oath to follow the association’s code of ethics to make your interests their primary focus in a transaction.

Before selecting an agent, it’s important to balance both the advantages and disadvantages prior to signing a listing agreement with a brokerage.

Pros of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Agents are trained and licensed in real estate law and practice. They’ll take care of all formalities.

• Realtors have access to exclusive databases that can assist you in pricing your home.

• A real estate agent is your legal fiduciary and can handle any of the sale details. You won’t have to be at home when buyers come to see your property or advertise your house to find buyers.

Cons of Using a Real Estate Agent

• The Realtor costs when selling a house are the major downside for most homeowners considering using an agent.

• Your house will take time to sell. During that time, you’ll have potential buyers touring your home during showings and open houses.

• The majority of prospective buyers brought by agents need mortgages to buy. This has risks and delays for the homeowner.

How to Find a Good Real Estate Agent

Valuable sources for locating an agent are friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Supplement that list of prospects with Realtors from your local board.

Verify that the agents on your list have licenses issued by the Arkansas Real Estate Commission, and that the agents’ licenses are in good standing without any restrictions.

The commission’s online Agent Search feature allows you to research that information.

Interviewing agents is required so you can select one that you can work with during your listing and sale.

During this meeting, look through the agent’s listing portfolio. Contact some of the references presented during this meeting to verify the agent’s credentials and professionalism.

Select the real estate agent you feel will do the best job representing your home, and sign a listing agreement with the agent’s brokerage.

Our next method is favored by homeowners who enjoy taking charge of things themselves.

“For sale by owner” sales (FSBOs) require the homeowner to take on all of the duties of a real estate agent, from the listing through the final sale closing.

As a preliminary step, you’ll need to make an inventory of your home to identify what needs to be repaired or improved.

This step isn’t needed if you’re planning on selling a property in Arkansas to an investor. Simply contact them for an offer. No repairs or upgrades are needed.

When your focus is on buyers from the general public who look for turnkey homes, you’ll need to assess curb appeal, paint and flooring, and the overall condition of your home.

You may need to make repairs and replace or upgrade worn or damaged items.

In order to sell a property in Arkansas in some markets, you may need to hire a professional home stager to attract buyers.

You’ll then need to set an asking price. A home worth calculator can assist with that.

Arkansas doesn’t require homeowners to complete a seller property disclosure, but the federal government does mandate sellers to provide specific disclosures to potential buyers, including identifying the presence of lead paint in the home.

Finding prospective buyers can be a challenge for FSBO sellers, but some methods work in many sales markets.

Ways to Market Your House Yourself

• “For sale by owner” signs on your property let people know your home is on the market.

• Video tours posted online at websites like YouTube help spread the word about your home sale.

• Printed flyers can be distributed to potential buyers during a property showing or sent through the mail to any out-of-area interested home shoppers.

• Websites to sell your house by owner are another avenue to advertise your home sale.

Weighing the pros and cons of an FSBO sale can help you make the decision to use this approach for your home sale.

Pros of Marketing Your House Yourself

• FSBO sellers save agent commission fees. These are the largest portion of the seller’s closing costs in Arkansas.

• You set the calendar for every aspect of the sale.

• While an agent has a number of clients to represent, you have only your home as your focus.

Cons of Marketing Your House Yourself

• The legal requirements and forms are an overwhelming task for many homeowners who don’t have formal real estate training.

• You’re on your own without professional advice during the listing and sale.

• Any delays while you research your next move may make your buyers walk away from the sale. And if you make a mistake in the transaction, you may end up in court.

• You may not know that some closing costs when selling a home by owner are negotiable, and you might miss out on those savings. You also may not receive the best sale price for your home due to your lack of knowledge about the local market value.

Our last sales method is a simultaneous purchase and sale.

Some Arkansas iBuyers offer a “buy before you sell” service. The homeowner sells their property to the iBuyer who then waits for them to locate a new home before finalizing the sale.

Once you’ve closed on your new home, the iBuyer then closes on your current house.

This sale works to the homeowner’s advantage because they are confident they’ll get the money to purchase a house before they have to move out of their current home.

The owner also doesn’t need to make a contingency offer on their new property. That sale allows them to take the cash equity from their house to purchase the new property.

Home sellers generally aren’t that excited about contingency sales, so such buyers don’t usually receive the best contract terms when asking the seller to delay the sale.

That wraps up the rundown of the most common property sales techniques in Arkansas. The last segment of the article walks you through the steps in a typical sales transaction.

While Arkansas law doesn’t require the presence of a real estate lawyer to close a sale, you may find the attorney’s advice and supervision a valuable service worth the fee during the sales process.

Before Signing a Purchase Contract

Before inviting any prospective buyers in to view your property, you’ll need to ready your home for sale with an eye on your target buyer.

The general public likes to see move-in ready homes, while investors buy in as-is condition.

You’ll then set an asking price and complete any legal paperwork, including signing a listing agreement and agency disclosure when you use the services of a Realtor.

Our article on selling a house as is in Arkansas provides additional details about the federal disclosure requirements.

Marketing the Property

Your agent will handle marketing when you’ve listed with a brokerage, but FSBO sellers must assume the duty of developing and executing a home marketing plan.

You’ll skip any marketing when selling to an investor or an iBuyer. You need to simply request an offer.

Accepting an Offer

Offers will come directly to you when you sell as an FSBO or to an investor. Your agent will field offers for you and write counter offers when required.

All offers, regardless of how you sell, will include an earnest money deposit. That deposit demonstrates that your potential buyer is serious about the sale.

Buyer Due Diligence Period

The buyer has the lion’s share of the duties during the due diligence period.

They typically will contract for a home inspection to examine the home against what was reported on the property disclosure. They’ll also take out insurance policies for title and home hazards.

Unless you sell to a cash buyer, you’ll need to wait for your purchaser to apply and be approved for a mortgage during this period.

The title officer will conduct a property search, and the escrow officer will prepare the legal paperwork required for the transaction.

Several days prior to the closing, you’ll have an important meeting where your escrow officer will review your closing costs.

You’ll see a fee for commissions and closing costs on this assessment when you sell as an FSBO or with an agent.

If you sell to an investor, they’ll pick up the fees for closing costs, and you’ll skip the commission fees (unless you decide to hire a realtor to represent you).

Your buyer will typically take a walkthrough of the property several days prior to closing.

Closing

The closing has all parties involved sign the official paperwork, the keys will be turned over to the buyer, and the funds will be transferred by the escrow officer.

The new deed will be notarized and then filed with the county Circuit Clerk’s Office.

You now have common methods for selling a property in Arkansas, and you also know the steps in the process.

The only thing left to do is begin collecting names of realtors, iBuyers, and investors to shop for offers and compare commission fees.

Since you’re already here reading about home selling methods, why not request cash offers from the professional investors partnering with us?

Fill out our quick form and get a few offers to compare and choose from. Or, reject all of them. There’s no fee, and no obligation to sell!