4 Best Ways for Selling a Home in Massachusetts

If you’re looking for a fast closing and an all-cash transaction, then the private sale is your perfect match.

There’s no wait for marketing your home, no delay when a buyer must apply for and be accepted for a mortgage.

You won’t have any home appraisals or mortgage underwriters making decisions about loan funding.

You’ll also skip the general public touring your home for showings. There won’t be any calls to tour your property when you’re just sitting down to dinner, or when you’re ready to relax in the evening.

This sale allows your home to close quickly, and you retain your privacy when you sell a property in Massachusetts privately.

The next segment offers more details about the private sales transaction.

What Are Home Buying Companies?

Home buying companies have cash, and they can close a home sale quickly. These investors bring their own cash or arrange hard money loans to take on Massachusetts real estate investment opportunities.

Massachusetts real estate investors have different objectives in buying. Some have a business plan that focuses on purchasing a rental property as an investment. Others buy homes to rehab and then resell.

Investors purchase a wide range of properties from mobile homes, single-family houses, multifamily units, manufactured homes, and even vacant land.

While buyers from the general public want move-in ready houses, cash home buyers purchase properties in any condition, from turnkey through complete rehabs that need everything repaired or replaced.

You don’t need to do any prep or repairs before you sell to a cash investor.

Homeowners find the private sale a major boon because it’s a cash sale that eliminates the loan delay of a traditional sale and it can close quickly.

Cash investor sales have other benefits for many categories of people selling a home in Massachusetts, including those:

• selling a home to avoid foreclosure
• selling a house with tenants in it
• selling a house during bankruptcy
• selling a house in poor condition
• selling a house after probate
• selling a house with taxes owed
• selling a hoarder’s house
• selling to relocate to a smaller home
• selling marital property before divorce
• selling a house for a job relocation
• wondering how to sell property privately

Professional home buyers generally use investor-friendly title companies in Massachusetts due to their expertise in dealing with cash sales and their ability to close quickly.

The benefits of selling your home to a real estate investor may fit your needs exactly, but it’s important to weigh both the advantages and disadvantages of the cash sale.

Pros of Selling to a Home Buying Company

• Fast cash home buyers have the ability to move quickly to close the transaction, sometimes in only a matter of days when the seller needs a speedy sale.

• Buyers from the general public may not qualify for a mortgage after applying, and the appraisal on a property may not match with the sales price. Selling to cash home buying companies in Massachusetts eliminates any transaction uncertainties.

• You don’t need to do any preparation to sell to an investor. This is a time saver, and it will save you cash when you don’t need to hire workers to rehab, upgrade, or repair anything.

• You’ll save 2%-3% of the sales price on your side of the transaction when you don’t have to hire a Realtor when you sell to a home investor.

• Professional cash house buyers generally pay the home seller’s closing costs.

Cons of Selling to a Home Buying Company

• Offers from real estate cash buyers in Massachusetts typically don’t match market value.

For investors, buying homes is business, and they do expect to make some profit on a home sale, but there’s something else sellers should consider when looking at the investor’s offer.

That consideration is the net proceeds from the sale — the money you walk away with when the sale closes.

A traditional sale through a brokerage means you pay commissions and your closing costs. So, the market value offered to you for your home won’t be the actual cash you’ll get at closing.

When you look at just your net proceeds, the investor sale might just align more closely than you think with a traditional sales transaction.

How to Find an Ethical Home Buying Company

Locating home buying companies is the first step.

Begin by making a list of local investors who advertise in your area by using mailers, media ads, and local signs. Ask for recommendations from family, friends, and coworkers.

Add names to that list after conducting an internet search by using terms such as “cash for homes” or “we buy houses.” Make sure you include your geographic area to bring up local investors.

Once you have compiled your list, it’s time for the vetting.

Look for positive consumer comments on Yelp, the local branch of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and Real Estate Bees. If you’re seeing unhappy clients, scratch that investor from your list.

Then locate the websites of the investors and search for a tab that details their experience and training.

If that information isn’t located under a tab such as an “About Us” or “Our Company,” drop that investor from your list of prospects.

Make sure the investors on your list have at least three years of investment experience and a long list of closed transactions.

If you’re wondering if there is a faster way to screen investors, there is. We’re happy to help with the prescreening of local investors.

Request a cash offer on your house by using the quick and easy form on our website, and we’ll introduce you to the local cash buyers who partner with our company.

We’ve vetted each one for their expertise, experience, and positive client reviews. There’s no fee for this, and you can decline any offer if you don’t like it.

A traditional sale is one where the homeowner hires a licensed real estate agent. Let’s detail that sales option next.

Who Are Real Estate Agents?

A real estate agent is your personal representative. They put your interests first above all others when selling a house in Massachusetts. They are your legal fiduciary.

Agents must take courses in all aspects of real estate law and practice, including listing, marketing and closing, and must also pass exams on that material before being issued a license.

This ensures they are following the law throughout your transaction.

Agents will list your home, market it, negotiate the sale on your behalf, and supervise the escrow, title, and closing steps of the transaction.

Agents using the title of Realtor are members of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, where they’ve taken an oath to uphold the highest ethical standard of business practices to represent you during the transaction.

Pros of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Your agent has encountered all sorts of issues when selling a property in Massachusetts. They’re adept at handling problems to ensure your sale goes smoothly.

• Realtors use proprietary databases not available to the general public, which can assist you in setting a listing price that will attract buyers and also meet a formal lender appraisal.

• Realtors can act on your behalf during the sale, including showings, tracking escrow, and supervising the closing process. This frees you to continue with your regular activities.

Cons of Using a Real Estate Agent

• The average Realtor cost to sell a home is 4% to 6% of the final sales price, depending on your location in the commonwealth. That’s a major expense when selling a house in Massachusetts.

• Your house probably won’t sell immediately, so your real estate agent will continue to market it, inviting strangers for showings, until it’s sold. That could take weeks, sometimes months.

• The general public normally requires a mortgage. This adds more time to the sales closing calendar.

A good agent is the key to finding a buyer and closing the deal. Let’s explore how to find a real estate professional.

How to Find a Good Real Estate Agent

Recommendations are gold in the real estate field. Ask your friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family for agent recommendations.

Look for “sold” signs in your neighborhood to add more names of prospective agents to your list. The next steps involve the actual vetting of the agent.

Look at local consumer websites for the feedback about the real estate professional. Eliminate people who have a number of unsatisfactory evaluations.

Yelp, Real Estate Bees, and the Better Business Bureau are good places to begin this consumer review.

The most important vetting, however, takes place during a personal interview. Invite three agents to do separate listing presentations for your home.

Select the agent with the best marketing plan for your specific home and the one you feel offers service that matches your needs.

Our next sales option asks the seller to take on all the duties of a professional real estate agent.

The “for sale by owner” method, informally known as FSBO, has the owner act as their own real estate agent.

Before you start walking prospective buyers through your home, you’ll need to do a few things to improve your chances to sell.

You’ll need to make your home turnkey-ready, and that might include upgrades, repairs, and even remodeling. Some sellers even hire professionals to stage the property.

You then must set a price. You can find your approximate home value by address by using an online calculator if you don’t have the current evaluation

Massachusetts does not require homeowners to fill out a state-approved property disclosure listing all material defects or health risks associated with the house.

The commonwealth, however, does require sellers to self-select a way to disclose any problems to potential buyers. It’s up to you to figure out the method of disclosing how you’d like to share that information.

The state also requires a formal disclosure for a home with a septic system and (along with the federal government) mandates that you disclose the presence of lead paint in the property.

Finding buyers can present a problem for FSBO sellers, but there are a few things you can do to have more eyes on your property.

Ways to Market Your House Yourself

• Make a sign to place on the home. It should include several ways for prospective buyers to contact you for a showing.

• FSBO listing sites are an inexpensive (or sometimes free) way to add to your buyer pool.

• Create video tours of your house to post on Instagram and YouTube. Share those videos on social media and sites to advertise homes for sale.

• Develop a flyer that lists the features that you think will interest potential buyers. Distribute these to people who ask for a home showing.

Evaluating the pros and cons of the efforts to sell as an FSBO can assist you in making up your mind to take on the task.

Pros of Marketing Your House Yourself

• Real estate commissions account for between 4%-6% of the final sales price listed on your Massachusetts closing costs. You’ll skip your side of those charges when selling as an FSBO. When your buyer also doesn’t use an agent, you’ll skip all commission fees!

• You are in charge of the listing and closing calendar.

• If you hired a real estate agent, you’d be just one of their clients, getting only a portion of their attention and efforts. As an FSBO seller, you have only one client — yourself.

Cons of Marketing Your House Yourself

• Without a firm grasp of the commonwealth’s laws, you may feel overwhelmed by all the requirements for selling your home.

• You won’t have any advisor to consult about procedures or processes during the sale.

• Unless you can act quickly, you may lose a buyer while you search for answers to sales questions. You may be sued if you make a serious mistake, even when it’s unintentional.

• You may end up paying more for your FSBO closing costs because you aren’t aware of what fees may be negotiated during the sale. Also, many FSBO sellers net even less than what they’d get if they used a Realtor because they fail to set the right price and properly negotiate the buyer’s offer.

Our last sales method has the seller both buying and selling simultaneously.

Many sellers decide to put their home on the market only after they’ve found a new home to purchase.

That typically means they must make a conditional offer based on the sale of their current home.

Sellers aren’t excited by conditional offers, and you may not end up with the best sales price as a result of asking your seller for the special concession.

There is an alternative to a conditional sale. That’s a sale to a Massachusetts iBuyer.

This arrangement has you sell to the iBuyer, and then immediately purchase your new home by using the cash equity from that sale.

Once you’ve closed on your new home, the iBuyer will close on your current house.

This sale is fast, easy, and there are no contingency sales involved.

We’ve covered how to sell a home in Massachusetts by using four separate approaches. Our next segment focuses on the basic steps that every sale goes through.

Before Signing a Purchase Contract

Some requirements before you list for sale include disclosures for septic systems and lead paint. These are mandatory for all of the sales methods.

If you’d like more details about these requirements, they’re provided in our article “Why Sell a Massachusetts House As Is.”

You’ll also need to prepare your house for home shoppers who typically look for homes that are move-in ready.

That prep might include paint, decluttering, redoing landscaping, making repairs, and replacing worn or outdated items such as flooring, window coverings, or appliances.

Property investors and iBuyers don’t require any home prep. Simply request an offer.

Marketing the Property

Your marketing plan is designed to attract buyers to your property. It typically involves signs, advertising (both traditional and online), broker previews, open houses, and specialized home showings.

On the contrary, you don’t need to market your home to iBuyers and investors. It’s them who market their home buying services to you.

Accepting an Offer

A prospective buyer will present a written offer and submit it with an earnest money deposit. That money is transferred to an escrow account when you accept the offer.

Once you accept an offer, you’ll need a real estate attorney to oversee the sales transaction. Massachusetts law requires the use of the legal advisor.

Buyer Due Diligence Period

The due diligence period requires planning to ensure the steps align, so the home sale can be finalized on the estimated closing date.

During this time, your buyer will bring in home inspectors to examine your home. They’ll shop lenders and qualify for a mortgage. They’ll also do a title search, and purchase title and hazard insurance for the house.

Approximately three days prior to closing, your buyer will do a final walk through of the property, and you’ll receive a final closing statement to review.

If you’ve sold to an iBuyer or an investor, your final closing costs will be paid and you won’t pay commissions (unless you use a Realtor’s services). They typically cover the closing fees.

FSBO and Realtor-assisted sales see you paying closing costs and at least half of the real estate commissions.

Closing

Your attorney will supervise the signing of the final closing documents, you’ll turn over your keys to the new owner, and a new deed will be filed with the county Registry of Deeds.

Those are the four ways to sell, and the basic steps involved in a real estate transaction in the Bay State. It’s now up to you to decide the one that best suits your needs.

One thing you can do right now is compare investors’ offers.

Request cash offers by using the short form on our website. It will connect you with local investors who have been prescreened for their professionalism, expertise, and buying experience.

There’s no fee and no obligation to accept any offer, no matter how many offers you may receive.