4 Best Ways for Selling a Home in Missouri

Homeowners who want to sell their property fast and without much headache can turn to a private sale.

Selling a home in Missouri typically involves advertising your personal living spaces to invite anyone interested to take a look and hope that one day someone will like your house enough to buy it.

If this approach is time-consuming and tiresome for you, there’s a way to sell a property in Missouri without marketing it.

In addition to that, private sales eliminate the wait for the buyer to qualify for a mortgage and the tedious business of opening your home for a lender appraisal.

When you sell privately, you can also avoid sharing images of your house to the public on advertising flyers or on websites.

Houses need to be super clean to attract buyers, and selling to the public means you’ll need to clean every morning on the chance you might have a home showing that day. A private sale lets you avoid that.

So, who are the buyers who’d purchase your home this fast and easily? Read on to find out.

What Are Home Buying Companies?

Firms that buy houses privately are professional investors. They look for Missouri real estate investment opportunities, and they view your home as one.

Home buying firms purchase all types of properties in all sorts of condition. Your property might be good as new, or it may be a total fixer — you’ll get an offer on it either way.

That said, some investors do specialize in purchasing properties to then rehab and resell to other buyers in the hopes to turn a profit on the project. This group is known as “flippers.”

Other investors have a focus on buying rental homes that they’ll keep and lease as a source of regular income.

The one thing all of these Missouri real estate investors have in common is they don’t need a mortgage to buy properties.

Some have their own cash, and others will obtain a hard money loan, which is super fast to get approved for compared to a conventional mortgage.

For you, this means no need to wait for weeks until your buyer gets the money to buy your house.

You may especially want to sell your home for cash to an investor if you are:

• selling a house to avoid foreclosure
• selling a property with sitting tenants
• selling a house during bankruptcy
• selling a house that needs work
• selling a house in a divorce situation
• selling a house as part of an estate
• selling a house for a job relocation
• selling a home with a state tax lien
• selling a hoarder house
• selling to downsize to a smaller property

Cash buyers typically have contacts of investor-friendly title companies in Missouri because these firms have the experience closing cash transactions fast.

Pros of Selling to a Home Buying Company

Here is a summary of advantages you have when selling your home privately.

• Missouri cash house buyers can close quickly.

• When you sell your home for cash, you won’t need to wait for buyers who need to apply for and be approved for a traditional mortgage.

• There’s no need to do any prep and repair work to show your property, and no need to clean out the house, even when your home needs massive decluttering.

• You won’t be charged a real estate agent commission fee. Even though that fee is negotiable, it’s typically 3%-6% of the sale price in Missouri.

• Investors often cover the real estate closing costs for sellers.

Cons of Selling to a Home Buying Company

All those advantages need to be balanced with one potential drawback.

• Missouri cash property buyers probably won’t offer you market value for your property.

Cash investors are businesses, so they’ll look at the cost of repairs and count in a potential resale profit when they draw up an offer. Typically, this figure is less than the as-is market value.

There’s something more to consider than market value, however. You’d pay a commission and closing costs in a sale to the general public. You won’t have these costs with an investor.

When you factor in those seller savings, the offer on your home might be pretty close to market value.

If you decide that selling a home in Missouri to an investor meets your needs, you’ll need to locate a professional with a history of closing sales.

Let’s explore how to do that now.

How to Find an Ethical Home Buying Company

You can collect contact information from “we buy any house” bandit signs in your city and TV commercials, but how do you decide which company is legit?

You need an ethical cash buyer. Otherwise, you may run into a company who’ll fool you into signing a lowball offer, or who will make an offer without having cash and start wasting your time or disappear.

Start your vetting by looking at the companies’ websites. A site should have an “About Us” page where the principal investor is introduced with a brief bio and resume showing their expertise.

Select cash buyers with a minimum of three years of experience in investments. If the investor isn’t identified, it’s time to scratch them off from your list. Reputable investors are transparent.

Now, it’s time to check what others say about the investors on your list. Consult a variety of sources like Real Estate Bees, Yelp, and Trustpilot to read what clients say about the investors’ services.

Include the local branch of the Better Business Bureau in your web search. They mediate problems between firms and customers and post the details of disputes online.

Investigate your remaining investors at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. This office handles consumer complaints filed against people working in real estate.

Sounds like a lot of time and effort, doesn’t it? It is, but screening and vetting is necessary to protect your interests.

Fortunately, there’s a way to do this without putting all the work on your shoulders.

You can use this very website — HouseCashin.com — to request an offer for your house. We do the investor prescreening and vetting for you.

Our network of property investors have been vetted to ensure they have the professionalism and experience to quickly close sales.

And the best part is, there’s no fee for using the service. You’re never under any obligation to accept any of the offers you receive either.

Simply complete a brief online form to request cash offers on your property.

Traditional real estate sales in Missouri have homeowners sign a contract with a licensed brokerage.

An agent from that firm then assumes all the duties necessary to sell your home — from the listing agreement through the final signatures at closing.

Who Are Real Estate Agents?

Homeowners selling a house in Missouri can contract with licensed real estate professionals to handle marketing, field offers, and assist with negotiations with potential buyers.

The bottom line is, an agent covers everything involved in the sale.

They consult with you to ensure your wishes are followed, and they’ll offer their expertise on issues, but they are your point person for everything involved in the sales process.

Real estate professionals listing the title “Realtor” on their business cards belong to the Missouri Association of Realtors, a professional trade group organized by state by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Realtors are supervised not only by their broker but also by the trade organization to use the highest ethical standards in representing you as your fiduciary.

Pros of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Agents have the education and expertise to handle complex real estate sale problems.

• Realtors represent you in all phases of selling a property in Missouri so you can continue to work and handle family affairs without having to worry about doing the tasks to sell your home.

• A Realtor can create a market analysis of the current and prior home sales in your area. This allows you to set a markable price for your property and get the highest possible proceeds.

• Your agent will place your interests above all others in the sale because they took an oath to be your fiduciary.

Cons of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Realtor costs when selling a house are the biggest expense for homeowners. Commissions run almost 6% in most areas of Missouri. That’s a significant cut of the amount you receive for your sale.

• You may sell right away, but typically that’s not the case, particularly with homes that aren’t in turnkey condition. Buyers don’t like fixers, as a rule. That means your agent will need to market your home during the time you wait for a buyer. Open houses, broker previews, and constant showings will all continue to happen while you wait to sell.

• Potential buyers found by a Realtor will generally need a loan to buy. Lenders take time to qualify your buyer and then do the underwriting on the sale, including ordering an appraisal. After all that, there’s a chance the deal still may fall apart if the mortgage company fails to fund the loan for your property.

How to Find a Good Real Estate Agent

The answer to the question, “How to sell a home in Missouri?” with an agent begins with setting aside time to vet local real estate professionals.

Simply signing a contract with the agent a family member used may not be the wisest choice when that agent doesn’t have expertise in your neighborhood.

You can ask friends, coworkers, and family for recommendations, but develop a list that also includes agent names from “sold” signs in your area.

Once you have some names, it’s time to screen the agents.

Look at the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website for the local branch. The BBB is a forum for consumers and businesses to air grievances and hopefully come to a mutually agreeable resolution.

If you see the agents on your list there with unresolved complaints, remove them from consideration.

Next up is the Missouri Association of Realtors. This trade group has local boards that also handle complaints against agent members. Look for your agents’ names there.

Once you’ve narrowed your list down, pick three of the best prospects and invite them to do a formal listing presentation that includes a marketing plan for your property. Pick the best one and sign the listing agreement.

The next sales approach on our list has you handling the entire sale. It’s known as the “for sale by owner” sale, or FSBO.

Going it alone to sell your house is not for the faint of heart, but some sellers feel they have the skills to handle the process.

A house value estimate tool is a handy online feature to help you get a general idea of your approximate asking price, but you’ll need to do some intensive background preparations to be ready to take on contracts, negotiations, title, and escrow.

The first major hurdle is locating buyers. Where do you find them and how do you interest them in your property? Here are some suggestions that may help to answer both parts of that question.

Ways to Market Your House Yourself

• Put a professional sign on the property. That’s fairly easy to accomplish: go to Amazon or to Google and type “for sale by owner signs.”

• Media tours of your house — both interior and exterior. Some websites host long home tours, while others limit the time you have to feature your house. These videos can be posted on websites such as YouTube or TikTok.

• Create a professional-looking flyer for your house and circulate it through the neighborhood. You can send a bundle of flyers via the US mail service — they have special pricing for this. Local businesses and your neighbors may have workers, friends, or family members who are interested in buying.

• Promote your house by sharing advertisements on websites to sell your house by owner. Many of these are free to post.

The advantages of selling your house yourself are a strong incentive for many homeowners.

Pros of Marketing Your House Yourself

• FSBO sales have the prospect of saving the real estate commissions. These are the highest fees on your itemized closing costs in Missouri.

• You are the only person to set the calendar and make decisions for your sale.

• Unlike a real estate agent, you don’t need to divide your time between marketing many houses. You are your one and only client.

All that sounds great, particularly the potential savings on commissions, but there are other factors to consider with an FSBO sale.

Cons of Marketing Your House Yourself

• You’ll need to understand the fine details of Missouri real estate law.

• Your buyers may need you to assist in obtaining a mortgage and making sure the appraisal comes in at the selling price.

• You won’t have the experience and the expertise to handle complex problems that may arise. For example, what happens if the title search discovers an unpaid lien on your property from another owner?

• If you make a mistake, your buyer could walk away from the sale. Small mistakes delay sales; big errors could mean your buyer takes you to court.

• You’ll need to understand closing costs when selling a home by owner. If you don’t, you may end up overpaying for some closing costs. Even worse, you may end up with sales terms that aren’t in your best interests when you decide to forgo working with a seasoned agent.

The last type of sale is not as rare as it might sound. This approach is one tailored for sellers who have found a home but haven’t yet put their current house on the market.

You’re looking for a new home but haven’t sold your current house. You discover the perfect property, but you don’t have the money yet.

There’s an easy way to handle this situation. It’s contacting a Missouri iBuyer who offers “buy before you sell” services.

Missouri iBuyers use the equity you’ve built up in your current home to lend you cash to either use as a down payment for your new home, or, when you have a lot of equity, to buy the new house for cash.

Without that cash, you’d need to make a contingency offer on the new property. That type of offer theoretically allows other buyers to purchase your dream home, while you wait for your current residence to sell.

Working with an iBuyer means you close on your new house, and then immediately close on your current home. You won’t have to wait to find a buyer, or wait for that buyer to arrange a mortgage.

We’ve now completed a list of the most common ways to sell a house in Missouri. It doesn’t matter which method you use to sell — the actual sales process is pretty much the same for all.

Let’s now trace what happens in a typical Missouri home sale.

If you choose to use a Realtor, your sale will start with finding one. They will consult you on the best property price to set and have you sign a written listing contract.

This is an agreement regulating your relationship with the agent. From there, they will market your house and guide you on the next steps.

If you are selling by owner, have your house appraised (a real estate agent or appraiser can do that for a fee) and start advertising your property. Once you get a buyer, sign a purchase and sale agreement with them.

If you sell to an investor, find a few cash buyer companies to request offers from. Accept an offer from one of them, and they will offer you a purchase contract. In this case, there is no listing and marketing involved.

Before Signing a Purchase Contract

Missouri law requires all sellers to complete a written property disclosure. This form must be completed by the homeowner and given to prospective buyers before the sale can close.

The property disclosure itemizes any damages or health risks.

It doesn’t require you to hire professional inspectors to complete the form, but you need to be transparent about what you know or have experienced in owning your property.

We discuss the disclosure requirements in more detail in our article for those selling a house as is in Missouri.

Marketing the Property

Unless you are selling to a cash house buying company, marketing is essential to let potential buyers know about your home.

You’ll work with your agent, if you use a brokerage, or come up with a plan on your own when selling as an FSBO.

The marketing plan might include a sales sign or open houses where the public can view your property.

And, of course, the go-to way for many home sellers is using real estate listing websites such as Real Estate Bees property marketplace and Zillow.

Marketing may draw buyers to your house immediately, but typically it takes weeks to sell, sometimes months.

Fixers generally take longer to sell to the public compared to turnkey homes, but investors are interested in purchasing as is properties.

Accepting an Offer

If you have an agent, they’ll bring the offers to you. If you are operating as an FSBO or selling to an investor, you’ll have offers presented directly to you.

The offers should include an earnest money deposit. If you accept the offer, that check will be deposited to formalize the contract.

Buyer Due Diligence Period

It’s now the time for your buyer to do their due diligence. They’ll hire professionals to inspect your house for any flaws or damages.

Your title officer will draw up paperwork and look for any title problems or unpaid liens on your house. These must be resolved before the sale can be finalized.

In some cases, a Missouri real estate attorney may handle the escrow duties.

Your buyer’s mortgage paperwork will be completed during this time, and your house will have an appraisal to assess value.

When you sell to an investor, you’ll skip anything related to a buyer’s mortgages or detailed professional home inspections.

Closing

A minimum of three days before the final closing, you’ll receive the paperwork that lists the financial details of the sale. Your closing costs will include an agent commission when you work with a Realtor.

Your buyers will take a final walkthrough to ensure the property is as it was when they made the offer and any repair work agreed on has been completed.

It’s then time for the final signatures. The title company representative or an attorney will oversee this step.

The property deed is then notarized and filed with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where your former home is located.

After Closing

You’re done with the formal steps in the sale, but you may want to take time to do one more thing.

Until the notarized deed is filed with the County Recorder of Deeds, you are still the owner of the property.

Check with that office to make sure the deed has been filed correctly and that the property shows the new owner on the public record.

We’ve finished describing the sales process and covered common sales approaches in Missouri.

The next steps require you to do some legwork by contacting iBuyers and property investors to solicit offers for your house.

You’ll also need to begin collecting a list of real estate agents to vet and then invite to your house for listing presentations.

To start right now, request cash offers from HouseCashin investors by filling out just one simple online form.

It’s quick and easy, and there’s never any fee or commission, and absolutely no obligation to accept any of the offers you receive.