4 Best Ways for Selling a Home in Oregon

Homeowners who sell a property in Oregon in a private sale avoid some of the biggest pitfalls of a traditional real estate transaction — the delay and the invasion of the seller’s privacy.

Private sales use cash, and that eliminates the delay necessary when buyers must search for a mortgage lender — and the additional wait for buyers to apply and qualify for a loan.

Since the private sale involves cash, you’ll also avoid lender appraisals that may or may not end up matching the property’s sale price.

Property owners can keep their life private with this type of sale. Sellers won’t have prospective buyers touring the home.

There’s also no need to open your home to the general public for open houses when selling privately.

If an all-cash sale with a rapid closing that retains your privacy appeals to you, then this sales method is a perfect fit for you.

Where do you find buyers who are capable of doing a private sale? We’ll answer that question in the next segment.

What Are Home Buying Companies?

Home buying companies are professional property investors. They may operate alone or as part of a collective. Some hedge funds purchase residential housing as investments, too.

When you sell your house to an investor, you’ll have an all-cash sale that can close in a short amount of time, sometimes in just days, when the seller wants to move extremely fast.

Property investors in Oregon buy all different types of real estate, including single- and multifamily, attached and detached, and mobile homes. Some investors even buy commercial property and vacant land.

These companies often buy investment property in Oregon to remodel and resell, while others are focused on purchasing rental property that they’ll keep for income.

They will purchase turnkey homes, major fixers, and everything between those two conditions. Some will even buy homes with structural problems.

A quick all-cash sale to an investor is a boon for some homeowners, particularly those:

• selling a house before it goes to a foreclosure auction
• selling a home with renters
• selling a house during bankruptcy
• selling a damaged house
• selling an estate home
• selling a house with an IRS tax lien
• selling a hoarder house
• selling a property to downsize to a smaller home
• selling a home during divorce
• selling a house for a job relocation
• selling a house by private sale

Investors generally use Oregon investor-friendly title companies to process transactions because those companies have experience in all-cash sales.

Pros of Selling to a Home Buying Company

• Cash house buying companies move quickly to close. Cash means there’s no loan involved that delays the closing.

• Oregon cash house buyers don’t need to qualify for a loan. The home buying company arrives with the cash to buy, so you don’t run the risk that the sale will fall out based on your buyer failing to qualify for a mortgage.

• You won’t need to prepare your house for the sale. Investors buy in as-is condition.

• Investors won’t collect a commission on the sale. If you forego the use of a Realtor, you won’t pay a dime in commissions.

• Investors typically pay the home seller closing costs.

Cons of Selling to a Home Buying Company

Selling a home in Oregon to a house buying company has a potential downside that needs to be taken into account.

• Oregon cash property buyers’ offers typically don’t match market value.

But before you write off an investor’s offer, it’s important to take a look at the actual cash you’ll receive from the sale and compare it to the amount you’d get from a Realtor-assisted transaction.

You’ll be saving commissions with a sale to a home buying company, and investors generally also pay your closing costs.

When you sell by using an agent, the price on your offer might be higher, but you’ll need to subtract commissions and closing costs from that figure.

How to Find an Ethical Home Buying Company

If a private sale to an investor sounds like it might be a good match for your needs, this segment of the article will guide you through the process of avoiding investment scams and sales to people who aren’t honest business operators.

Just like all professions, there are home buyers who aren’t on the level.

The most important thing you can do to locate an ethical home buyer is to do a thorough vetting to determine the level of the investor’s professionalism and ethical practices.

There are a number of ways to do that. Begin by collecting a list of prospects.

Property investors are as close as the internet, and the names of their companies can also be found on mailers, online ads, and in television commercials.

Add investor names from an internet search by using terms like “we buy houses (and your location)” and “sell your house for cash.” Examine the websites of these prospects carefully.

Look for an “About Us” page. You should find a bio and history of the investors and their company. Transparency is important, so if that page is missing, move on.

Consult the Oregon Real Estate Agency (OREA) to determine if any of your investors have been fined for disreputable business practices.

The local branch of the Better Business Bureau also hears complaints over real estate issues. Contact that group about the investors on your list of prospects.

The last step is to read through comments filed on local community pages and consumer reviews. If any of your prospects have a number of complaints filed against them, that’s a clue to remove them from your list.

The vetting process takes time, but your home is probably one of your most valuable assets, so it’s worth your effort to make sure you’ve chosen your investor wisely.

However, we can help you speed up the screening. We have a list of vetted experienced investors in your area. They’re professionals who have a long resume of closed transactions.

Request a cash offer by filling out a short form that helps us match you with the best Oregon investors. The cash home buyer will reach out to you, and you can do additional vetting at that time.

There’s no charge for anything — no fees, no commissions, no closing costs!

The next sales option for your consideration is the traditional sale.

Who Are Real Estate Agents?

The real estate agent you hire for selling your home is your legal fiduciary, and they will represent you in a home sale. They must put your interests first in a sales transaction.

“Realtor” is a specialized title used to describe a member of the Oregon Association of Realtors (OAR), a professional trade group that’s a branch of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Agents belonging to the NAR and OAR take an oath of ethics to uphold the highest business standards.

When deciding to hire a Realtor, it’s helpful to evaluate both the advantages and disadvantages of working with a brokerage.

Pros of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Licensed agents are trained in real estate law and marketing when selling a property in Oregon. They are professionals who can handle all aspects of the sale.

• Realtors have access to the Multiple Listing Service. The MLS provides proprietary information about local comparable sales. It’s an invaluable source that can assist you in setting a competitive price for your property.

• You have a licensed fiduciary to take charge of the listing and sale. That frees you to go about your normal life without worrying about the sale of your property.

Cons of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Selling a house in Oregon with a real estate agent adds an average Realtor cost to sell a home of between 5%-6% of the sale price to the seller’s closing cost.

• It can take weeks or even months to sell your home.

• Buyers from the general public typically need mortgages to purchase a property. That adds additional delay to your closing calendar, sometimes months, when your buyer has trouble locating a lender.

How to Find a Good Real Estate Agent

Selecting a quality agent in the Beaver State requires some research. Begin the process by collecting a list of prospects from friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers.

Confirm that those agents hold active licenses by using the state license lookup. Look for agents with at least three years of experience in real estate and a history of selling homes in your neighborhood.

Check consumer feedback for the agents on your list. You can read comments on websites like Yelp and Real Estate Bees.

Consult the local branch of the Better Business Bureau to discover any consumer complaints filed against any of your agent prospects.

Complete your vetting by inviting the top agents on your list to do a formal listing presentation, complete with a specialized marketing plan, for your home.

Select the agent you feel could best represent you, then sign a listing agreement with their brokerage.

Our next sales method has the homeowner doing all the work.

A “for sale by owner” (FSBO for short) listing has the owner taking on all the duties of a licensed real estate professional.

Preparing your house for the sale may take some time before you have it turnkey ready to allow showings for the general public.

Home shoppers favor move-in ready listings, and they prefer to limit the amount of repairs they’ll need to do on a new home.

You may need to paint, replace flooring, or spruce up some landscaping before you put out your sale sign.

If your home is a fixer, you may need to do some major repairs to sell to the general public.

The next task is to set a price for your home. An online home calculator is a handy tool that can help you establish your current home value to use in setting a price for your property.

You’ll need to complete the state-mandated real estate property disclosure listing any material damage or health and safety risks present in your home.

Any buyers presenting an offer on your property must be given a copy of this written disclosure. Undoubtedly the most labor intensive part of an FSBO is attracting the public to view your home.

Ways to Market Your House Yourself

• Signage is an easy way to market your home. Professional-looking signs that list the home as an “FSBO,” and several ways to contact you for a showing, have the best results for attracting potential buyers.

• Professional-looking videos are another popular way to market a property. Record a tour that shows your home’s features and amenities will attract a local audience. Websites like Instagram and YouTube are free for sellers to post the shorts and features.

• A flyer is one way to show images of your home, along with a list of features. This can be distributed to prospective buyers when they tour your house.

• Use the best FSBO websites to post advertisements about your home.

An FSBO listing requires an intense amount of work on the part of the seller.

Looking at both the pros and cons of this sales approach can assist you in making the decision to go it alone in the sale of your home.

Pros of Marketing Your House Yourself

• When you represent yourself during the sale, you’ll save agent commission fees. Brokerage commissions are the largest item on your side of the closing costs in Oregon.

• You are in charge of every aspect of the sale, and you can tailor your calendar to meet your needs.

• Agents need to work with a number of clients. You have only your house as your focus.

Cons of Marketing Your House Yourself

• Mastering all the details of the sale and making sure you’re following state laws can be overwhelming for some sellers.

• You are without any professional counsel. You are on your own.

• Any mistakes can delay a sale. Serious errors may have a potential buyer see you in court for a misstep.

• Unless you understand the details of the FSBO closing costs and setting the right sale price, you might end up netting less than you would if you had elected to use a real estate agent.

Our last entry on the selling list is one that has the seller buy and sell simultaneously.

You’ve found the perfect home, but you need to move fast to make sure you don’t lose it to another buyer. The problem is you have a home to sell, and it’s not yet on the market.

You have several options in this situation. The first is to list the house and hope you can find a buyer who has cash to purchase it fast. But, even with a cash buyer, that will take time.

Another option is to make an offer on your new home contingent on selling your current home. Most homeowners who have a house listed for sale don’t find that option attractive.

They want to find a buyer to close the deal without any contingencies.

There’s a third option for homeowners who want to sell quickly so they can purchase a new home. That option is to sell to Oregon iBuyers.

iBuyers will purchase your home for cash, allowing you to take the cash equity in your current home to apply to your new residence.

Once the sale on your new home has closed, the iBuyer will close the transaction on your current property.

An iBuyer sale eliminates the panic to locate buyers to sell and the risk of having to make a contingency offer.

That ends our tour of sales methods. We’ve covered how to sell a house in Oregon in four ways.

Our next segment traces the path your transaction takes from the listing through the final closing days.

Before Signing a Purchase Contract

The tasks that await the homeowner before listing a property for sale depend on the sales method. Some are extremely easy, while others take more time, effort, and money.

Before any listing, you’ll need to complete the property disclosures. That’s required under Oregon law.

If you’d like details about required Oregon disclosures, read our article on how you can sell a home as is in Oregon.

The easiest prep for property owners is for the investor and iBuyer sale. That requires you to make a call and allow the investor to tour the home to make an offer. That’s it, no prep involved.

When you decide to sell as an FSBO or with agent representation, you’ll need to prepare your home for the general public who expect to see a move-in-ready property.

Turnkey ready might mean paint, landscaping, new floor, and window coverings. It might also include structural repairs such as a new roof.

You may even pay to stage your property for showings.

However, investors aren’t influenced by cosmetics or home staging, if you choose to sell your property to a home buying company.

Marketing the Property

Marketing an FSBO or agent-assisted listing requires a comprehensive plan. It may take some time to sit and wait for a buyer to make an offer.

Your individualized plan might include signage, traditional and internet advertising, broker previews, showings, and open houses.

Investors and iBuyers, however, don’t require you to market your property to them. Simply call for an offer.

Accepting an Offer

Your agent will field offers for you, but when you work as an FSBO or sell to an investor or iBuyer, you’ll receive the written offer yourself.

All offers will be accompanied by an earnest money deposit. This will be placed into an escrow account when you accept the proposed contract.

Buyer Due Diligence Period

The due diligence period has the buyer doing all sorts of activities, including hiring home inspectors and contracting for a property title search.

Your buyer may need to look for a mortgage lender and qualify for a loan. All buyers will need to contract for title and hazard insurance.

As a seller, you may need to facilitate the inspector and appraiser visits. You may also need to renegotiate if your buyer discovers issues not itemized on the initial property disclosure.

The escrow and title agents will work during this period to create the legal documents needed for signatures during the closing.

Several days prior to closing, your buyer will do a final walkthrough of the property.

At least three days prior to collecting signatures, your escrow officer will review the final costs of the transaction with both buyer and seller.

When you use an agent, you’ll see fees for commissions and closing costs. When selling as an FSBO, you may skip some of the commission fees, but you’re still on the hook for the closing costs.

Your final accounting won’t have any commissions or closing costs when selling to an iBuyer or an investor.

Closing

The closing step requires buyers and sellers to sign the final documents, present the keys to the new buyer, and record the final deed with the county clerk or recorder’s office.

The final step is up to you. We’ve itemized the sales approaches and the steps involved in a real estate transaction.

It’s now time to start collecting your list of real estate agents, iBuyers, and investors to vet.

We’re here to assist you in screening your investors. We’ve done intensive research to select those with the expertise and professionalism to handle a speedy transaction.

Request cash offers from investors partnering with HouseCashin right now.

There’s never any fees or charges for our services, and our partnering investors will never charge you commission. They’ll even pay your transaction closing costs!