4 Best Ways for Selling a Home in South Carolina

A private sale allows sellers a fast, all-cash transaction that also provides an element of privacy.

You won’t have photos of your house posted all over ads and the internet, and you won’t be required to open your house to looky-loos who want to invade your personal spaces.

Private sales don’t tie you to a contract that keeps your house open to the public until it sells.

Most importantly, selling privately means you’ll sell and close quickly in an all-cash sale. Instead of looking for a buyer via advertising, you will contact a company that will buy your house directly.

How do these private sales work? Let’s introduce that process now.

What Are Home Buying Companies?

Home buying companies are professional investors who can move quickly to purchase your home for cash. They buy investment properties in South Carolina.

Investors may have an eye on buying real estate for rental income or purchasing a property to repair and resell to another buyer.

Property investors in South Carolina look for all types of homes in any condition.

From single-family properties in absolutely dilapidated condition to manufactured homes in turnkey condition, there’s an investor buyer for every home.

So, just how can investors move more quickly than a traditional sale? The reason is they either have their own cash or they have financing from hard money lenders who don’t require all the hoops that mortgage lenders do.

You won’t wait weeks for your investor to get funding approval or for a lender to appraise the value of your property and underwrite a loan if they like the appraisal.

There are many types of homeowners who can benefit from a private sale to an investor, including people:

• selling a home to avoid foreclosure
• selling a home with tenants
• selling a house before bankruptcy
• selling a home that needs work
• selling a house under probate
• selling a house with unpaid property taxes to avoid a government property auction
• selling a hoarder house
• selling to downsize to a smaller property
• selling a house during divorce
• selling a house for a job relocation
• selling a property privately

Cash buyers generally use investor-friendly title companies in South Carolina for services, since they have experience with cash sales.

Soon, we’ll walk through the steps of how to sell your house to an investor, but before we do that, we need to look at the pros and cons of this method.

Pros of Selling to a Home Buying Company

• When you sell your home for cash, there’s no chance the sale will be delayed or cancelled because the buyer can’t qualify for a loan or the lender’s underwriter won’t approve the sale. Even if an investor uses a hard money lender rather than cash, the approval process normally takes 1-3 days.

• Fast cash home buyers in South Carolina can close a sale quickly, sometimes in a matter of only days!

• You can sell your home in as-is condition without doing any upgrades or repairs.

• You’ll skip commissions when you don’t use a real estate agent to represent you in the sale.

• Investors will pay the typical closing costs for sellers.

Cons of Selling to a Home Buying Company

There’s a potential disadvantage to selling a home in South Carolina to an investor.

• You probably won’t receive a market value offer from real estate cash buyers in South Carolina.

The reason is investors foresee the costs for repairs and project a profit. But there’s something else to consider.

When you sit down and add up the commission savings and the fact you aren’t paying closing costs, your offer from an investor may look better than you think.

How to Find an Ethical Home Buying Company

The most important step in the process of selling your home privately is to locate an honest investor. You can accomplish this by doing a few things.

Make your list of prospects. Do this by taking contact information from flyers, snail-mail advertising, local billboards, online ads, and from recommendations from friends and family.

Add names from an internet search to your list. Find those by using terms such as “we buy homes” or “home buying companies.” Add your locality to find investors in your area.

It’s then time to do some vetting. Start with the company website page that introduces the investor. That might be listed under “About Us” or “Who We Are.”

The next step is to screen for public comments. Turn to Yelp, Real Estate Bees, and the Better Business Bureau’s local branch to do that.

Yes, all this does take work, but you want to make sure you have an ethical cash buyer.

There’s an alternative, however. You can request a free offer from a company that has prescreened and vetted investors to save you that time and energy.

The local cash investors working in partnership with our national platform have been screened for their experience and time in business.

Request a cash offer on your house by completing a quick online form, and then wait for your offers from local cash investors.

There’s never any charge, no commissions, and absolutely no obligation to sell to anyone — no matter how many offers you receive.

A traditional transaction uses a real estate agent with expertise in selling a home in South Carolina.

Who Are Real Estate Agents?

Agents charge a commission for listing, pricing, marketing, negotiating, and assisting your attorney in overseeing escrow, title, and your final closing. They do most things for you.

Agents in the Palmetto State must take courses in real estate law, practice, and agency before they can be licensed to work in a real estate brokerage.

Your agent will assist you in selling a house in South Carolina by developing a marketing plan, helping you complete the property disclosure, negotiate offers, and guide you through the closing steps in the transaction.

They will serve as your legal fiduciary and put your interests first throughout the sale.

Many real estate agents are members of the South Carolina Realtors (SCR), a state branch of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Realtors, SCR members, adhere to an oath of ethics to represent you as your fiduciary and to operate ethically.

When you’re thinking of using an agent, it’s helpful to balance the pros and cons for your sale.

Pros of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Real estate agents take courses in legal practices when selling a home. They can assist in filling out disclosure forms, dealing with complex legal issues, and completing the paperwork required to close the transaction.

• Agents understand pricing and can complete a comparative market analysis so you can price your home right to sell quickly.

• Selling a property in South Carolina takes work, and agents devote their time and energy to making sure your house sells in a timely manner. This allows you to continue to work and have time for friends and family.

There are downsides to Realtor sales that must also be balanced.

Cons of Using a Real Estate Agent

• Most sellers have sticker shock when they find out how much it costs to hire a Realtor to sell your house. Palmetto State commissions run between 2%-3% of the final sales price.

• You can spend weeks, if not months, waiting for a buyer.

• Agents bring buyers who typically need mortgages to buy. That slows the transaction down as buyers search for loans, go through the approval process, and the loan is underwritten.

A successful sale depends on the skills and quality of your agent. Selecting the right match for you and your home is critical.

How to Find a Good Real Estate Agent

The primary step is to collect agent recommendations. Ask your friends, coworkers, and family for suggestions.

Look for agents who have a minimum of three years of experience and professionals with knowledge of the homes in your neighborhood.

The next step is to test the consumer reaction to the agents on your list. You can do this by reading comments on Yelp, Real Estate Bees, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Narrow your list down to three with the highest ratings, and then invite each one to do a formal listing presentation. Select the agent with the best marketing plan for your home and sign the listing contract.

If you prefer taking on all the sales tasks yourself, the next method is perfect for you.

The “for sale by owner” method (known as an FSBO) puts you in the driver’s seat for everything involved in the transaction — from the marketing through assisting your attorney to close the sale.

The very first steps require you to fill out your property condition disclosure and decide on a price. An online home value lookup tool can be helpful to do that.

You’ll then need to acquaint yourself with South Carolina real estate contract law, review marketing and negotiation techniques you might use, and read up on the steps involved in closing a transaction.

It’s then time to hunt for potential buyers!

Ways to Market Your House Yourself

• Property signs are essential. Make yours professional looking with your contact information. Be sure to note you’re selling your own house as an FSBO.

• A video home tour is an excellent way to attract buyers on places like YouTube.

• Make up a flyer for your home with images and a list of your home’s amenities. You can distribute this when you show your home.

• Develop an ad to use on for sale by owner listing sites.

Weighing the advantages and disadvantages can save you time and money.

Pros of Marketing Your House Yourself

• The closing costs in South Carolina include Realtor commissions. You’ll skip these fees when selling as an FSBO.

• You are the boss of your sale. You determine everything!

• You can focus all your time and effort on selling your home. Unlike an agent you may have hired, you don’t have other clients demanding your time.

Cons of Marketing Your House Yourself

• You’ll need to study and follow all the local, state, and federal laws in listing and marketing your property.

• You will have to take charge of complex price negotiations and buyer demands for repairs.

• Uncertainty and errors mean delay. Major errors may see you in court if your buyers are unhappy.

• The closing costs when selling a home by owner may be higher than they would be if you used a professional agent to expertly negotiate those fees. It often happens that an FSBO seller nets even less than they would if they used an agent, despite having to pay them a commission.

Our last entry into the selling category is a nearly simultaneous buying and selling. More people than you might think choose this approach to sell.

You found a house to buy, but you still have yours to sell. No worries. An iBuyer can help you out!

South Carolina iBuyer companies will pay you for your property so you can then take the equity you have to put towards the purchase of your new house.

Once you’ve done that, the iBuyer will close the transaction on your house.

A traditional contingency offer on your new property risks that another buyer grabs your dream home while you’re still waiting to attract a buyer or work your way through a mortgage application with a homebuyer.

A sale to an iBuyer can move quickly, without the long delays of a traditional home sale.

We’ve covered the four main ways of how to sell a home in South Carolina. It’s now up to you to decide which one matches with your needs.

The last segment of this article outlines the standard stages of a real estate transaction in South Carolina.

Before Signing a Purchase Contract

There’s so much to do before signing a listing contract in a traditional sale.

You’ll need to prep your home for shoppers. That might include paint, repair work, landscaping, decluttering, and new window coverings or flooring.

A signature on a listing contract is only the beginning when working with an agent. But when selling to an investor, you’ll skip all the preparations, and simply sign a sales contract.

South Carolina state law requires all homeowners selling homes to fill out a comprehensive property disclosure that itemizes any material damages that impact the property’s value.

You can read more about the contents of that disclosure in our article: “How to Sell Your Home As Is in South Carolina.”

Marketing the Property

Getting the word out about your property sale is next on the sales calendar. Your agent, or you if you’re selling as an FSBO, will develop a marketing plan for your home.

Even the best plans may not result in a sale due to market conditions, bad weather, or economic fluctuations, so you’ll need to be able to quickly adapt your plan.

An advantage with an investor sale is you’ll skip the marketing step all together. There’s no need to market to an investor.

Accepting an Offer

When you receive an offer, you, and your agent, if you use one, will consider the price and the terms. That may mean a counter offer. You may need to make a few counters until you’re happy with the offer.

All offers will be accompanied by an earnest money check. When you accept an offer, that check will be deposited into an escrow account held by your real estate attorney.

From this point on, your licensed attorney will supervise the details of your sale.

Buyer Due Diligence Period

The due diligence period is a time for your buyer to research your home, hire home inspectors, locate a mortgage (if they need one), and for your attorney to prepare the paperwork that’s required for the sale.

If you’re selling to an investor, you’ll skip all the steps involved in due diligence. Your investor has already done that prior to making an offer on your property.

Your attorney will conduct a title search to make sure there aren’t any liens or clouds on your home title.

A few days before the final closing, your buyer will do a home walkthrough, and the attorney will review the final closing statement.

As you’re looking over your seller closing costs, it’s good to remember that investors typically cover them, and you don’t have any commission fees!

Closing

At the formal closing, your attorney will supervise the signatures, and the keys to the house will be turned over to the new owner.

The deed of the sale will then be filed with the Registers of Deeds or the Clerk of Court’s Office.

That’s it. You’ve sold your house!

We’ve introduced a number of ways to sell your home and the steps involved. It’s time for you to get going to sell your house!

The quickest way to start would be getting cash offers from real estate investors and comparing them with each other, and then with the amount real estate agents will name as an estimate of what they can sell your property for.

Request cash offers now so you have numbers to compare by the time you’ll get to talk to agents.

It’s free. There are never any fees or commissions, and there’s no obligation to sell.