Mean neighbors. Nobody wants to deal with them and almost everybody dreads it when they find out that they are surrounded by this type of neighbor. 

Neighbor problems tend to have a big impact on not only the morale of homeowners but also what they consider important for the next house that they may want to buy. In this survey, 73% of people said that they disliked at least one of their neighbors. 

If you are a home seller, you are probably going to be reluctant to give away a lot of information about bad neighbors. When it comes to legally dealing with bad neighbors, them being annoying is rarely enough to do anything. Of course, there are certain things that a seller’s real estate agent would have to disclose about a neighbor. 

So, what does a real estate agent have to disclose? And what information should you reveal about your neighbors to a potential buyer? 

This is your guide on how to deal with bad neighbors as a home seller. 

The Really Bad Neighbors 

There are certain neighbors that you are just not going to be able to avoid getting around as a seller. Usually, these are the neighbors that get caught up in legal issues. 

One of the biggest issues that can come up with a neighbor is if they are a registered sex offender. This is because, in the United States, sex offenders have to not only report where they are living but the whole neighborhood becomes aware of their presence. 

That information is easily attainable from certain websites including an official registry, offender maps, and even certain apps. 

Another example of a neighbor that is in trouble with the law is if they are involved in certain illegal activities. This can be anything from dealing drugs to stealing from other neighbors to even operating a meth lab from their own homes. 

A potential buyer is likely to hear about a situation like the above, particularly if that person’s crime involved a house that was in the neighborhood. 

If that happens to be the case with your neighbors, make it clear that the person is in jail if you know that they are not currently around and you get asked about it. If that neighbor is still in the picture, try to emphasize that they keep to themselves if that happens to be the case. 

It can be tricky dealing with neighbors that have public legal records because it is much harder to dance around those issues. Unfortunately, the best you can do is diffuse any potential concerns and hope buyers are not scarred from those neighbors. 

Property Line Neighbors 

The next type of neighbor that you may deal with is one that shares a property line with you. You may be that home seller that has had lengthy battles with someone who either disrespects your property line or makes a big fuss over every little thing that you have over the property line. 

Truthfully, both scenarios can be annoying to deal with from your neighbor but there is an easy solution to this. 

You may be tempted to hide information from a buyer but there is a direct way of dealing with this. If the neighbor is the one that has a problem with you and the property line, talk to them before selling the home and try to fix any minor issues that came from this. 

The issues can simply be a tree branch that is extending too far or putting your garbage bins partially on their property. If you can solve these quickly, you can eliminate that concern for the buyer and simply tell them where to place the garbage bins. 

However, if the neighbor is the one disrespecting the property line, that can be a bit tricky. In that situation, try to gauge as best you can how the buyer feels about longer trees in the backyard and the amount of space they have between them and the next house. 

After that, you can disclose what the official property line is and see their reaction to it. This may make the buyer see more possibilities with the home and they may be more willing to take legal action to use every inch of their assigned property. 

The Loud Neighbors 

Next, you may be facing neighbors that are on the louder side. These can be the types that blast their music through open windows, sit on their front porches late at night and scream, or those who have regular parties. 

Now, this does not have to be a bad thing. One tip as a seller here is to try and see what types of people the buyers are like. It is very possible that they are the partying type and they may not mind walking down the block to drink with new friends. 

However, you may run into families that are light sleepers. This can cause problems for kids trying to sleep on a school night or parents that are trying to get a good night’s sleep before going to work early the next morning. 

If you run into the latter, there are a few things that you can do to try to navigate this situation. The first thing that you can do is to try and limit their exposure to day visits and perhaps introduce buyers to the neighbors while everyone is a little quieter and laid back. 

The second thing that you can do is address the situation head-on. You can give buyers a little heads up that certain neighbors can get a little loud at night. 

With these bad neighbors, what to do legally? The answer is to call the police about a noise complaint. If this happens often enough, it should likely get those neighbors to back off and comply with the noise regulations. 

Using a Homeowner’s Association 

To truly neutralize a bad neighbor, one of the strongest things that you can have on your side is a Homeowner’s Association. In the United States, over 370,000 neighborhoods have them. Considering that there are only 50 states in the country, this means that the odds of you having one are pretty good. 

Those that are unfamiliar with this group are probably wondering what they do. Well, this is the group that is in charge of coming up with rules that everyone in their jurisdiction has to follow. 

Some of these rules can be minor things such as keeping up with lawn maintenance or making sure that garbage bins are collected within 24 hours. Other rules can be simply keeping up with dues that way the group can continue to offer certain services for houses in the neighborhood. 

Telling a buyer that there is a Homeowner’s Association in that neighborhood can be a great way to put their fears in check of a potentially bad neighbor. Also, they may have seen a neighbor of yours that made them concerned before finding out about said group. 

A Homeowner’s Association tends to hold every homeowner in it accountable and it can be the perfect driving force to drive a bad neighbor away. 

Talk to the Neighbors 

Finally, perhaps the simplest advice for dealing with bad neighbors is to simply talk to them. There may be something that you find annoying about a certain neighbor that a buyer could not care less about. 

Even better, a buyer may be willing to overlook a bad habit that a neighbor has if they get along as a person. This can be a great way to sell a buyer not only your home but the neighborhood. 

In this day and age, more and more neighborhoods are becoming strangers living next to each other rather than a true community. You or the buyer reaching out to certain neighbors can make them feel more connected to not only the neighborhood but their fellow neighbors as well. 

If a neighbor feels that connection, they are more likely to care about actions that impact the neighborhood and concerns of the community as well. Therefore, they would be more likely to listen to you if you brought up a concern about their behavior. 

Sell Your Home With Mean Neighbors 

You are likely going to deal with a large variety of mean neighbors. Some may be out of your control such as ones in the legal system while others like loud neighbors or ones on your property line may be more manageable. Try to get a Homeowner’s Association going or if that is not possible, try to have more open communication. 

Do you want to get an idea of what houses in your neighborhood are worth? Use our home valuation tool today to get started. 

The post Disclosure About Mean Neighbors When Selling appeared first on iBuyer Blog.

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Do you want to sell your home fast? If so, you may get lucky with a traditional sale, but cash sales are the quickest on average. Believe it or not, cash sales reached 30% of all home sales in 2021 for the first time in nearly a decade.

If you’ve never sold your home before and don’t know how cash sales work, don’t worry. We have you covered. So, if you’re thinking “I want to sell my house, where do I start,” then make sure to keep reading!

Set a Timeline For Selling

How quickly do you want to sell your house? If you have at least 90 days, then you should have no problem with finding a real estate agent and going the traditional route. However, you will have to consider the costs associated with this, as realtors will take up to 6% of your home’s value in commission.

If you want to sell quickly, you don’t have time to search through a sea of real estate agents and deal with buyers who are having trouble finalizing their mortgage loans. Paperwork and legal issues can get tied up for months, so it’s best to plan ahead for that.

Of course, if you want to sell faster, you’ll need to go for a cash sale. There are plenty of reasons why you may want to sell fast, especially for inherited homes, emergencies, or convenience.

Just understand that the traditional route is a commitment, even with a talented agent. You will need to answer phone calls, review paperwork, and pay more for a lot longer.

Get a Home Evaluation

Valuing your home is very important for a rough idea of pricing. If you’re going the traditional route and have time to wait, then it’s okay to price your home above the valuation to give more room for negotiations. However, this will likely take more time on the sale.

Get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection

Buyers will likely get their own inspections, but it’s a fairly inexpensive task you can do on your own to get ahead of the game. By hiring an inspector in advance, you’ll have an idea of what a buyer’s inspector will find. This will give you an opportunity to make necessary repairs to pass the inspection with flying colors.

Also, this will help avoid contingencies, bumps in the road, or contracts from falling through later on. Believe it or not, around 1 in 20 purchase contracts fall through before closing. It’s important to eliminate confusion or reasons for sales to fall through with a thorough inspection.

For as-is sales, you may not have to pay for an inspection. Instead, let buyers know that the sale is as-is and that they will be responsible for appraisals and inspections if they are interested. However, it may be faster to get an initial inspection yourself. 

Spend Money on Upgrades Wisely

Upgrades can be a boon to your sale or a major money sink. It all depends on what you spend. For example, if you can fix some minor things the inspector mentioned yourself, spend $20 on supplies, and save yourself from knocking off $1,000 from the price, then by all means!

However, if you need to hire a construction crew to come in and renovate your entire kitchen, you’re going to spend anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000. Will it add that amount to the home sale? Almost certainly not.

Some renovations and upgrades will have massive ROIs, especially if you can do them yourself. Increasing curb appeal can increase your home’s value by an average of 7%. You could easily do this by mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, and repainting your front door can go a long way. 

On the other hand, large renovations are generally reserved for your enjoyment while you live there, and you will get a fair return on those costs when you sell the home. If you’re planning on selling soon, these aren’t worth the price unless absolutely necessary. Structural issues or contingencies on your contract will need to be addressed, but don’t go overboard beyond that!

For more information, check out our guide on increasing your home value and which myths to avoid sinking your money into. If you don’t want to put in the money for upgrades, don’t worry. You can always list the home “as-is” to avoid issues with the sale.

Market Your House Appropriately

Once your house is in the right shape for the sale, it’s time to market your home online. You just need to find the right platforms and techniques for your specific sale.

Traditional Home Marketing

If you want to go the traditional route, your real estate agent will likely handle this part for you. This will start with staging and photographing your home. From there, they will list it on appropriate platforms and schedule times to meet with interested viewers!

Some realtors will have other marketing strategies, and you may have specific requests! Make sure you consult with your agent ahead of time and coordinate a great marketing strategy to reach the widest audience.

Also, if there are any great selling points you have to add, let your agent know so they can put them in the listing. Examples include access to highways or amenities, proximity to local schools, helpful features, recent electrical upgrades, and more!

Fast-Sale Marketing

For marketing to cash-buyers, you may need to do some of this work yourself. The process is very similar, but you will need to upload your photos and sale to the right platforms and use the right messaging. It’s important to be clear about your timeline and asking price with potential buyers to weed out those who won’t be interested.

Stage your home as best as you can, using appropriate lighting tools and your best decorating skills. Try to clean up any clutter and remove anything unsightly if possible. If the house is empty, all you need to do is figure out the lighting and use your best camera!

When you post onto a seller platform, be very clear that this is a cash-only, as-is sale. Let viewers know your desired timeline, asking price, and contact information for the fastest turnaround.

Make Contact

Once you’ve found interested viewers, reach out to them. Now is a good time to set up a viewing if they’re interested. More importantly, make sure they read the listing and are aware if you are looking for cash offers, as-is sales, or anything else.

Request a Cash Offer

If you want to make a fast sale, request a cash offer. Eliminating the approval, underwriting, and finalizing steps with the bank will speed up the process substantially.

Contrary to popular belief, cash sales aren’t always less lucrative. With the traditional selling route, there are many expenses that eat away at the sale price, including:

• Realtor fees
• Attorney fees
• Buyer realtor price negotiations
• Inspection and appraisal fees
• Contingency repairs and upgrades

It doesn’t stop there. When the buyer has to pay 5% closing costs, 28-year-high interest rates, and a buyer realtor fee, they want a lower price on the house. It is still a “seller’s market”, so you’re likely to find a reasonable cash buyer that won’t come with all of these fees.

Receive a Preliminary Offer

If you reach out to a cash-buying company or investor, then you should receive a preliminary offer within 24 to 48 hours of making contact. This offer is contingent on the home appraisal and may change after the assessment. If the offer sounds acceptable, arrange a time for an appraisal!

Assess Your Home

Once the interested party is ready, they will assess your home for its condition, typically within the week. After this, you should receive a firm offer on the house. Again, if you want to increase your home value, put in the work before the appraisal for the best results.

Closing

After you receive the offer, closing begins. You and the buyer will simply need to sign a contract, you will need to clear the title, and payment will be disbursed. It’s as simple as that!

I Want to Sell My House Fast

I want to sell my house fast, I want to best price, and I want to do as little work as possible for the sale. If that sounds like you, then the best thing you can do is list your home for an as-is cash sale. To do this, you just need to follow these steps above, list your home, and let the offers roll in!

The post I Want To Sell My House. What Should I Do? appeared first on iBuyer Blog.

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