How Home Cash Buyers are Disrupting Divorce Property Markets in Birmingham and Throughout the USA

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Traditional property transactions are part and parcel of the USA’s real estate landscape, accounting for massive volume in numerous market segments. Probably, everyone involved in buying or selling a home in their lifetime has had reason to refer to “my agent.” Realtors inevitably have had a big hand in helping them to navigate the deals.

Noticeably, in the last few years, a new entrant showed its face, based on weaknesses in the usual ways of doing things – namely, the home cash buyer. One of the principal advantages the latter brought to the party, amongst many, was speed. It was a piledriver that disrupted numerous market segments (i.e., divorce properties being one) and stamped the home cash buyer as a force to be reckoned with. How was that possible?

A. The first step – let’s look at how a realtor functions.

Traditional real estate marketing has substantial responsibility attached to it – much of it falling on the buyers’ shoulders. Few properties can move off the MLS into the “sold” category unless their owners take care of:

Curb appeal
Decluttering the place internally
Fixups to give the residence’s look a boost:

Where the unsightliness is severe – renovations.
New paint jobs helping to freshen rooms up (a realtor favorite).

Staging – removing outdated furnishings, replacing them with modern.
Cooperating with showings that disrupt one’s routine and family living.
Accepting contingencies that emerge after receiving the original offer:
1. Home inspections that find things like mold, defective sheetrock, and broken windows.
2. Lender appraisals that value the home below the offer price

The significant catalyst energizing the above actions comes back to the MLS format. It thrusts the residence into an intensely competitive situation versus comparatives in the neighborhood. The realtor’s role is to guide the process through, creating three considerations that impact every deal selling the traditional way:

A six-week average selling cycle.
The seller must pay all agents’ commission on closing (i.e., around 6% of the closing price.)
With all costs taken into account, sellers should budget for anything from an 8 – 12% reduction in the original offer price.

Interestingly, the one-and-a-half-month average lag between signing with a realtor to cash in the bank doesn’t consider the property listings that fall off the bandwagon. Homeowners frequently get impatient, frustrated, disappointed, or a combination of all these emotions. When they do, the market listings disappear from the MLS – a metric that’s not advertised a lot but a poor reflection on traditional selling and its close cousin – Sell by Owner.

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B. The second step – How well does a divorce property fit into the traditional formula?

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were just over two million marriages in 2018 and nearly 800,000 divorces in the same year. The divorce to marriage ratio sits at approximately 37%, signifying a social dysfunction in the USA that puts a big question mark on family cohesiveness. Notwithstanding, young couples enter wedlock in their droves with optimism, believing they can buck the disturbing trend. Unfortunately, when the split occurs, it carries significant dollops of resentment, anger, depression, and regret that get in the way of clear thinking. These two people (who entered matrimony ready to share everything) are now fighting tooth-and-nail over the spoils. In many cases, the spoils include their primary home, a vacation residence, and possibly investment properties. Unraveling things poses a severe challenge.

At some point, lawyers on both sides of the conflict get involved, adding to the controversy and confusion. Here’s the thing:

Suppose the couple and their advisors essentially agree to go the traditional route. In that case, they must contend with the long list of “to-dos” above for the property to have a snowball’s chance of selling.
There are many joint decisions in the process, a big mountain to climb when there’s hardly any regular dialogue. Heck! The parties can’t even concur on the opening prices, let alone the rest.

C. The third step – look at the home cash buyer as a serious competitive contender.

A company like Home Buyers Birmingham is custom-made to step into the breach. One of the enormous benefits they contribute is speed, enabling the warring factions to get out of each other’s hair fast – if they can agree on the prerequisites. Indeed, a professional home cash buyer experienced in cooling tempers has a good chance of creating an agreement where other options fail. The outstanding benefits of a cash home buyer orchestrating a property sale in the middle of a divorce settlement emerge as follows:

Getting an offer in the parties’ hands within twenty-four hours.
Closing on the deal with money in the bank inside of a week.
No commissions payable and zero extra fees.
No lender in the mix, so appraisals can’t upset the applecart.
Erasing home inspections after offer submission (i.e., the traditional way of doing things). The opening offer takes all repairs into account and never enters the conversation after that.
Zero concern about cleaning things up. Buyers for cash are pros who generally have customers in mind intent on renovating anyway. Therefore, unusual penalties for unsightly disrepair and splotchy aesthetics fall away. The fact is what worries prospects seeking a dream-home is worlds apart from cash buyers intending to move the property on.
There’s massive competition in the home cash buyer arena, so lowballing based merely on offering a faster closing has its limits. Yes, there’s buyer reward for fast closings, and the commission saving is undoubtedly a big help. Beyond that, a home in good condition should still realize pricing that doesn’t lose touch with neighborhood comparatives in bottom-line terms.

The Home Buyers Birmingham team and other home cash buyers are building dominance in divorce markets and other segments with similar volatility. Their systems effectively target realtor-style sluggishness and the pack-drill that dissenting adults have difficulty coming to terms with. Armed with the ability to add a moderating voice and a sense of objectivity, they are making a name for themselves on the divorce property landscape. Differences to the divorce client experience that make all the difference are:

Speedy closings create quicker settlements, alongside reasonable value.
Clearing the bumps and potholes in the road forward releases emotional stress for the parting couple.

Conclusion

We don’t want to create the impression that home cash buyers are the only game in town when it comes to divorce and guiding transactions in this unique arena. They’re not because, frequently, the lawyers connect to realtors that know their way of doing things. Nonetheless, home cash buying has made its mark and continues to gain traction because the pluses stand out a mile. If you or anyone in your circle are in a divorce, separation, or thinking along those lines in Birmingham, refer them to the Home Buyers Birmingham team. They offer a client journey that’s sure to deliver great results and keep things on an even keel.