Speak to any number of people who have bought or sold a home and you will hear different stories about their experience. Transactions can be a complex thing to close because of the amount of parties involved. Each has to complete their end of the process in order to ensure a smooth closing, but working with experienced real estate professionals can significantly increase your chances of paving a stress-free path to closing.

iBuyers have arisen in recent years as an alternative to the traditional sale and marketing process of a listing. This tech-inspired name of “iBuyer” is just a fancy name for an institutional investor. The interested seller simply submits some information on their home and within hours, sometimes even seconds, they receive an offer to purchase their home at a specified price. This can be very tempting to a seller, and why wouldn’t it? No need to find a buyer, and no need to worry about the variables that can be introduced by financing issues since the iBuyer pays cash. It’s a win/win for everyone, isn’t it? Not in most cases.

Before opting to not go the traditional route, it’s highly recommended that you do your research on iBuyers and consider some of the pros and cons. We’ve outlined some of them for you here:

Selling To An iBuyer

Pros

• Possibility For A Quick Sale

Cons

• Not All Homes Qualify For iBuyer Offers
• Any Necessary Repairs Will Be Deducted From The Sale Price
• Service Fees Range Between 5% and 9% of The Sale Price
• You Stand To Make Less Than Market Value So They Can Profit Off Resale
• No Ability To Negotiate

Selling Traditionally (With A REALTOR®)

Pros

• Any Home Can Be Listed On The Market
• Possibility For A Quick Sale Based On Market & Price
• Commission Fees Typically Do Not Exceed 6%
• You Can Make More On Your Property Based on Buyer Competition
• There Is ALWAYS The Ability To Negotiate

Cons

• Takes Typically 60 Days From List To Close, But Can Take Longer

If the overwhelming cons listed above don’t matter as much to you, consider this last one. According to an article publsihed in MarketWatch, sellers who sell to iBuyers typically get 11% less for their home versus selling to a traditional buyer. If the typical home value is $300,000, that means you would be selling your home for $33,000 less than you could have. That’s a pretty large number to consider, and it only gets higher as you get higher in sale price.

Before selling to an iBuyer, talk to one of our experirenced real estate professionals at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty. They will be able to talk through the sales process and show you how much more you could get if you put your property up on the open market. Register below and get connected with one of our industry-leading real estate professionals today!