How to Sell Distressed Property Fast in Florida

A distressed home for sale.

People love a fixer-upper, right? There are plenty of buyers on the market willing to tackle some minor cosmetic repairs in order to make a home their own—especially if the price is right. But there’s a significant difference between a property that needs some work and one that qualifies as distressed.If you want to sell distressed property in Florida or have a home that realtors would consider an “extreme fixer-upper,” you are likely to have serious difficulties trying to sell it on the traditional market. In this case, it might make the most sense to sell your home for cash.

It’s not only the condition of your home that can put you at a disadvantage when selling through traditional channels, though. Here are a few things to consider when evaluating whether your property might be designated as distressed.

1. Major Structural Issues or Needed Repairs

This one is a given. If you have serious structural issues with vital parts of your home such as the foundation or the roof, those will be serious issues for a buyer—especially if you don’t have the cash on hand to fix it before putting your home on the market. Any problem that affects the structural integrity of your home like that is going to reduce its worth drastically.

Maybe those structural aspects are sound, but you have major water damage, or your home needs extensive plumbing or electrical work. Unless you’re prepared to undertake that yourself or find a reputable contractor and pay for their services, any potential buyer will want a considerable discount on the purchase price if they’ll have to take such a large (and expensive) project on themselves.

2. High Crime

If your home is located in an area that has especially high crime rates, you’ll be hard pressed to find a buyer on the traditional market. It can be very frustrating, as this element is completely out of your control as a homeowner. But you can’t expect to find eager buyers for a home situated in an area where robbery, theft, carjackings etc. are commonplace occurrences.

Your neighborhood may have been a safe, lovely, family-oriented part of town when you bought your home, but things change, and unfortunately, criminal elements can take over an entire area with startling speed. If you’re looking to sell your home because of increasing crime in the area, nobody blames you! But that also means you’ll have an uphill battle on your hands to find a willing buyer.

3. Undesirable Neighborhood

Maybe your neighborhood isn’t necessarily a high-crime area, but it has other quirks that make it a less-than-ideal place to live. If the area around your home is especially loud, for instance, buyers may be less willing to pay a good asking price for your property. Nobody wants to live next to an airport or a freeway, after all.

Alternately, maybe it’s a largely quiet area, but it’s famous for its snarling traffic jams, or its location may be inaccessible to the rest of the city. Perhaps it offers limited parking. These little things can add up for potential buyers, making your home a less desirable option than those located in other neighborhoods without these pesky inconveniences.

4. Pending Foreclosure

If you’re over a barrel and staring down a foreclosure, you’re on the clock. Time is of the essence, and selling your home quickly before the lender takes possession of it naturally puts you in a stressful situation.

Your home might be in great shape and in a great neighborhood. But if you owe months of back payments on your mortgage, you may not have the time and money necessary to sell it through traditional real estate channels. You need to sell now and pay back what you owe before your credit—and, by extension, your future—suffer a major hit.

Does your Florida home qualify as a distressed property? Do you want to sell distressed property in Florida? Do you anticipate having serious issues selling it for a fair price and in a timely fashion through traditional real estate channels? You have another option! The Buy Guys happily work with owners of distressed properties. Give us a call today so we can help you quickly sell your distressed property for cash in Florida.