If you’re thinking of selling, you’ll likely connect with people who want to help. Some will be agents and some will be investors. Check out this blog post to read about 3 ways to tell real estate agents and investors apart in New Jersey, and help you understand why you might want to work with one versus the other…
Thinking about selling your house? You might be approached by a bunch of different people who all offer to help you sell. But not everyone who offers to help will help in the same way. Some are real estate agents, others are real estate investors and they’ll help you in different ways. Here are 3 ways to tell real estate agents and investors apart in New Jersey.
List Versus Buy
The easiest way to tell agents from investors is to ask what they are going to do with your house – list it or buy it. A real estate agent will list your house on a listing service and they’ll try to find a buyer. They might need to show it to several people in order to find one buyer. A real estate agent acts as an intermediary, their goal is to facilitate a transaction between you and a potential buyer.
An investor, on the other hand, isn’t going to list your house – the investor is a buyer and they will buy your house from you directly. Often investors offer benefits such as fast closings and buying houses as-is, meaning you don’t need to make any repairs or renovations, providing sellers with more convenience and flexibility. (That’s what we do at Beacon Realty Investments – we’re buyers and we buy houses in New Jersey. If you want to sell your house, click here and enter your information to find out how much we can pay).
Timeline To Sell
The next way to tell an agent apart from an investor is to ask about their timeline to buy. An agent won’t know because they have to find the buyer first. In many cases, they might be looking at 3-12 months during which they’ll show the house to multiple potential buyers.
An investor, though, will know exactly how long it will take to buy your house since they’re the ones who will buy it. They will have an exact timeline (which could depend on you and how quickly you want to sell). At Beacon Realty Investments, for example, we can typically close on a house within 30 days or less if needed. This can be a huge advantage for sellers who are looking to sell quickly or who have a specific timeline in mind, it is a more predictable selling process.
Commission Versus No Commission
This one is crucial! An agent makes their money when they find a buyer and then you have to pay them a commission on the house (which could be somewhere around 6% of the sale price… or $6,000 on a $100,000 house), meaning you’ll lose a significant portion of your proceeds to fees.
An investor, however, isn’t listing your house so there aren’t any commissions. That’s because an investor will make money by either renting the house to a tenant or fixing up the house and selling it… so they make their money in a different way, not relying on commissions from sellers.
At Beacon Realty Investments, we don’t charge any commissions or fees when we buy your house. This means you can keep more of the sale price in your pocket, giving you greater flexibility and control over your finances. Which can be a significant advantage for many sellers. Whether you’re facing financial challenges, looking to downsize, or simply want a quick and hassle-free sale, our commission-free approach can help you achieve your goals with peace of mind.
There are other ways to tell an agent or investor apart. The best thing to do is just ask… they’ll tell you!