Should I Get an Online Quote to Sell My House?

Some days, it seems you can’t escape them. They come at you from all directions. On the drive to your kids’ school, watching the news, checking your Facebook feed, highway billboards … promotions for online house-buying companies pop up everywhere.

If you are thinking about selling your home, those low-hassle, convenient, fast-sale pitches may pique your interest. You may be curious about getting an online quote for the sale of your home. But you’re probably concerned about clicking a link or calling a number that potentially opens a Pandora’s box of never-ending solicitations and shady deals.

You’re not alone in that skepticism. Research by the real estate consulting firm 1000Watt showed that 55% of sellers polled thought house-buying company sales propositions are too good to be true. Like you, they thought there had to be a catch.

These buyers will provide an online quote to purchase your home — often sight unseen. While they are sometimes comprised of small, local online buyers or investors, the companies reshaping the home sale landscape are larger investor groups and iBuyers (instant buyers), which tend to be corporations funded by large capital groups.

Investor groups such as “We Buy Houses” and “We Buy Ugly Houses®” typically purchase homes in cash for less than market value in as little as 10 days. Well-known iBuyer companies like Opendoor and Offerpad typically provide cash offers closer to market value, depending on the home’s condition and the company’s business model. These online quote companies may sell the home to a contractor, make repairs and then sell the home to another homeowner or investor, or convert the property into a rental.

Selling to an investor group or iBuyer isn’t attractive to everyone. In addition, the opportunity may not even be available in some markets.

Like many other innovations propelled by technological advances, investor groups and iBuyers have their place in the kaleidoscope of real estate sales options. Whether it’s the right choice depends on your selling objectives and priorities.

To help you figure out whether a high-tech alternative will work for you, we’re giving you the basics about online home buyers — why these services are advantageous to some sellers, what kinds of companies offer online quotes, and the pros and cons of using an online process.

Why would I sell my house through an online quote?

The online-quote model can benefit home sellers who are looking to achieve one or more of the following objectives:

Minimize public interaction: If you, your spouse, kids, and pets don’t want to be inconvenienced by a parade of potential buyers, agents, inspectors, appraisers, and contractors, online quote companies offer few interruptions. The only site visit may be a one-time assessment after the initial offer is presented. Transactions are finalized with very little foot traffic for what could be a nearly contactless home sale.
Get cash fast: Unexpected expenses that pile up due to job loss, hospitalization, or even inflation might cause you to consider how to quickly convert your equity to cash, so you can relieve debt.
Preempt a market downturn: You also might be motivated to sell ASAP to maximize market conditions or minimize an anticipated decrease in your home’s value due to changes in zoning, the neighborhood or adjacent property, or other factors beyond your control. Because they can close in as little as 10 days, online quote companies may be the solution to help protect your hard-earned equity.
Close a quick sale: Perhaps, you want to be free to take your equity and pursue your dream home, dream job, the love of a lifetime, or a life in another city or country. With an online offer, you can be on to the next adventure — cash in hand — in less than the time it takes to get a passport.
Need the certainty of a sale: Being stuck paying two mortgages or having a deal crash when the buyer’s financing falls through often tops the list of terrors in sellers’ real estate nightmares. If those and other slow or no-sale scenarios keep you up at night, you can rest easy knowing the chance of an online quote company pulling out of a sale is close to zero.
Bypass the necessity of staging, prepping, or even cleaning out the property: Whether it’s a home you’ve lived in and loved for years or a home you’ve inherited in another city or state, it can take enormous effort and cost to clean out, stage, and maintain a house in ready-to-show-at-a-moment’s-notice condition.
Skip the cost and hassle of repairs: Maybe, you don’t have the ability or time to make simple repairs yourself or pay for maintenance compounded by decades of deferred maintenance. Even though costly repairs may cause a decrease in the final offer, many investor groups expect to make repairs, so there’s no haggling over buyer demands for the sellers to make changes to the property. On the other hand, the larger iBuyers, such as Opendoor, are looking for properties in fairly good condition that do not need a lot of repairs.
Desire for privacy: Even if your family isn’t the star of riches-to-rags drama like the Roses of “Schitt’s Creek,” there are times when protecting your privacy is a priority. If your family or property has become locally famous or infamous, or even if you’re going through bankruptcy or divorce, selling to an online quote company assures only real estate professionals enter the property and keeps curious onlookers out. There will be no for-sale signs in the yard or public showings.
Avoid exhaustive inspections: Since many online quote companies plan to repair or renovate the property and pay with cash, there’s typically no need for an appraisal to satisfy a lender or an elaborate inspection.
Receive a streamlined process with no negotiations and fixed costs: Online house-buying companies offer an alternative for individuals who are unwilling or unable to host open houses and showings or don’t want to get involved in tedious negotiations with buyers. Receiving and accepting an online quote to purchase your house is usually a convenient, relatively simple process with minimal paperwork for owners who inherit property or simply live out of state.
Get a flexible move-out date: Once the preliminaries are completed, many online quote companies allow the seller to choose the closing and move-out dates.
Dodge the stress, time, and energy involved in negotiation: While the online quote company may adjust the offer after a home visit, there is typically no negotiation involving buyers’ demands to fix certain items or provide credits or other compensation.

If the prospect of receiving a convenient, online cash offer is something you’d like to consider, you can explore a proven option on HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform.

Once you enter your address and answer a few questions about your home and selling timeline, you’ll receive a free, no-obligation, all-cash offer within 24 hours.

Sell when you’re ready without the hassle of paying for repairs, prepping for listing, or dealing with showings. With Simple Sale, you can typically close in as few as 10 days, and you won’t pay a program fee or closing costs.