I Need to Sell My House Fast in Los Angeles: What Are My Options?

If you need to sell your house fast in Los Angeles, whether you’ve inherited a house, you’re relocating for work, need to cash out your home’s equity fast, or are looking to put a divorce behind you, the two best strategies are: 1) seek out a cash offer, or 2) work with a top real estate agent. In this guide, we will review the pros and cons of each approach to help you decide which makes the most sense for your home sale.

Option 1: Sell your Los Angeles house fast for cash

HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform connects you to the largest network of cash buyers in the U.S. We use the information you provide about your home plus local neighborhood data to get you a great cash offer, allowing you to close in as little as 10 days. Simple Sale saves time in other ways since clients can skip repairs, home prep, and showings while still receiving a strong offer from our network.

HomeLight was founded in 2012 and is BBB accredited with an A+ rating. The company has 4.6 stars on Google based on more than 500 user reviews.

Sell Your Los Angeles House Fast With an All-Cash Offer

Get an all-cash, no-obligation offer through HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform whenever you’re ready. Receive your offer in 24 hours and close in as little as 10 days. No showings, no repairs, no open houses. Available to sellers throughout the Los Angeles area.

Step 1: Request Offer

Who else will buy your house for cash?

While it may be one of the fastest ways to find a trusted buyer, Simple Sale isn’t your only option for selling your home for cash in Los Angeles. There are other companies that work with sellers to get their home sold quickly.

iBuyers is short for “Instant Buyers”, which are real estate companies that leverage algorithms and technology in order to buy and resell homes quickly. They typically close in as little as 10-14 days and let you choose your move-out date if you’re living in the house. iBuyers tend to make their money across a volume of sales, so their offers tend to be the closest to the market rate.

Property investors typically buy homes and hold them for a while, so they aren’t necessarily looking to make a quick profit. They’ll usually make their money on rental income and property value appreciation in the long term. Because they want to be able to rent the property quickly, they tend to look for properties that require minimal repairs before being rental-ready.

Flippers are investors that buy properties that need repairs, repair them, and then resell them at a profit. Because they make their money on fixing up a house to be more valuable than it was when they bought it, they tend to go for houses that need significant repairs.

Cash buyers in Los Angeles

We Buy Los Angeles has been BBB accredited since 2021 with an A rating. They’re willing to make an offer for your home in as little as seven minutes over the phone.

Tarek Buys Houses is a local cash buyer who is known for closing quickly and helping sellers find financing for their next home. They have been BBB accredited since 2021 and hold an A+ rating.

We Buy Ugly Houses (HomeVestors) has been BBB accredited since 2016 and holds an A+ rating. Operating nationwide, they have worked with over 140,000 homeowners across the United States, including Los Angeles, and make cash offers immediately after viewing the home.

SoCal Home Buyers has been BBB accredited since 2018, with an A+ rating and a 5-star average for all Google reviews. They are known for their flexibility and customer service.

Mrs. Property Solutions has been BBB accredited since 2018 and holds an A+ rating. Cash sale reviewers rave about the team’s transparency and flexible closing dates.

Express Home Buyers has been BBB accredited since 2004 and holds a B+ rating. Sellers in a hurry can close as quickly as a week from first reaching out to the company.

Pros and cons of selling for cash

As with anything, there are pros and cons to selling your house quickly for cash.

Pros:

• Fast closing: A cash sale is significantly faster than a traditional mortgage-backed home purchase, often allowing you to close in as few as three to 10 days.
• No repairs needed: You can sell your home as-is, in most cases, with no repairs or renovations.
• No fees or commissions: Many cash buyers will cover closing costs and fees.
• No showings or open houses: You won’t have to stage the home for listing photos or prepare the property for showings or open houses.
• No obligation until you commit: After you receive a no-obligation offer, you can compare it to other offers. You can even consult a Realtor® for comparisons.
• Step away from a problem: With a fast cash sale, you can often avoid dealing with problem tenants or potential foreclosure.
• No contingencies: Cash buyers can waive contingencies that can make negotiations difficult, namely the financing contingency and appraisal contingency.
• No negotiating: You won’t have to deal with multiple buyers or the pressure of back-and-forth negotiating on price, credits, or repairs.
• Move on with life: If you inherited a home, facing a divorce, dealing with a death, or having financial challenges, a cash sale can help you move on from the home and possibly resolve some issues faster.

Cons

• Lower sale price: Cash sales typically result in a lower selling price than a traditional sale with the help of a qualified real estate agent.
• Repairs cost may be deducted: If the home does need major repairs, the cost of those may be deducted from the offer, depending on the cash buyer.
• May be harder to find a buyer: Depending on the condition or location of your home, you may have limited cash buyer options, especially if you have a unique property that will be harder for investors to flip.
• You’ll need to vet companies: It’s important to do research on “we buy houses for cash” companies to make sure they are legitimate and reputable.
• Transparency may be limited: Some cash buyers won’t share their home evaluation process or how they calculated their offer, which is sometimes reduced last minute.
• Hidden fees: As you vet cash buyers, watch for hidden or unexpected fees. Read your purchase contract carefully before signing.

Option 2: Work with a top agent to sell fast in Los Angeles

Working with a top agent in Los Angeles can be a good option for sellers who would like to sell faster than average, but who have a little more time to devote to a traditional sale vs. an instant cash offer.

HomeLight data shows that not only do top agents sell their clients’ homes more quickly than average agents, but the top 5% of agents sell homes for up to 10% more than average agents.  They also sell homes 10%-50% faster than the average agent.

This can be because top agents are able to provide local market insights that are not obvious to a seller. Todd Jones, a Beverly Hills sales agent with over 15 years of experience, shares that one of the things he does is “hire a professional that will come in and take professional photos because if they are not taking professional photos, [the sellers] are shortchanging themselves tremendously.”

Professional photos could make the difference between just selling your house and selling your house for the best possible price. (More about this coming up in our “12 expert tips” section.)

If you still want to sell quickly but have a little more time than the cash-offer route, this can be a great strategy to both sell quickly and maximize your home sale to help pay down debt, decrease the sting of divorce, and increase a loved one’s estate after their passing.

How fast are homes selling in Los Angeles?

Market conditions are an important factor in how quickly or slowly homes generally sell in a given area. Los Angeles is a land of opportunity and diversity, with many big entertainment employers and access to everything from the beach to skiing nearby, making the area a popular place to live.

Here is a snapshot of current housing indicators in the Los Angeles County market:

Sources: California Association of  Realtors® and Norada, sales data for single-family homes. *A 100% sale-to-list price ratio indicates that, on average, homes in Los Angeles sold for about the same as the asking price. 

12 expert tips to sell a home fast in Los Angeles

Selling a home fast while still earning as much money as possible is a delicate dance. Here are some expert tips to quicken the timeline for your LA home sale:

1. Set your price competitively

In any market, pricing correctly is key to generating interest in a property and bringing in competitive offers. It’s even more important when you’re trying to sell quickly but want to balance proceeds with speed. An experienced top agent will perform a comparative market analysis (CMA) to help you set the best price to sell a house fast in your Los Angeles market.

If you’re curious about your LA home’s current value, try HomeLight’s Home Value Estimator. While it shouldn’t dictate your final pricing strategy, an online home value estimate can give you a ballpark price range. You can get a preliminary estimate in less than two minutes.

2. Hire a professional photographer and videographer

As Jones explains above, top-quality photos of your listing are critical. According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, 97% of homebuyers use the Internet in their search for a home. That means LA buyers will likely first view the property via the photos and videos you post in a listing. High-quality pictures and videos give buyers the best view and perspective on a property when viewed online.

3. Enhance curb and walk-through appeal

A typical Los Angeles buyer wants a home in move-in condition. They like to have beautiful curb appeal and a nice kitchen layout. The more appealing the home is to the eye, the more interested potential buyers will be at showings.

Jones explains that making the appropriate obvious cosmetic repairs and fixes are important (deep cleaning the house, getting rid of the carpet, replacing faulty windows, a fresh coat of paint, etc.), but staging a home can really knock viewers’ socks off and attract multiple offers.

4. Make your home stand out

A good agent will invest in marketing your home for you, ensuring that the right buyers see it. This means not just listing it on the MLS, but paying for marketing, as well as combing through their database of buyers who are looking for homes just like yours. This ensures you don’t have to have dozens of open houses or viewings in order to sell your home.

5. Showcase your outdoor space

Since the pandemic, more homebuyers are looking for usable outdoor space. This means extending your living space outdoors can be extremely appealing. More Californians are transforming their outdoor area to include a full furniture set, smoker, and television to watch the Rams or the Lakers play on a beautiful Los Angeles night.

6. Market additional garage and storage space

Three-car garages are surprisingly popular with out-of-towners moving to Los Angeles. People from the East Coast and Midwest are used to having basements and ample closet storage space. So the extra garage space can provide storage or even just indoor space for guests’ cars.

7. Advertise proximity and walkability

Walkability is important for many Los Angeles buyers. This makes it important for sellers to highlight parks, coffee shops, and local restaurants in the neighborhood. Proximity to other services can also play a role in selling your home. Highlight if you’re near an airport for frequent travelers or close to big offices for those who are commuting to work. If you’re in a great LA area school district, point that out for families.

8. Point out your home’s special features

Having certain features also makes a house more appealing in Los Angeles. Vic Vartan Markarian, a Glendale, California agent with over 30 years of experience, explains that “Most buyers look for a good view, and buyers also look for a pool” in order to take advantage of the gorgeous weather that is part of the draw of California.

Another example of a desired feature, Vartan says more and more LA buyers are checking if the house has solar panels already installed to help cut down on high California electricity bills.

9. Show LA buyers bright floors and sunlight

Outdated flooring options — tile, laminate — can put buyers off a house, as can a lack of sunshine streaming into the house. Flooring will need to be replaced, and sunshine can be added with skylights or even just by removing any greenery that blocks the sun coming through the windows.

10. Promote space for extra lodging or a home office

If your property has an auxiliary dwelling unit (ADU), such as a mother-in-law cottage, emphasize this in your listing. Tell buyers if you have a home office or stage that extra room as an office. If you are selling a home with large square footage, leverage this.

11. Know what not to fix

If you’re looking for a fast sale, it can be helpful to understand what not to fix. An agent who understands the market and the buyers will know what repairs make sense and which ones may be a waste of your time and money.

In addition, a top agent will know how to present a property that may not be the most desirable. For example, flag lots are unappealing to the typical Los Angeles buyer. Flag lots are properties that have a long, slender strip of land extending from the street to the typically rectangular main part of the lot. These properties are usually squashed in around others, and it can feel like it. An experienced LA agent will know how to make even a flag lot as appealing as possible.

12. Take advantage of market timing

Along with the recommendations above, it can be helpful to know the level of market activity in your area during different times of the year. HomeLight’s Best Time to Sell Calculator uses housing market data for your area to show you the best and worst months to sell your home. See when is the best time to sell a house if you want to make the most money and which months are best to sell your house fast.

Whatever features your house has or doesn’t have, a good agent will be able to connect you with a buyer in Los Angeles and can often make it a fairly fast process.

Ready to sell your Los Angeles home?

A top real estate agent in Los Angeles can help you navigate the many nuances that you might not otherwise discover until you’re swamped in the process. Their organizational efficiencies and marketing expertise can help you sell your LA house fast.

If you need an even faster sale, HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform provides cash offers for homes in almost any condition in Los Angeles. If you don’t have the time or the means to prepare your home or move through the traditional listing process, you can skip the repairs and showings and close in as few as 10 days. Complete a short questionnaire and receive a no-obligation cash offer in 24 hours.

Writer Emma Woodward contributed to this story.

Header Image Source: (Abbie Bernet / Unsplash)