Need to sell your house fast in Texas?
Competitive cash offers: There’s no need to sort through dozens of We Buy Houses Texas websites. Our team of experts understands the local market, and we work with one of the largest cash buyer networks in the nation to ensure you get the best offer possible through HomeLight’s Simple Sale Texas platform.
No repairs or roadblocks: We specialize in helping Texas sellers move quickly, even if a house needs repairs or you’re going through a difficult situation such as divorce, death in the family, or financial troubles.
Simple and fast: Get the cash you need to move on to your next chapter without the stress of showings, negotiations, or waiting months to close.
Sell My House Fast in Texas
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I Need to Sell My House Fast in Texas: What Are My Options?
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- 13 minute read
- Stacy Sare Cohen, Contributing AuthorCloseStacy Sare Cohen Contributing Author
Stacy Sare Cohen is a seasoned content writer with a passion for real estate, home design, decor, and home improvement. She holds a B.A. in English from UCLA and has been published in Apartment Therapy, Angi, HomeAdvisor, and elsewhere. When Stacy’s not creating content, she’s dreaming up new project ideas for her newly remodeled condo.
- Sam Dadofalza, Associate Refresh EditorCloseSam Dadofalza Associate Refresh Editor
Sam Dadofalza is an associate refresh editor at HomeLight, where she crafts insightful stories to guide homebuyers and sellers through the intricacies of real estate transactions. She has previously contributed to digital marketing firms and online business publications, honing her skills in creating engaging and informative content.
When life’s unexpected challenges — a divorce, the loss of a loved one, or financial struggles — make it urgent to sell your house fast in Texas, you have two options to sell your home quickly: 1) seek a cash offer or 2) recruit a top real estate agent. This guide will cover each option in detail so you can make an informed decision for your home sale.
Option 1: Sell your Texas house fast for cash
Selling your Texas house to a cash buyer allows you to cut through the traditional real estate process, which includes inspections, repairs, home prep, and staging. This can significantly speed up your home sale.
HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform connects you to one of the largest networks of cash buyers in the U.S. We use the information you provide about your home plus local neighborhood data to provide a convenient no-obligation cash offer within 24 hours. If you accept the offer, you can close in as little as 10 days.
Founded in 2012, HomeLight is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A+ rating. It has 4.8 stars on Google based on hundreds of positive customer reviews.
Who else will buy your Texas house for cash?
You can also seek out other cash buyers, such as house flippers, iBuyers, and investors. Here’s an overview of these businesses, the types of homes they look to purchase, and their process.
- House flippers: House flippers buy homes with good bones in dire need of repair to remodel and resell as turnkey for a maximum profit. Flippers typically make offers well below market value to account for the cost of needed repairs.
- iBuyers: iBuyers use a proprietary algorithm that compares many data sets, including price history, lot acreage, a home’s square footage, tax valuation history, and other data points to determine the home’s automated valuation model (AVM). While historically offering more than flippers, iBuyers typically charge sellers a fee between 5% and 6%.
- Buy-and-hold investors: Buy-and-hold investors buy houses as long-term investments, often converting properties into rental units to build equity.
- Franchising and homebuying companies: These investors will buy your house as-is for cash, renovate it, and sell it as a turnkey home for a significant profit. Like flippers, these investors offer sellers below market value.
Cash buyers in Texas
Texas house-buying companies, also known as We Buy Houses companies, typically purchase properties in need of repairs. Most of these companies will conduct a walkthrough within 48 to 72 hours, pay cash, and strive to close the sale in around seven to 10 days. Here are examples of house-buying companies in Texas:
HomeVestors / We Buy Ugly Houses: We Buy Ugly Houses operates in over 20 locations in the state of Texas. It purchases properties in as-is condition, allowing sellers to bypass repairs and close in as little as three weeks.
BBB Rating: A+
Google reviews: 3.3/5 stars (Dallas); 4.3/5 stars (Houston)
We Buy Houses Texas: We Buy Houses is a national brand that operates in over 30 states, including Texas. It provides a simple process for sellers: provide basic property information, let a company representative view the home, get a no-obligation cash offer, and close the sale.
BBB Rating: A+ (not yet accredited)
Google reviews: 5/5 stars (Fort Worth); 3.7/5 stars (Grapevine)
Houston Capital Homebuyers: Houston Capital Homebuyers buys various properties, including mobile homes, in various conditions throughout Texas. It offers a virtual walkthrough option to assess properties and assists sellers with moving costs if they stay in the Houston area.
BBB Rating: A+
Google reviews: 4.9/5 stars
House Buyers Texas: This company purchases homes statewide but is most active in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. House Buyers Texas will present an initial cash offer within 24 hours and offers flexible closing dates.
BBB Rating: A+
Google reviews: 4.9/5 stars
Liberty Home Buyers: Liberty Home Buyers serves sellers throughout Texas. It purchases houses as the buyer rather than finding investors. After you arrange a home inspection with Liberty, the team can usually make an offer within 24 to 48 hours and can close in as little as two weeks.
BBB Rating: A+ (not yet accredited)
Google reviews: 5/5 stars
Pros and cons of selling your Texas house for cash
The experience of selling a house for cash can vary from company to company. However, most owners encounter these benefits and drawbacks when selling their homes to companies for cash buyers:
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: In most cases, you can sell your home as-is without 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.
- Convenient fix for property problems: 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.
- Financial support for tough life situations: If you inherited a home, are facing a divorce, dealing with a death, or experiencing financial strain, 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.
- Reduced bottom line: If the home does need major repairs, the cost of those may be deducted from the offer, depending on the cash buyer.
- Tough search for a cash 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.
- Meticulous buyer vetting process: It’s important to do research on “We Buy Houses for Cash” companies to make sure they are legitimate and reputable.
- Limited transparency: 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 Texas
Working with a top agent in Texas can be a good option for sellers who would like to sell faster than average but who have some time to devote to a traditional sale vs. an instant cash offer. Top agents who know the local area can add value in the following ways:
- Offer expertise in pricing so your home sells fast
- Prioritize repairs and upgrades that increase home value
- Provide staging tips to make your home appeal to more buyers
- Apply various marketing techniques to bring in a larger pool of buyers
- Use local expertise for skillful negotiation
HomeLight data shows that top agents sell homes faster than most agents, and the top 5% of agents sell homes for up to 10% more than average agents. Working with a top agent can lead to a speedy sale for top dollar to help you move past a divorce, sell a loved one’s estate, or get out of debt.
How fast are homes selling in Texas?
Local market conditions can determine how quickly or slowly your house sells in Texas. With a strong economy, different types of living environments, and a low cost of living with no state income tax, Texas is drawing in a surge of new residents.
“We’ve got a lot of people moving out of some of the western states, California, Washington, and Nevada,” says Jacobe Kendrick, a top-performing agent who works with over 85% more single-family homes than the average Midland, Texas agent.
Kendrick mentioned a recent conversation with a veterinarian who relocated from Oregon. The discussion centered around the significant difference in housing costs between their old and new home in Texas. His client said that they could “buy four houses [in Texas] for what they could buy with the one house they had in Oregon.”
Job growth draws young professionals and young families to Texas
With the natural gas industry and technology companies relocating to Texas, young professionals and families are moving into the state for job relocations or to kickstart their careers.
“I’m seeing folks move here because the area has a lot of jobs,” Kendrick says, citing Tesla’s automotive manufacturing facility in Austin as an example.
Texas real estate conditions and trends
Here is a snapshot of current real estate conditions in Texas:
Days on market (average time from list to contract) | 61 days* |
Days to close conventional home loan | 43 days |
Median home sale price | $335,494 |
Months of inventory | 3.7 months |
Number of closed home sales month over month | -6.2% |
*Does not include time for buyer to close the loan
8 strategies to sell a house fast in Texas
Top agents have an arsenal of successful strategies that attract buyers and make homes sell faster.
“Buyers aren’t looking to do renovations; they’re looking for homes that are ready to go,” Kendrick says. “They don’t want to have to change the carpet, paint walls, or do any of that stuff; they want a home that’s move-in ready,” he explains. Kendrick recommends the following strategies and tips for sellers to help sell their homes more quickly.
1. Set your price competitively
“If you price your home where it should be priced in the market, as people come in to look at your house, they have a mindset, ‘If I don’t, someone else will,’ and that’s actually how you get a higher price on your house,” says Kendrick. When people list their house high and slowly lower the price “they’re guaranteed to get a lower offer,” says Kendrick.
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 market.
If you’re curious about your 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. Consider a pre-listing inspection
Home inspections can often hold up a sale. With a pre-listing inspection, you’ll know repair issues in advance and let the buyer know about those problems before they make an offer, which saves time.
3. Use the best technology to market your home
Using advanced technology to market your home will help buyers imagine themselves living there. One way to achieve this is with drone photography and 3D virtual reality technology, such as the 3D data platform Matterport that Kendrick uses to attract more buyers.
“The buyer can actually walk through the house before they go and see it. You click a button, and it’ll take you forward three steps so you can have a 360-degree view of the house,” says Kendrick.
4. Paint, stain, and pressure wash
To make your home stand out from other properties, Kendrick recommends repairing the sidewalks, staining the fence, pressure washing, and touching up the paint interior and exterior. “Painting is one of the cheapest things you can do to get the most bang for your buck,” explains Kendrick.
5. Showcase your outdoor area
Texas home shoppers love usable outdoor space. Extending your living space outdoors can be extremely appealing to buyers. Consider how you might transform your outdoor area into an attractive oasis. This might include adding a full furniture set, smoker, and television to watch the Cowboys or Texans play on a Sunday night.
6. Advertise your neighborhood’s walkability
Walkability is important for many Texas buyers. This makes it critical for sellers to highlight parks, coffee shops, and local restaurants in the neighborhood.
7. Promote additional space for lodging, work, or Texas-sized trucks
If your property has an auxiliary dwelling unit (ADU), such as a mother-in-law cottage, emphasize it in your listing. If you are selling a home with large square footage or a home office, leverage these.
In addition, a spacious garage is a hot commodity in Texas. Even if you don’t have a large garage, take the time to declutter it to show that a potential buyer’s truck could fit with the door closed.
8. 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 sell quickly.
Ready to sell your Texas home?
As you can see, a top real estate agent in Texas 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 sell your house fast.
If you need an even faster sale, HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform provides cash offers for homes in almost any condition in Texas. If you don’t have the time or the means to prepare your home or move through the traditional listing process, this is a great option as 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 within 24 hours.
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