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Reasons Homeowners Might Need a Quick Sale

  • 4 years ago

On average it takes three or four months for a property to sell and while this sort of timescale suits most sellers, some movers might be in a real hurry. There are several reasons why someone might want their property to sell quickly and usually sellers in this position are willing to accept a slightly reduced price.

Problematic tenants

Whether you’re a deliberate or accidental landlord, problem tenants can be a serious headache. If your tenants never pay the rent on time, or they throw wild parties until the small hours and forget to tidy up after themselves you’ll probably want rid of them. Unfortunately, the legal path to evicting tenants is long and winding, so you may decide to just sell up and forget all about it.

Retirement or downsizing

Many people want to move once they’ve retired, be it to be closer to family, the seaside or simply to have less space to maintain. While many retirees don’t mind waiting for the right price, just as many are more impatient, especially if they stand to make a decent profit from the sale.

Job-related relocation

At the other end of the career path, some jobs need the person to relocate and if you need to take up the post quite soon, you’ll need to sell up fast so you don’t lose the opportunity. Freeing up the money in your existing property will help you to buy a place to live in your new town, city or country.

An inheritance

Many people bequeath property to relatives in their will and sometimes family members decide to sell the property in order to divide up the proceeds. It can be very stressful and so a rapid sale helps people with the grieving process, as well as preventing any arguments and fall-outs.

A relationship breakdown

In a similar way to a death in the family, selling a jointly-owned property after a divorce or separation can be very painful and stressful. The sooner it’s all done and dusted, the sooner both parties can move on – emotionally and financially.

The loss of a job

If you don’t find a job quickly enough after you’re made redundant, then you can fall behind with your mortgage payments. Selling your property means you can free up enough money to cover your living expenses and rent until you’re back on your feet. You might decide to buy a smaller place outright and still have enough to tide you over, but only if you sell fast.

Large maintenance and repair costs

You might have bought a doer-upper and found it too hard to handle, or your house just needs more TLC than you have the time or money for. Selling up (preferably to someone who’ll be able to look after the place) is a great option, especially if you’ve made a profit and can buy a low-maintenance abode.

A repossession

If you’ve fallen behind on your payments then you could end up facing repossession. If you can’t reach or afford a suitable repayment plan then it’s only a matter of time before repossession action starts. This is expensive and incredibly damaging for your credit rating, so selling the property can halt this. Make sure the sale price covers all of the outstanding loan, though.

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