Condos, or condominiums, are becoming more and more popular as investment options for property developers and everyday home-owners alike. Condos are apartment-like units that are usually contained within a bigger residential building with its own HOA, meaning that they’re often more convenient, safer, and easier to manage than free-standing houses.
These unique selling points are some of the reasons why selling your condo again – especially when it’s located in a great neighborhood – is so easy. The condo resale market is one of the strongest in the property spaces thanks to the growing interest in easy apartment living and lock-up-and-go convenience. So, if your condo is fairly priced and located in the right area, then there’s no limit to how quickly and easily you can sell it again at a great price.
Not every condo owner is ready to own their units for life. After buying a unit, you might realize that you can’t or don’t want to own it anymore and need to sell as quickly as possible. Whether you’re thinking of selling your condo to release some much-needed capital for a new investment, or you’ve simply had a change of circumstances and need to free up some time, you can do it quickly and efficiently if you follow the right process.
If you are interested in selling your condo, you might also be interested in selling fast. This could be because you’re going through a divorce and want to get out of the space you share with your partner. Perhaps you’ve just accepted a new role halfway across the country and you need to relocate as soon as possible. If speed is a pressing factor in selling your condo, then you’ll need to follow our real-world tips and tricks to cut the closing times and move on to the next step of your property journey ASAP.
This article gives you some more information about what you’ll need to understand about selling a condo fast, and how to do it in the easiest, simplest way possible.
How Hard Is It to Sell a Condo Fast – Compared to Selling a House?
For sellers based in Houston, you’ll need to understand the current state of the property market and how it can help or hurt your chances of selling a specific type of property like condo units. Before we can learn how to sell a condo quickly, we first need to understand what “fast” means in the greater context of property sales. When you think of selling a free-standing house, especially when it’s sustained some damage or is in disrepair, you might imagine that it would take weeks or even months to find the right buyers.
While this might be true for some homeowners, it isn’t always the case. There are options available for selling a condo within days, including the options we provide here at Christian House Buyers. Christian House Buyers has taught homeowners of properties that have been damaged in fires, floods, and more how to sell in no time, which means that there are always options available if you know where to look for them.
It’s also important to note that selling a condo fast isn’t always an option for owners who don’t know how to market their condo, which type of buyers to target, or how to list their condo if it’s sustained damage. If the owner of a condo doesn’t follow the right tips and tricks, it might take just as long – if not longer – to sell their condo compared to selling a house. It all depends on the steps you take to ensure a quick and fair sale.
If you’re working with a professional real estate agency or realtor, you can expect faster closing times and higher sales at the cost of a small commission. Some realtors might even be willing to waive the commission fee under certain circumstances, but this is entirely up their agency and cannot be expected from simply anyone.
Understand the Pros and Cons of a Condo Compared to A House
When you own a free-standing house, you tend to have more freedom when it comes to customizing or adding to your space. You’re able to play music at different times (as long as the noise level stays within the legal limits of your neighborhood or state), do DIY projects in your yard if you have one, and have guests over whenever you’d like, for however long you’d like.
However, if you own a home that falls under a strict Homeowner’s Association (HOA), it might not be that simple. Some very strict HOAs could hound you to keep your yard maintained, your surrounding area outside your home cleaned, and your noise levels to a minimum. This is why it’s important to ask about the rules and regulations of an HOA before you choose to move into or buy a house in the area.
The same goes for condos. A condo forms part of a larger building that tends to operate in the same way as an HOA. However, unlike with owning a house, you won’t be held liable for repairing damage to the greater building, organizing maintenance, or managing municipal services like rubbish removal, plumbing, or electricity.
This is part of the reason why owning and selling a condo is so much easier than selling a free-standing home. Thanks to their low-maintenance requirements, the addition of amenities like pools, gyms or covered parking areas, and the low cost compared to houses, condos are a popular option for property developers or first-time investors and owners.
It’s important to note that most condos require a monthly fee that covers services like trash removal, the maintenance and repair of common areas, and the management of any amenities that are used by the owners or tenants in the residential building. Depending on where the building is located and the type of features and amenities it has, these monthly fees can vary in cost. Condos with higher HOA fees will no doubt be harder to sell than those with lower monthly fees.
Another key factor of selling a condo fast is the strength of the association’s reserves. If a large, unexpected expense arises that the residential building’s HOA can’t cover, they might require each condo owner to contribute a certain amount to help fund these repairs. If you choose to sell your condo instead, your buyer will no doubt need to get a loan. In that case, the lender or financial institution will quickly review the HOA’s documents, which is why it’s important to understand exactly which costs and numbers your buyer can expect before you set a fair price.
We recommend working with a professional real estate agent or agency that can help you understand what other units in your building or area are selling for, and how long you can expect to wait before closing on the sale.
What Challenges Can You Expect When Trying to Sell an Apartment?
Location In the Area
Knowing how to sell a condo fast means knowing exactly what makes it so special. Is the residential building that your unit is located in right next to a stunning park? Does it have large units, but only on-street parking in a dangerous neighborhood?
Location is one of the most important factors of knowing how to sell a condo quickly, because owners and tenants will do more than just live in the condo – they’ll work and socialize in the area too. Unless you’re selling your condo to a buyer that plans on exclusively using their new unit for one- or two-night stays, you’ll need to know how to leverage the area it’s located in.
Unit Location Within the Building
Unless they’re perfectly identical and located right next to one another, no two condos in a building will be the same. Some of the factors that influence the price and popularity of your condo include where it’s located in the building, which direction it faces, and which amenities it’s close to within the building.
For example, if you own a condo in a building with multiple stories, you might find it difficult to sell if there is no elevator to reach your apartment on the tenth floor. If the building has garden units available, they might be worth more than those that only have a small balcony.
While it’s a perk to have a unit located near some of the building’s amenities, like the pool or laundry room, it might also turn buyers away who don’t want to be disturbed by other owners or tenants using those amenities.
Surrounding Amenities and Schools
The secret to knowing how to sell a condo quickly is highlighting how it’s about more than just the condo. It’s also about where the residential building is located. If there are new developments coming up in the area – like pet-friendly parks or a new shopping center – be sure to let your potential buyers know.
You can also tailor your marketing idea based on the buyer you’re speaking to. If the potential buyer is a parent of young children, you can tell them about some of the schools in the area. If the buyer is a young professional, you could tell them more about some of the popular socializing spots, coffee houses, or fun local activities to do with friends.
Luxury Amenities Within the Building
Elevators are convenient, but they’re also expensive to maintain. If the people in the area are active and the building isn’t too high, elevators will be a luxury that they could do without. If, however, the building is several stories high with narrow staircases, you’ll need to understand how this inconvenience might affect your chances of selling and closing quickly. The more luxurious the amenities in the residential building, the higher the monthly fee to the HOA – and the more your potential buyer will need to pay to live there.
The Structure of The Unit Itself
You’ll often find that multi-bedroom spaces have higher asking prices than studio units, even if they might have similar floor sizes. It’s important to make sure that when you decide how to sell a condo fast, you’re listing the actual bedrooms, not spaces large enough to be a bedroom. For a space to be legally classified as a bedroom, it needs to meet a certain number of regulations and comply with some property legislation.
If your unit has one large bedroom, but several other spacious rooms or storage like sunrooms or walk-in cupboards, you might need to consider converting these spaces into bedrooms if you’d like to cater to a family.
How To Sell a Condo Quickly
Five Tips and Tricks to Speed Up the Process
When it comes to figuring out how to sell a condo quickly, you need to understand which techniques and steps you can take to cut down time and increase convenience for you and your potential buyers. Here are five ways that you can speed up the sales process without cutting your selling price in half. Remember, selling fast doesn’t necessarily need to mean selling cheap.
- Make Sure Your Condo Stands Out in The Crowd
You should ideally price your unit in relation to what’s been sold in the area and has similar characteristics. However, while two apartments might be the same size and located in the same space in the building, there are some ways to increase one’s price.
If your unit is located in an older building, you could consider upgrading the finishes or remodeling the outdated design style. Some great examples of this include replacing old carpets with tiles or laminate flooring, or replacing a shower-over-bath with a modern shower.
Think about the kinds of buyers you’d ideally like to target and consider upgrading or really focusing on some of the new features that might attract them. The more valuable you can make your unit appear when compared to those of your competitors, the higher your chances of selling your unit faster.
- Cater To Your Audience
This ties into the last point. A great tip for condo owners who want to communicate the urgency of the sale – without pressuring or hounding their potential buyers – is to show your unit to multiple people at once. Showing your unit on a weekend, for example, might be easier if you’re trying to attract young working professionals. You’ll be able to schedule a joint viewing that could show your potential buyers that they’re not the only ones interested in purchasing the unit. This could make them feel more willing to commit to the unit to make sure that they get it first.
However, this should be done with great care and with the help of a professional real estate company or agent. If done incorrectly, you could be showing your potential buyers that there’s simply too much competition or pressure, which could turn them away instead of drawing them in.
- Understand Your HOA Rules and Regulations
Unlike when selling free-standing homes, you’ll need to disclose and explain any and all of the HOA’s agreements, rules, and regulations. Also unlike some HOAs in residential areas – where owners can choose to be a part of the association or not – more residential buildings with multiple units have non-negotiable rules regarding their premises and units.
You’ll need to take the time to tell each of your potential buyers all about the rules, regulations, and fees they can expect once they buy the unit. If you don’t, you could end up getting through a significant part of the sales process only to have your buyer ultimately decide against purchasing. This means wasting days of valuable time on someone who wasn’t actually interested. Be sure to collect all of the documentation you might need from the HOA before you start selling a condo fast.
4.Set The Price Perfectly
When it comes to setting the right price for your condo, you’ll need to take everything we’ve mentioned into consideration. If you’re pressed for time, you might think about dropping the price of your condo to attract more buyers and sell faster. However, a price that seems too good to be true usually is, and buyers might be wary to commit if they think there’s something wrong with your unit.
If you set the price too high, you might be missing the mark as well. Overpriced units, just like overpriced homes, don’t attract buyers. Instead, they could turn them away. To make sure that you price your condo correctly according to its size, location, value, and the amenities and services provided by the residential building it’s located in, you need to work with a professional real estate agency.
With the support of a team that has experience in pricing, listing, marketing, and selling condos, you’ll have a better chance of selling a condo faster than you would if you were selling privately. While you might be paying a commission fee for some of the professional real estate agencies you’ve considered, we truly believe that the cost will be justified by the convenience and speed that comes with their help.
- Consider A Professional Home Buying Agency
Instead of spending hours trying to figure out how to sell a condo quickly and find the right buyers, you can sell your unit to a professional home or property buying agency. This is a great option for owners who are looking to sell their units because of damage they can’t afford to repair.
Because these professional property buying agencies specialize in buying condo units and homes, you can be sure that you’ll be able to finalize the sale as soon as possible. They’ll also be able to give you guidance on the sales process if you’ve never sold a property before.
You could also work with an investor who would be interested in flipping your unit, demolishing it completely, or simply renovating and upgrading it before selling it again for a higher profit. These investors are always on the lookout for great options that they can secure quickly. To the right investor, speed is just as important as it is to you. The faster they can buy and upgrade your unit, the faster they can sell it again and gain a profit. Be sure to enquire about whether or not your buyer would be willing to cover the closing fees as well to get the sale done faster.
How Christian House Buyers Can Help You
Our professional home buying agency specializes in buying units and homes just like yours. We’ve bought condo units, apartments, and free-standing houses in a variety of different conditions and locations.
We’re willing to provide you with an obligation-free offer for your condo so that you can immediately see if you’d be interested in selling your unit to us. The best part of our services is the fact that we understand the process of buying and selling units so well, that we’re able to complete it within a fraction of the time you would have expected to wait if you were to sell to another buyer.
If you’d like to find out more about how we determine our offers for condos, how our home buying process works, and what you can do to ensure you get the best possible price for you unit, reach out to our team today.
Work With Us
Because We Want to Work with You
We believe in not only teaching you how to sell a condo fast, but also how to do it in a way that puts your best interests first. We truly believe that every condo owner has the right to the information, support, and guidance they need to sell their home – whether it’s a free-standing house, an apartment in the city, or a new condo that you simply don’t need or want anymore – in a way that works for their lifestyle, budget, and time constraints.
You can reach out to our team now by visiting our website, or reaching out to us directly here. We look forward to teaching you how to sell a condo quickly, easily, and safely.
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