Dear Monty: I live in Georgia, and we own an older investment property in New York. My husband is in a nursing home, and I need to sell the investment property to help with the cost of his care.

I want to sell the property quickly. Under normal circumstances, I would have the property management company do the rehab needed to sell the property in top condition. However, the repairs/fix-up would cost $85,000 to $100,000, which could take months.

I have never sold a property as-is to an investor and realize that doing so will result in less profit — which I’m OK with at this stage in life.

Do you have any suggestions about selling under these circumstances? Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Monty: Selling to an investor in an as-is condition is common in real estate. It happens in single-family residential, multifamily and commercial properties.

The fact that buyers for distressed properties, or distressed owners, are ubiquitous is good for sellers in these circumstances.

These iBuyers fall into several categories:

• Large, well-funded corporations that are organized solely to buy in distressed situations. They can close very quickly and need customers to succeed.
• Regional companies that are also well-funded operate in particular states or cities. Some of these companies are franchise operations owned by individuals. These companies also need customers.
• Local companies often use the words, “We’ll buy your home for cash.” These companies tend to be picky, because they have limited resources or other sources of income.

Seek Multiple Offers

A company of any of these types could be the buyer that will close fastest and pay the most.

Today’s housing market in many areas lacks inventory, so the timing for owners in tough situations may be right.

The most essential strategy for any distressed seller is to seek three or more offers. It should take little time to find them.

iBuyers search for property on the local multiple listing service or use scouts and pay referrals to locate potential customers. They also advertise in many markets on TV or billboards.

Use a Go-Between

Sometimes, the property is remote from the seller’s current location. Remote owners typically have a property manager.

Consider negotiating an arrangement with the property manager to pay a small fee for procuring at least three offers to be submitted directly to you.

If the property manager offers to be the iBuyer, they have a conflict of interest. If this occurs, consider another go-between. The go-between can contact the iBuyer directly, or the owner can contact them directly.

Some iBuyers will want to inspect the property before submitting the offer, others may make the offer subject to the inspection within a few days and some will not require an inspection.

You can expect all three offers to be different prices, and they could be considerably different.

To find iBuyers, search on the internet. There is no standardization between iBuyers, as their methods vary.