Motivated seller
A seller with a reason to sell fast or below market: divorce, job move, inherited property, back taxes, or a home that needs work they can't afford. Off-market investors target motivated sellers.
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Part 1 of 4
Why a seller cares
Motivated seller is the investor's word for somebody who needs to sell fast, and the postcards are addressed to them. Being one is a fact about your timeline, and the offers that come price the timeline as much as the house.
Part 2 of 4
A simple example
A job transfer, a house that needs a roof, and six weeks. The cash offers arrive at 70% of market, and a listing with a realistic price gets 95% in the same six weeks.
| The path | What a motivated seller tends to get |
|---|---|
| A cash investor | Speed and certainty at a steep discount |
| A listing priced to move | Most of market value, in about the same time in many markets |
| A listing priced high | Neither speed nor price |
Motivation is a deadline, and a deadline has a price. The question is how much of one.
Part 3 of 4
What people get wrong
That needing to sell means taking the cash offer. It means pricing for the deadline, which a listing can do too.
Part 4 of 4 · where to read next
Where it appears in the sale
What a definition is, and what it isn't
Keighbor is a software company, not a law firm, brokerage, or tax adviser. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or real estate advice about your sale. Your situation may differ. Before acting on a contract, disclosure, title, tax, or pricing question, ask an appropriately licensed professional in your state.
Written and researched by Keighbor Research · drawn from the reference glossary · how we research and check what we publish
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