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47 Reasons Sane People Sell A House Dirt Cheap

Danny Johnson
2 min read

Are you apprehensive about marketing to motivated sellers? Do you wonder whether people actually exist that are willing to sell their houses for dirt cheap without being forced?

Join the club. I think most of us have these doubts when we got started. It’s only natural because we’ve likely never been in a situation that would make us want to sell under market value.

The more marketing I did, the more it became clear that people were more than willing to happily sell their house for cheap. Amazingly, it was hardly ever because of a looming foreclosure.

In order to help people understand why sellers call investors to buy their houses, I’ve put together a list. This list is full of reasons and situations that people have that make them want to sell quickly and painlessly.

The list is broken up into two sections. The first are the ones related to situations where the seller didn’t ‘earn’ the equity. They didn’t pay on the house for 20 years and then need to sell. The second section contains negative situations that people end up in that cause them to be willing to give up some equity.

You could and should use this list to help in determining where to direct your marketing.

Unearned Equity

    1. Inherited the house and have no need for it
    2. Inherited the house and can’t afford it
    3. Inherited the house and are tired of taking care of it
    4. Won a lawsuit and bought the house
    5. Won the lottery and bought the house
    6. Payout from an insurance claim
    7. Divorce and got the house
    8. Parents bought the house for them

Negative Circumstances

  1. Vandalized house
  2. Burglarized
  3. Fire damage
  4. Flood damage
  5. Mold
  6. Foundation problems
  7. Lead or asbestos problems
  8. Infestation
  9. Going into assisted living
  10. Death in the house – Stigma
  11. Death – Painful memories
  12. Drug addiction
  13. Tired landlord
  14. Don’t want to become landlords
  15. Skipping town
  16. Harrassment
  17. Going to prison
  18. Medical bills
  19. Owe Taxes
  20. Can’t afford repairs
  21. Facing foreclosure
  22. Need money for new business
  23. Outgrown the house
  24. City condemned house
  25. Military relocation
  26. Job transfer
  27. Don’t trust Realtors
  28. Don’t know how to sell a house
  29. Unsuccessful Sale – Agent
  30. Unsuccessful Sale – FSBO
  31. Neighborhood on the decline
  32. Schools on the decline
  33. Sex offender nearby
  34. Gang problems
  35. Unsavory new development nearby
  36. Bad neighbors
  37. Disappearing waterfront
  38. Dried up well
  39. Change in airport flight patterns

This is by no means all of the situations and circumstances that cause people to sell for cheap. I’d like your help in coming up with more. If you have one that you could add, please mention it in the comments below. Let’s see how many we can get up to.

Also, let’s have a contest to get a 1,000 facebook likes on this article. Nothing’s impossible. If we’re going to go big, might as well go HUGE! Help us out, click the ‘like’ button.
Photo: Barbara Piancastelli

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.