“When I started in real estate almost 20 years ago, there weren’t a lot of options for sellers or buyers outside of the traditional real estate transaction,” Flood said. “In the past few years, hundreds of companies have come out with products to fill niche needs to make buying and selling more convenient. Most of these products either didn’t provide much benefit or the fees and paperwork made them more work than they were worth.”
The Laurie Flood Team has evaluated and screened the products to provide a few that are truly valuable to clients. While a traditional sale is still the most common approach, a growing number of buyers and sellers are taking advantage of these programs.
Learn more about these programs and how they work from those who know best: Laurie Flood Team clients who have used them to achieve their goals.
1. Buy Before you Sell Program – Chris and Angela
Angela and Chris are living that sweet, mortgage-free life. They came to the Laurie Flood Team wanting to downsize, with hopes of using the profits from the sale of their current home to buy a smaller home without taking out a new loan.
They used the Laurie Flood Team Buy Before You Sell program, allowing them to leverage their untapped equity before selling to find and buy their perfect home. This program had two major benefits for Chris and Angela: It allowed them more time to find their new home and make a strong cash offer before they sold their current home.Q: What drew you to this program?
Chris: “We had a feeling our home would sell quickly in this market. It wasn't a huge risk after doing some research, and we were able to get the home we wanted. It allowed us to leverage untapped equity before selling to buy the home we wanted.”
Q: How does it feel living a mortgage-free life?
Chris: “It's a huge milestone in our lives. It took us 20 years to get here, but now we are now able to put much more money into savings. This way we can retire 20 years from now, with confidence.”
Q: Would you recommend this program to other buyers?
Chris: “Yes, if you have a strong real-estate firm like Laurie's you should be confident in the program.”
2. Cash Sale for Full Market Value Program (Second Equity Check) - Altamira
Altamira lived in her Round Rock home for many years when a rare opportunity to move into a senior living apartment near her children came up. She needed funds quickly for lease payments, new furniture and moving expenses. She also wanted to get the full equity she had built up in her home, instead of selling for a 20-30% discount that most “quick sale” investors offer.
The Cash Sale for Full Market Value program allowed Altamira to quickly receive funds for the majority of the home’s equity—plus, a second check once the home was sold—allowing her to get full market value for her property. The program also fronted the money for repairs and updates necessary for getting top dollar when the house sold.Q: What problem did the Second Equity Check program solve for you?
Altamira: “The program allowed for me to receive a large portion of the equity in cash quickly. Having funding as quickly as we did really benefited our needs for a quick move to my new apartment. The program also provides escrow for any needed home repairs so I didn't have to front the cost prior to putting my home on the market. Funds, honestly, I didn't really have.”
Q: How did this program enable you to move on to the next chapter in your life?
Altamira: “At this point in my retirement I needed to downsize from living in a single family home to an apartment. The maintenance of the home was both taxing not only from a physical standpoint but also getting too expensive.”
Q: In your opinion, what is the biggest benefit that the Second Equity Check program provided?
Altamira: “To facilitate funding for the move, buying new furniture and making the new lease payments, it was critical to get the initial equity check promptly. This was the biggest benefit of this program that we took advantage of.”
Q: Would you recommend this program to others?
Altamira: “Absolutely. Obviously our situation and needs may be different from other sellers, but for anyone with similar needs we would definitely recommend this program.”
3. Lease with Right to Purchase Program – Jose
The Lease with Right to Purchase program is perfect for home buyers who would like to “test drive” a house, are interested in buying but maybe not ready yet, or are concerned about big price fluctuations in the market. It helps clients find a house they love and lock in the purchase price immediately. Clients can then take up to three years while they lease the property to decide whether they want to buy the house or simply walk away with no obligation.
Q: Why was the Lease with Right to Purchase program appealing to you?
Jose: "We had 5 kids, a big dog, and [were] trying to keep the kids in the same district and not make too many changes. It was a really hard thing that almost seemed impossible ... I was introduced to the program, right to purchase, and honestly it was one of those things, 'Hey, this gets us into a house right now and solves all our immediate concerns."
Q: So you were looking for a wider range of choices from homes that are actually on the market versus just being limited to the rental community?
Jose: “You literally go out and find any house that’s available to purchase, instead of trying to pick what’s available [to rent]. It was really picking what we like, finding the features, finding the fireplace, finding the yard, finding every little thing we like about the house. It was truly going out and picking the house we wanted to rent versus what we had to rent.”
Q: Would you be willing to share with us what you ended up purchasing the home for and what your appraised value came in at once you went forward with the purchase?
Jose: “We locked in at the three-year mark at $297,000 ... when it appraised, it appraised for $560,000 ... It’s been great. It’s been a positive experience, a pleasant experience and I would really recommend it to anybody.”
4. Update Now, Pay Later Program
The Update Now, Pay Later program allows clients to receive funds to make repairs and updates to their property—from paint and carpet to larger renovations—before putting it on the market.
“We don’t want to let paint or flooring or other cosmetics get in the way of a seller maximizing the sales price for their property. So, we’ve partnered with a great company that’s helped hundreds of sellers get their homes move-in ready,” Flood said.
Funds are paid back when the home sells with no upfront, out of pocket costs to sellers. Move-in ready homes sell faster and for more money than homes that require the buyer to make those same repairs and updates after the home sells.
5. 8 Days to Sale Program
The 8 Days to Sale Program is designed to generate the highest price and best terms the current market will offer for a property within eight days. This unique marketing program creates a competitive selling situation that has been shown to get higher offers than a traditional sale.
“I recently listed a home in Northwest Austin with this program and received over 10 offers in this challenging market. This enabled the sellers to choose the best offer for them,” Flood said.
There are costs and fees associated with all programs. Contact Laurie Flood Team for more info and an evaluation of a property.
The above story was produced by Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team. Our integrity promise to our readers is to clearly identify all CI Storytelling posts so they are separate from the content decided upon, researched and written by our journalism department.
