Selling your home for a career move is typically handled one of three ways: listing and selling your home the traditional way, taking a so-called “ guaranteed buyout” from a relocation company hired by your firm or a hybrid of the two, known in real estate circles as a “buyer value option.”
Here are the pros and cons of each:
Selling the Traditional Way
This method obviously gives sellers the most control but also leaves them the most vulnerable. If the house takes a long time to sell, the family may be separated and is at the whim of a changing market, especially in areas where sales are seasonal. It may also delay the purchase of a new home.
Guaranteed Buyout Option
Under this option, the employer or the relocation management company arranges for two appraisals of the home. The company will take the average of the two appraisals and offer that figure as the sales price. After you move, the relocation company sells the home to a new buyer.
This method frees up employees to move immediately with their families and get on with their new lives in a new city. It also guarantees them a sales price, based on professional appraisals. Finally, the employee is able to purchase a new home right away with the equity received in the buyout.
Buyer Value Option
Using this option, the employee lists the home using traditional methods and comes to a sales agreement with a buyer. Once that occurs, a relocation company steps in to examine documents and certify the contract. Once approved, the company pays the seller and completes the transaction, freeing the employee to move immediately.
Though sellers must do the traditional amount of work in selling the home on the front end, they don’t have to wait the weeks or months it takes to complete a sale. The employee and family can move together to their new destination with no financial ties to the old home.
Related – The Relocation Process: Foreign Vs. Domestic
