5 reasons to sell your Triangle home to a trusted local buyer

If the time has come to sell your house but the idea of going through a lengthy and stressful process is holding you back, you may find yourself looking for a cash home-buying company. While cash home buyers are incredibly convenient, some of the largest options often don't have a seller's best interests in mind.

"They're large out-of-state companies that make their offers over the internet," said Mike Otranto, owner of Wake County Home Buyers. "You fill out a form, and they make an offer. It's a shoot-from-the-hip kind of offer."

While that may sound favorable in theory, these companies may add fees you aren't expecting or walk away from a contract at any minute.

The good news? There are local home-buying companies that offer the same simple process — minus many of the pitfalls. Selling your home soon and curious what the process looks like? Here's what you can expect when you sell to a local home buying company.

When selling traditionally, you'll have to stage your home to appeal to buyers. That can sometimes mean painting multiple rooms, making small and large repairs and being out of the home during showings.

"Many times people who have come to me may be embarrassed about the current condition of their home," said Otranto. "They don't want people coming and going from their house."

Not only does Wake County Home Buyers not ask sellers to stage or make repairs, but the company also allows people to leave unwanted belongings when they move and avoid the intensive cleaning process that comes along with that.

"Anything that they don't want to move, they can leave," said Emilee Carraway of Yurhouse Realty Group at Fonville Morisey Realty, who has worked with Wake County Home Buyers. "That is a huge benefit. Everybody knows how hard it is to move, especially if you have a lot of stuff."

Additionally, sellers don't have to worry about making repairs after they have a contract.

"If I make them an offer, I'm going to stick by it," said Otranto. "Buyers may make an offer and then do a home inspection and renegotiate. I don't do that."

From start to finish, the selling time frame is often faster with a local company than the traditional process, which may take weeks or even months.

Otranto recalls one situation in particular when a seller came to him on a Friday, hoping to have her home sold as quickly as possible.

"I bought it, and she moved over that same weekend," he said.

As opposed to large, out-of-state businesses, local home-buying companies can offer much more flexibility.

"They can adjust their closing date if they need more time, so they can move with as little stress as possible," said Otranto. "A lot of my clients have a lot of stuff, so they need time to pack up. A lot of my clients need that time, so even after a closing date, I can give them more days to move."

The employees of a local home-buying company live where you do, which means not only do they want to maintain good relationships, but they also have a vested interest in improving the homes they buy.

"My clients come to me because they want someone that's local, someone they can trust," said Otranto. "They want someone who's going to provide customer service, someone with a reputation in the community."

In fact, when Otranto tells you a price for your home, that is exactly what you will get, according to Carraway.

"When you sell to him, there are no fees," said Carraway. "You speak to him directly and work with him from start to finish and meet with him directly. The biggest thing is, when he says there are no fees and that he's going to buy a property as-is, he actually does that."

A local company will often be miles ahead of a faceless online company when it comes to customer service — something that Otranto prides himself and his company on.

"He's very reachable and reliable," said Carraway. "For me, coming from a real estate agent, the biggest thing to get across is that not every seller is equipped to go on the open market, and that's okay. But if they go with a home-buying company, Mike is the best option."