When selling a house that needs a lot of work there are many options that you can do to get someone to want to buy it with out fixing it up. It’s not recommended that you sell a house that needs work if you have the money to bring it up to date. The reason for this is if you can do the work, most of the time it will likely pay for itself. Not fixing up a house that you are going to sell should only be done if you have no other options. One way you can sell a house that needs a lot of work is with a land contract.

A land contract is when someone who wants to buy a property puts up something for collateral for control of the property for a predetermined amount of time. Throughout this time the owner receives small monthly payments. The person who has temporary control must meet the benchmarks and payments to keep control of the property until the predetermined time. When the predetermined time comes around, it is up to the person who has temporary control to choose if they will take full control of the property or opt out if the property is not what they wanted after all. If they choose to opt out or not they get full control of the collateral they used in the beginning. If they choose to take control of the property usually there is a small down payment.

When doing this method you should put every last detail in writing and have the person sign and notarize it, or you can get a lawyer to write a contract for you. This will make sure every one sees eye to eye on everything. When using this land contract one of the benchmarks you can put is things that needs to be fix on the property. When using benchmarks you must be specific on what you will want to be done and how much time the person has to accomplish it. By doing this if the person opts out the house will be in better shape than it was before the deal. Land contracts are a good way to sell a home that needs a lot of work, and if it’s done right it can be beneficial to both parties.