HomeBlogHome SellingReal Estate Agent vs Investor: 3 Ways to Tell Them Apart Share on Like what you see? Share with a friend. Real Estate Agent vs Investor: 3 Ways to Tell Them Apart Chris Kirshenboim | August 11, 2020 Last updated August 10, 2026 Once a Sappington house looks like it might sell, the calls start, and the people making them are not doing the same job. The real estate agent vs investor question has three plain tests. First, who pays them? An agent is paid a commission out of the closing, so their fee depends on your sale price and their advice is shaped around listing. A direct buyer is paid nothing by you and makes money on the house itself. Second, who is buying? An agent finds a buyer. A buyer is the buyer, which is why a direct offer arrives in days and a listing takes weeks of showings first. Third, what happens to the condition? An agent will ask for repairs, staging and photographs, because the retail market expects them. A direct purchase takes the house as it stands. That is really all it takes to tell agents and investors apart, and neither answer is automatically the right one. A house in good shape with ninety days of runway usually nets more listed. Selling with a St. Louis real estate agent lays the two paths side by side, 5 ways to tell a great home buyer from a bad one covers the vetting, and how we buy houses shows exactly what the local team does. Apply the same test to us. A real office in Webster Groves, a named person on every offer, and 368 Google reviews averaging 4.9 and an A+ BBB accreditation. Thinking about selling your property? You might be approached by a bunch of different people who all offer to help you sell. But not everyone who offers to help will help in the same way. Some are real estate agents, others are real estate investors and they’ll help you in different ways. Here are 3 ways to tell real estate agents and investors apart in Sappington, MO. Ways To Tell Real Estate Agents And Investors Apart In Sappington, MO List Versus Buy In Missouri The easiest way to tell agents from investors is to ask what they are going to do with your house – list it or buy it. A real estate agent will list your home on a listing service and they’ll try to find a buyer. They might need to show it to several people in order to find one buyer. An investor, on the other hand, isn’t going to list your property – the investor is a buyer and they will purchase your house from you directly. (That’s what we do at Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis – we’re buyers and we purchase homes in Sappington, MO. If you want to sell your real estate, click here and enter your information to find out how much we can pay). Timeline To Sell In Sappington, MO The next way to tell an agent apart from an investor is to ask about their timeline to buy. An agent won’t know because they have to find the buyer first. In many cases, they might be looking at 3-12 months during which they’ll show the house to multiple potential buyers. An investor, though, will know exactly how long it will take to purchase your home since they’re the ones who will buy it. They will have an exact timeline (which could depend on you and how quickly you want to sell). Commission Versus No Commission In Sappington, Missouri This one is crucial! An agent makes their money when they find a buyer and then you have to pay them a commission on the property (which could be somewhere around 6% of the sale price, or $6,000 on a $100,000 house). An investor, however, isn’t listing your home so there aren’t any commissions. That’s because an investor will make money by either renting the house to a tenant or fixing up the property and selling it, so they make their money in a different way. Sell My House In Sappington, MO There are other ways to tell an agent or investor apart. The best thing to do is just ask, they’ll tell you! If you’ve read this post and decided to see what an investor can pay for your property, get in touch with us. In reality, selling your home is stressful, especially when you have to sell your house in St. Louis fast. You want to work with individuals who will take you seriously and get the job done! We are professional Missouri home buyers and we're here to bring a lot of value (and a little humor) to make the process of selling your home simple (and fun)! We look forward to the opportunity of discussing whether our cash offer is the right fit for you and your situation. Still Deciding Whether To Sell With An Agent Or To An Investor? Leave A Message Here Or Call Our Team At (314) 334-1481 To Learn More! FAQs Frequently Asked Questions Do I pay a commission to a direct buyer in Sappington, MO? + No. There is no listing agreement and no commission on a direct purchase, and a legitimate buyer also covers the standard closing costs rather than billing them back. How do I check that a cash buyer is real before signing anything? + Ask for proof of funds, a local office address you can drive to, and a track record you can verify through Google reviews and a BBB listing. All three should hold up. Which path gets me more money for a house that needs work? + It depends on how much work. Once repairs run past what you can fund before closing, the listing discount and the carrying months usually erase the higher asking price.
