We Buy Houses for Cash in Vermont

Vermont selling looks different from most of New England: much of the housing stock is rural, with farmhouses on acreage, camps, second homes and homes on wells and septic systems, and the state has its own tax rules for land and a foreclosure system that never lets a lender skip the courthouse on an owner-occupied home. If you are trying to sell a house that has sat vacant, a property with land in a tax program, or a home where the mortgage has fallen behind, a conventional listing may mean a long wait for the right buyer and a lender. Swifty Home Buyers buys Vermont houses for cash, as-is, with no agent commissions and no repair requests, and you choose the closing date. Here is what actually matters when you sell in Vermont.

We buy houses in all 50 states. This guide covers the rules that matter in Vermont.

In Vermont, the property transfer tax is the liability of the buyer unless the parties fix it otherwise by agreement, which makes it different from states where the seller customarily pays. The rates on a principal residence are 0.5 percent of the first $200,000 of value and 1.25 percent of the value above $200,000, plus a clean water surcharge of 0.22 percent on the value above $200,000, according to the Vermont Department of Taxes. On a $300,000 principal residence that comes to roughly $2,470. The Department of Taxes lists a much higher rate of 3.4 percent, or 3.62 percent with the surcharge, for many non-principal residences such as second homes, which affects what buyers who will not live in the home can pay. Sellers should also know about the land gains tax: land that was purchased and subdivided within the six years before the sale can be taxed on the gain at steep rates that fall with the length of ownership, though the law excludes the acreage needed for a dwelling used as the seller's principal residence, up to ten acres in the basic case. Then there are attorney fees, any loan or lien payoffs, prorated property taxes and, in a traditional sale, an agent's commission and repairs. In a cash sale to Swifty there is no commission and no repair list, and we show every cost in writing before you commit. Ask a Vermont attorney or tax professional whether the land gains tax touches your situation.

Vermont's foreclosure statute allows a nonjudicial sale for some property, but it expressly excludes farmland and a dwelling house owned by a natural person, so foreclosure on an owner-occupied home goes through the courts. The court can order strict foreclosure or a judicial sale. In a strict foreclosure the redemption time is six months from the date of the decree unless a shorter time is ordered, and the court may only issue the decree if it finds there is no substantial value in the property above the mortgage debt, other liens and unpaid property taxes. In a judicial sale, the mortgagor can redeem at any time before the sale by paying the full amount due, including the costs and expenses of the sale, and the plaintiff may request a deficiency judgment in the complaint if the proceeds fall short. Vermont also has a foreclosure mediation program for a dwelling of four units or fewer that the owner occupies as a principal residence. The lender serves a notice about mediation with the summons and complaint, the owner can request mediation up to four months after judgment and before the redemption period ends, mediation must be completed within 120 days of the mediator's appointment, and the redemption period is not paused during mediation. If you cannot catch up, selling during the process can pay off the loan and leave you with any equity, which is easier to do before deadlines run out.

• Sell as-is
• Inherited house
• Foreclosure
• Tenants or rental property

Acreage, woodland and Current Use land

Much of Vermont's land sits in the Use Value Appraisal (Current Use) program, which lowers property taxes on enrolled agricultural land and managed forestland. Under state law, developing that land triggers a land use change tax of 10 percent of the full fair market value of the changed land. A separate land gains tax can apply to land purchased and subdivided within six years of a sale, with rates that vary by how long the seller held it and how large the gain was. If you own a house on more than a small lot, the acreage can matter as much as the building, so gather your Current Use paperwork and any subdivision records before you talk to a buyer. We buy homes and rural properties as-is and can explain what we need from you.