How Pacaso resale works

Amie Fisher headshot
Amie Fisher
November 22, 2024
signing documents with two people
When you decide to sell a whole home, you might take a look at recent home sales in your area, check your home value on various real estate sites, decide on a price, list the home and wait for offers to roll in.
When you own a Pacaso, the sales process includes some of those steps, but you’ll find it simpler and more streamlined. Here’s how it works.

1. Sell on your terms

Any Pacaso owner can choose to sell their ownership interest, at any time.* Each owner has independent control over the sale of their share, which is a key benefit of our professionally managed LLC co-ownership model and a big advantage over timeshares.Once you’ve decided to sell, simply let us know, and we’ll provide you with a current comparative market analysis (CMA) for your ownership interest. The CMA is compiled using local market data, comps, trusted valuation models, and our knowledge of what active second home buyers are willing to pay. You’re in control of the final price, however. You can use the CMA in addition to guidance from Pacaso or your own research to decide what the sale price should be.*Applies to homes where all ownership interests have been sold. If units are still pending, owners can sell their interest after 12 months of ownership.

2. Take advantage of an existing marketplace

Unlike a typical home sale, Pacaso has two ways to assist you in the sale process before your share is listed. First, the other owners of your Pacaso will be informed that a share is available, and they’ll have first right of refusal. Owners have five days to decide if they’d like to purchase an additional share. Current owners can be the easiest buyers — they already love the home and understand the benefits of owning a Pacaso. Second, many homes have a wait list of interested buyers. Our sales Crew will tap into our buyer pipeline when a share is up for resale and inform any buyers who may have missed out on the opportunity initially, as well as buyers who’ve indicated interest in similar homes in that area. Between current owners and Pacaso’s buyer marketplace, you may be able to sell your share without listing it. 

3. Get the full marketing treatment

While we make inquiries among our buyer pool, we’ll also prepare your share for broad exposure on the open market to ensure you have every opportunity for a sale. If we don’t have an offer right away, we’ll include the home as an active listing on our website, and our local partner agent will market the listing through their network. 

4. Experience a seamless and transparent transaction

Pacaso’s role in the sale is to help facilitate the transaction and find buyers. There’s no lengthy closing process, no due diligence period, and no need for a title and escrow company, because the title doesn’t change. The LLC membership interest is simply reassigned to the new owner at closing. If the buyer is paying cash, closing can be as soon as the next day. If the buyer is financing their purchase, closing is still much faster than a typical sale, often just 1-2 weeks. 

Pacaso resale in the real world

A ready pool of buyers and a streamlined sale. Sounds good in theory, but does it match the reality of the seller experience? In a word, yes. Chief Revenue Officer Andreas Madsen pulled the resale data, and it confirms that Pacaso’s marketplace is operating as intended. Pacaso’s first homes were in Napa Valley, and when they became available for resale in mid-2021, they provided a good test of the market. “Looking at Napa resale, the value has averaged between 12-15% equity on shares at the 12-month mark,” said Andreas. “One of our Napa Valley homes recently sold for about 13% over the original share price from a year ago. The owner proposed the sale price, and we felt it was reasonable based on the market and the fact that we had a waitlist for that particular home. We were able to facilitate the sale without ever listing it.” Andreas said that scenario was not an outlier: “It’s common to have buyers ready and waiting. We just had two shares in Malibu sell in under two weeks. I don’t know of any easier way to transact in real estate today.”Looking across all resales, Pacaso listings on average resell with a 10% gain.

Other avenues for Pacaso owners

Owner selldown

If you decide your Pacaso isn’t a good fit, or if you purchased more ownership than you’re using, you have options beyond a traditional resale.Own 1/4 or 1/2 of a Pacaso, but only use it 1/8 of the time? You can right-size your ownership by selling a portion of your ownership interest. A selldown works the same way as a resale transaction, but you retain a share of the home. Pacaso gives sellers an exceptional level of flexibility, control and peace of mind. Hear from Pacaso owners about the ease of their resale experience.

Frequently asked questions

Can the seller really choose any sale price?

Pacaso recommends a price, but the seller makes the final call. If the price seems too high, we’ll share the information we have about the buyers in our pipeline, including what we know about their price ranges. But the seller can choose to proceed with the price they’ve set and see what the market will bear.  

What happens if a share isn’t selling?

Pacaso will actively market the share, which may include hosting open houses and promoting the listing through email or direct mail marketing. If we’re not seeing buyer interest despite these marketing efforts, we might recommend lowering the asking price.

Can buyers negotiate on price? 

Yes, we think of the resale marketplace as fluid and moving in line with the open market, so buyers are welcome to bring offers. The seller can choose to accept or decline any offer.  

Are there closing costs, commissions or other transaction fees? 

For sellers, a 6% commission fee is deducted from the final sale price. For buyers, there are no title, inspection or service fees. Buyers fund the first two months of their home’s operating expenses at closing, similar to property tax and insurance “prepaids” in a traditional sale. Buyers who choose to finance their purchase also pay a financing fee at closing.

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