Bitcoin created a new form of wealth, especially for those who bought bitcoin at its lowest value. Bitcoin is used in over 270,000 transactions per day, and its use is only growing.
So, why not use your Bitcoin to carry out your real estate transactions? This guide will tell you everything you need to know about real estate transactions involving bitcoins.
How to do your real estate transactions using Bitcoin
Find real estate agents who use Bitcoin
When using bitcoin to conduct your real estate transactions, you should be aware of real estate agents and companies that have experience using bitcoin in selling or buying a home.
Some real estate agents who have experience with bitcoin include:
- Magnum Real Estate Group – This is a New York-based real estate company geared towards the desire of the younger generation to make business transactions using bitcoin possible.
- Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty – This Texas-based real estate company was the first in Texas to conduct a real estate transaction using Bitcoin.
- Sand Key Realty – This real estate company is based in Florida and has a history of offering properties for sale, with the seller accepting bitcoin as payment.
- Open Listings – sites like Open Listings make it easy to buy homes using bitcoin, with options to limit search results to homes sold for bitcoin.
The future of real estate is changing to accommodate the use of bitcoin in real estate transactions, and more and more real estate companies are facilitating bitcoin transactions. In fact, bitcoin is becoming as popular an investment as real estate.
Use Bitcoin to Buy Property
If you are considering using bitcoin to buy property, you should first ask if the seller accepts bitcoin. If the seller does not accept bitcoin, you must convert your cryptocurrency to traditional currency using a third-party website.
If the seller accepts bitcoin, you need to negotiate the selling price in bitcoin.
You can only use bitcoin to buy property if you don’t need to get a mortgage for the property, like a cash buyer. Indeed, banks are hesitant to accept bitcoin, in part because of its associations with money laundering, and it is an unstable currency.
Once the sale is negotiated, you also need to determine the method of payment if your realtor fees cannot be paid using the currency.
Using Bitcoin to Sell Property
If you want to sell your property in exchange for bitcoin, you must first find a real estate company that has experience using bitcoin to conduct real estate transactions (see the list above for advice).
When listing your property for sale, you need to consider whether you are offering it only to bitcoin buyers or if you are willing to accept other cryptocurrencies or traditional currencies. Once listed, buyers will bid in your preferred currency, and you can accept the offer and sell your home for Bitcoin.
Buying a house with Bitcoin: the pros and cons
There are many benefits of buying a home using bitcoin, including:
- If you have made a profit investing in bitcoin, buying property using the currency is a great way to consolidate your profits.
- Investing in real estate allows you to diversify your wealth.
- Real estate transactions favor cash buyers, and using bitcoin is like being a cash buyer, which can give you more bargaining power
However, buying a house with bitcoins also has some disadvantages, including:
- One of the drawbacks of buying property using bitcoin is the lack of sellers. The availability of properties sold for bitcoin is limited and you may find it difficult to find properties in your desired location.
- If you decide to invest in real estate, you may miss the appreciation and future returns of your bitcoin.
- You will need to hire a tax expert, as carrying out real estate transactions can be quite complex in terms of taxation.
Selling a house with Bitcoin: the pros and cons
Some of the benefits of selling a house using Bitcoin include:
- The chance for appreciation afforded by owning bitcoins.
- If you open the sale of your home to bitcoin buyers, you will expand your audience and attract more cash buyers.
Some of the disadvantages of selling a house using bitcoin include:
- The chances of appreciation are also weighted by the possibilities of bitcoin depreciating in value, leading to losses.
- The complexities of taxes involved in bitcoin real estate transactions apply to both seller and buyer.
- You will also need to establish a secure virtual wallet for your new bitcoin, which may involve seeking help, depending on your knowledge of cryptocurrency storage.
Summary
Like many other transactions, real estate transactions are beginning to adapt to using bitcoin to buy and sell homes. Since bitcoin is an emerging currency, there are limits to sellers, buyers, and real estate companies willing to trade in bitcoin.
However, selling with bitcoin is indeed possible and offers sellers the opportunity to earn with bitcoin. Buying with Bitcoin also offers buyers the opportunity to consolidate their profits and diversify their investment portfolio.
This is a guest post by Paul Gilbert. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.