Are you a homeowner who wants to sell your property quickly? If so, you should consider selling your home to a cash buyer. Most property owners are unaware that there are buyers ready and willing to pay cash for homes as means to make money. As opposed to people looking for somewhere to move to—relying on mortgage financing or bank loans, which makes the sale take much longer.
However, as a seller, you need to do your due diligence when looking to sell your home to a cash buyer to avoid scammers and to get the best deal. In addition, you should get to know if they are actually genuine cash buyers or are relying on funding from other sources.
Who is a cash buyer?
To refer to a buyer as a cash buyer, they must have the necessary cash on hand and should not need to get a loan or a mortgage. Nor should they have to first sell another property to get the money to pay for yours. Unless the buyer can purchase the home outright, then you cannot regard them as a cash buyer. This sets apart cash buyers and non-cash buyers.
What is the sale process for a cash buyer for your home?
You may ask whether the process is the same when selling to a cash buyer. In essence, the process is really no different from a seller’s angle. The important point is that the buyer will not be applying for a loan or a mortgage to buy the house, which implies fewer hops on the purchaser’s part.
A diligent buyer will still do everything the same as when buying with a mortgage or before a lender agrees to fund a home purchase. It is vital that the buyer inspects and does all relevant searches to ascertain that the seller is the rightful owner and that there are no potential hitches concerning the title transfer. The good news is that even with investigations and surveys, the home cash buyer conducts them faster.
What are the pros of selling to a cash buyer?
So, is selling your home to a cash buyer a good decision? Let’s look at some advantages of selling to a home cash buyer.
Faster sale
Of course, the obvious advantage of selling to cash buyers such as Home Flippers is that the sale will be completed quicker than when dealing with a conventional financed sale. After the buyer checks the house and makes an offer, the seller evaluates the offer, and once they accept it, the paperwork begins and the sale could be closed in two weeks. This allows the seller to get the cash they need and save time.
Fewer risks of falling through
Unfortunately, when selling to a ‘normal’ buyer, it is common for a house sale to fall through midway for various reasons. The buyer may simply change their mind or find a different house that they like better; the lender may reject the loan applications, and many other things could cause the sale to fall through. Unfortunately, this forces the seller to go back to square one, delaying the sale.
The good news is that there is less chance of a sale to a cash buyer falling through. The buyer has ready cash, so there is no worry about any rejection of the loan application. And with the deal closing faster, there is not much time for the buyer to look around for other houses. Thus, the sale is less likely to fall through halfway.
Lesser selling expenses
Selling your home to a cash buyer reduces the expenses a seller has to incur in the sale process. The majority of cash buyers will buy your home as-is, meaning you don’t have to do anything to improve it. You save on the expense of renovation and cleaning before showing it.
You may also save on a real estate agent’s commission because you can look for cash-buying companies on your own, and with cash buyers handling the paperwork in most cases, you save on paper processing fees.
Possibility of selling any house
Some houses are not easy to sell the conventional way. For example, dilapidated homes, properties with short leases or other issues, and other hard-to-sell houses. However, if you look for a good home cash buyer who likes your home, they will buy it. This is an excellent advantage for those who want cash from their home sale but whose properties are not easy to sell.
What are the cons of selling to home cash buyers?
Below are some of the possible disadvantages of selling your house to cash buyers:
Higher chances of getting scammed
Although not common, scams are more likely to happen when selling to cash buyers. Fortunately, scams can be avoided by doing background checks on the buyers before accepting their offer and commencing the paperwork. Also, getting referrals from people you know and trusting your guts when dealing with buyers can save you from con artists.
Lower prices
While it’s not always the case, cash sales will generally yield less money than conventional sales. The lower price may be acceptable to some people if they need quick cash or need to sell a hard-to-sell property, but you need to consider if you want more money from your home sale before going the cash sale route.
Wrapping up
If you have read the above discussion, you now know so much about selling to a home cash buyer, and you can make an informed decision. Most importantly, selling to a cash buyer is faster, but you must do your homework well to avoid scams.