Looking to sell your house for cash in Arizona? Be sure to do your homework first.
Different rules apply to different areas of the country. It’s generally a smart idea to educate yourself on the specifics in your state before you make a final decision about how you’d like to sell your house for cash!
If you’re interested in selling a home in Arizona, keep reading — we’ve done all the research to help you compare the pros and cons of a cash sale versus a traditional real estate transaction.
What Does “All-cash Offer” Actually Mean?
What is an “all-cash offer” to begin with? The name is slightly confusing — it doesn’t actually involve piles of cash.
Rather, an all-cash offer means that the potential buyer intends to buy the house outright — they won’t be applying for a bank loan. Instead, they’ll wire the full amount or show up to the closing with a cashier’s check.
Cash buyers might be individual buyers, or they might be real estate investors.
In general, a cash sale simplifies the process of buying and selling a home and reduces some of the middlemen involved in the process.
Depending on your situation and desired timeline for selling your house, an all-cash sale might be the right choice for you. Let’s take a look at how it works:
How Long Does it Take to Close a Real Estate Sale?
To begin to understand the difference between an all-cash deal versus a traditional real estate transaction, let’s take a look at the typical closing timelines.
All-Cash Deal
Since there’s no lender involved in an all-cash deal, the closing time for cash sales tends to be fairly short.
Once the house is under contract, a cash sale can close as quickly as just a couple weeks. It’s mostly a matter of letting the title and escrow companies get their paperwork in place. It’s not unusual to see cash sales completed within two weeks.
Financed Sale
If the buyer is taking out a mortgage, the timeline gets a lot longer for closing. 30 days would be considered a fairly short closing time. 45 and 60 days are common time periods, too.
These terms will be mutually agreed-upon between the buyer and seller and may depend on a variety of factors such as when the buyer is moving from their current home or when the seller is ready to vacate.
What is the Process of Selling a House for Cash?
The process of a traditional real estate sale is long and arduous. There’s a contract, proof of funds, you need to hire title and escrow companies, there’s a home inspection and maybe further negotiation, and final approval of the loan to contend with.
The process of an all-cash real estate deal is a lot simpler. There’s no final loan approval to wait for, and often there’s no home inspection involved. Not only does that lessen the headache for buyer and seller, but it speeds up the timeline considerably.
You will still have a closing, but it will involve a lot less paperwork.
What Do You Need to Close a Cash Real Estate Deal?
Often, the closing for a cash sale will happen at the title company instead of a real estate office.
However, it involves the same documents: deed, settlement papers, property disclosures — you just won’t have to deal with the financing documents.
No two closings are identical, but here are some key things you’ll likely need to bring:
- A government-issued I.D.
- The home deed — if your home is fully paid off.
- Any paperwork requested.
- The keys to the house and/or codes to alarms or keyless entryways (for the seller.)
- A cashier’s check or certified check (for the buyer.)
Conclusion
The process of selling your house for cash is not incredibly different from the traditional process of selling a house, but there are some important differences:
The timeline is often a lot faster, and there are fewer “middlemen.”
No lenders will be involved, so the closing period is often shorter.
There will still be a closing, but it’s often shorter and simpler than with a financed real estate transaction.
Are you interested in selling your house for cash? What about the process appeals most to you?