You’ve probably heard the phrase “sell your house for cash” — but do you know what it actually means?
Don’t be misled by the wording — selling a home for cash doesn’t actually mean the buyer will arrive with a briefcase brimming with dollar bills. Rather, a cash offer refers to an offer that doesn’t include a contingency for financing. Or in layman’s terms, the sale doesn’t depend on the buyer’s ability to secure a home loan.
While the process of selling your house for cash is simplified by the lack of home loan financing, there are still several steps involved in the process. Here’s a simple breakdown to help demystify the process of selling a house for cash:
Where to Find Reputable Cash Buyers
You don’t want just any cash buyer. It’s important to know where to find trustworthy cash buyers. Here are some initial steps you can take:
- Do an online search. Cash buyers are typically familiar with the process of buying a home for cash. A quick online search may reveal some buyers in your area with an established internet presence.
- Consider working with a wholesaler. In terms of selling a home for cash, a wholesaler is a matchmaker who puts buyer and seller together. Unlike a realtor, they typically only take a small cut. Googling your name and “cash home buyers” can help you find such individuals.
No matter what path you take, do your due diligence. Ask for references from buyers or wholesalers, and be sure to check them.
How To Deal With a Cash Offer
What happens after you’ve been presented with a cash offer?
First, you’ll want to figure out if it’s a fair number. It’s not an exact science, but you can start by looking at recent sales of comparable homes. If you subtract the agent’s commission and any other amounts for necessary repairs, you can get a better idea of if the cash offer is appropriate.
There are also plenty of free home value calculators out there where you can determine a potential price for your home. But note that they’re not perfect, so the number may not be completely accurate. A home appraisal is more expensive, but a lot more accurate.
Consider these things when reviewing a cash offer:
- Will there be a significant deposit of earnest money to express their level of commitment?
- Does the buyer have a history of closing in a timely manner?
- Have you carefully reviewed the contract?
- Are they willing to provide proof of funds?
Benefits of Selling Your House For Cash
Curious about some of the benefits of selling your house for cash? Here are some of the big ones:
Fast closing: Since you’re dealing with fewer middlemen, there are fewer obstacles to closing. That means that a cash closing can happen in a much quicker time window than a traditional closing. Additionally, since there isn’t a loan approval to consider, there’s no chance that the loan will fall through.
Straightforward process: Selling a house for cash often removes a lot of the bells and whistles from the traditional home-selling process. For example, you don’t have to worry about things like staging the home or dealing with showings.
Fewer fees: The actual selling amount will likely be lower when selling a house for cash. However, there will be a lot fewer fees attached to the process. By selling your house for cash, you’re far more likely to avoid real estate agent fees, closing costs for escrow, and a variety of other potential costs.
Sell your home faster: Selling your house for cash often means that the sale is complete much faster than in the traditional home buying and selling process. That means you can move on with your life — and into your new home!
Traditional Home Selling Vs. Selling Your House For Cash
Some of the biggest perks of selling a home for cash are the speed and simplicity of the process. But how different is the actual transaction?
In general, the transaction of a cash home sale is fairly similar to a traditional home sale. The contract will include the final price, the deposit amount, closing date, and any other agreed-upon terms.
Depending on the state of the house and the buyer and sellers’ objectives, there may or may not be a home inspection and additional negotiation based on the findings.
In other cases, a cash offer will come in sight unseen, with no inspection — this is common if the buyer intends on tearing down the home or if the price is extremely cheap.
Closing: What to Expect
The process of closing a cash sale transaction for a home is fairly similar to a traditional closing. However, since there’s no lender financing, it typically goes a lot faster.
With a traditional home sale, it’s common to allow a month or even longer for closing. A cash home sale could happen in as little as a week or two.
Final Paperwork and Cashing Out
The actual appointment to sign the final paperwork will likely be quicker than a traditional closing, too.
Typically, the signing will happen at the title company versus a realtor’s office, but it involves the same documents: deed, settlement papers, property disclosures — you just won’t have to deal with the financing documents.
Conclusion
Despite the name, selling a house for cash doesn’t actually involve stacks of dollar bills. It simply refers to conducting a home-selling transaction without a traditional lender.
When it comes down to it, the actual process is not extremely different from that of traditional home selling. However, it’s a lot simpler and typically faster. Many people gravitate toward selling their homes for cash because of the many benefits of the process — a speedy timeline, fewer fees, and a lot less paperwork.
Have you considered selling your house for cash?