Not many know what it means to sell your house fast for cash. The common misinterpretation is a buyer making an offer with a briefcase filled with money. However, the truth is, this type of sale happens without contingencies, which means the closing doesn’t depend on the loan approval of the buyer. Therefore, your selling process becomes faster than before.
Steps involved in selling the house to cash buyers
Selling your house to cash buyers comes with 4 steps along with pros and cons. Let’s look at them one by one.
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Find cash buyers
Finding cash buyers is the first step of the process. You can do this with a quick Google search for investors, wholesalers, and flippers. These makeup most of your cash buyers, so read up on these people beforehand.
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Get and review cash offers
Once you get offers from cash buyers, review them before agreeing to anything. Look for houses in your neighborhood and how much they sold for minus the agent commission. This will give you a rough idea about how much your house should get.
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Prepare the contract
Accepting the offer, you need to prepare the contract. With cash buyers, the sale usually closes fast. They are less likely to ask for a home inspection, as most are looking to flip or tear the house down.
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Close the sale
The process of closing the sale is not very different from the traditional one. The only difference would be how fast the closing happens. The cash closing is faster and more flexible; it almost always doesn’t involve mortgages and financing options.
Benefits of selling the house to cash buyers
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Less stress
Selling your house can be especially stressful with the amount of uncertainty involved—appraisals, stagings, showings, and buyer financing options. With cash buyers, there’s no stress and certainly no delay that causes tension. The process is smoother and even faster and easier.
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Fast closing
Closing, in most property sales, is the step that takes the longest in the process, how fast the sale closes depends on the financial state of the buyer and other contingencies. Cash sales on the other hand close fastest, with an average of 7-10 days.
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Reduced fees
Regular property sales involve the seller footing a lot of bills in terms of the agent fees, repair costs, and closing cost concession. With cash buyers, however, these expenses can be reduced significantly.
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Onto the next home
As mentioned before, cash sales close quicker. This means you can easily move to your new home without any fuss or delay. All the cash you get will also put you in a great spot when trying to bag that dream house.
The drawback of cash sales
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Lower price
The quickness of a cash sale comes with an obvious price—the sale price. Most cash buyers want to buy the house below the market prices, which means you will make less money than you would have if you went the traditional route.
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Possibility of a scam
Finally, the possibility of a scam is high when it comes to cash sales. You can find buyers who back down at the last moment, haggle the prices after the contract is signed, and a generally disinterested crowd. Vetting your buyers becomes necessary here.
Conclusion
When selling your house, you may want the process to just be over. With cash buyers, you can sell your property without the hassles of contingencies and associated delays. However, it is always to vet your cash buyers to avoid being scammed by fraudsters. Once you have a thorough screening plan, selling your house for cash is not the worst option.
