Before you start the search for an experienced and professional cash home buyer though, there are some things you need to know.
How Do Cash Home Buyers Work?
The process isn’t much different no matter where in the country you live. You call the buyer and answer some basic questions about your property. After speaking with you, the buyer will do some research on the neighborhood and look up comparable sales in the area.
The buyer gives you a call back with an estimate of what an offer might look like. If you’re interested, you’ll set an appointment to have the buyer come out and inspect the property. Once the inspection is complete, you can move forward.
Closings typically take place in an attorney’s office. This is for the protection of all parties involved and to ensure the transaction is transparent and above board.
What’s the Advantage of Selling to a Cash Buyer?
These transactions are pretty straightforward. They are especially attractive to homeowners who need cash fast. Some other benefits to keep in mind are:
You put all the money in your pocket
When you sell to a cash buyer like Andrew The Home Buyer you bypass Realtor commissions and closing costs you incur with a traditional sale. You keep all the profits from the sale.
You get a quick sale
You don’t have to spend months waiting on a buyer to make a low ball offer on your property, negotiate with counteroffers, and hope the prospective buyer can get financing. You don’t have to wait on lenders to decide whether or not they are going to loan a buyer enough money to buy your property. And if the sale falls through, put your house back on the market and start the process all over again.
A cash buyer will put money in your pocket in a fraction of the time a traditional buyer would be able to.
Your sale is less likely to fall through
Traditional sales fall through all the time for a wide variety of reasons. You might pull your house off the market because you think you have a buyer just to find out the lender won’t loan the buyer the necessary funds to finalize the sale. Sometimes buyers change their minds and refuse to follow through with the sale.
If you are working with a reputable cash buyer, you won’t have those kinds of problems. These are strictly business transactions for them. Once the deal is finalized, you have your money and can move on.
You don’t have to make repairs
Cash buyers are willing to purchase your house “as is”. Fixer-uppers won’t put them off. They aren’t deterred by damage. Cash buyers won’t turn you down even if you are being threatened with foreclosure.
That means you don’t have to spend time and money making repairs or staging rooms to impress potential buyers. If your goal is to get the most cash possible out of the sale in the fastest possible time frame, a cash buyer is the way to go.
Where Do You Find a Cash Buyer?
If you are selling for cash for the first time and don’t know how to find buyers, consider these options:
Classifieds
Try the classified pages of your local newspaper. A lot of cash buyers put ads there.
Real estate agents
Your local real estate agents will know who the cash buyers are. They should be happy to give you the names of reputable cash buyer possibilities, but they may charge a fee for the service.
Lenders
A lot of cash buyers use hard money lenders for real estate transactions. If you have contacts in the lending office of a local financial institution, get in touch with them. They are usually willing to provide contact information. because it brings in more business.
What Should You Look Out For?
As you might expect, not all cash home buyers are trustworthy. There are definitely scammers out there. Here are some of the red flags to look for:
Upfront fees
If a cash buyer wants an application fee or tries to convince you to pay some other fees upfront, you are probably being scammed. In a real estate transaction, money exchanges hands when the deal is finalized.
Buyers who don’t need to see your house
Almost always a legitimate cash buyer will need to inspect your house before making a formal offer on it. If you contact someone who says seeing the property is not necessary, be wary. It’s probably a scammer.
Buyers you can’t get on the phone
If a cash buyer will only communicate with you remotely, you should be concerned. It is customary for the preliminary negotiations to take place over the phone with an in-person meeting coming when the buyer inspects the house. Buyers who don’t actually want to meet with you, won’t give out phone numbers, or don’t return phone calls, are probably scammers.
Go Online And Do Some Research
You can get a lot of good information from the Better Business Bureau especially if the buyer you are considering is associated with a real estate firm or some other business. If there have been complaints, disciplinary action, or negative reviews, they’ll be posted there.
If You’re Ready to Sell
With these tips, you should have the information you need to make an informed decision when it comes to finding and choosing a cash buyer for your house. You also know what to look out for and avoid. If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll have the cash you need – quickly and safely.
