Should I Accept a Cash Offer on My Home?

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Selling a house can be a daunting process. People that try to time the real estate market or who need to sell their house with minimum hassle could find it a very difficult process.

Luckily, there is a way for a homeowner to sell their home fast. That way is accepting a cash offer.

This is becoming more common in the United States, with over 31% of homes being sold to cash buyers.

What should you know about a cash buyer? Is it a good idea to accept a cash offer on your home?

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This guide will go over the cons and pros.

Check for Proof of Funds

When you are accepting a cash offer, it is vital that the buyer can present proof of funds. This can be anything from bank statements to a list of assets and their worth, income statements, tax records, and more.

With cash buyers, their ability to present the cash themselves is going to mean everything for a home sale. Make sure you and your team do a thorough check of this before moving forward.

Faster Process

If you want to sell your home fast, accepting a cash offer is one of the best ways to speed up the process. This can be for a few reasons.

Let’s say your home has a lot of structural issues. Normal buyers may not want to deal with putting the home back together. However, someone that flips houses or is good with home maintenance may be willing to take your home as-is.

That speeds up the process because you have an immediate buyer and you do not have to do any renovations on your home before the sale. The catch with this is that they are likely going to make you a lower offer than someone who needs a mortgage.

Speaking of mortgages, the other reason why this is faster is because there is no review process for a mortgage to be approved.

No Backing Out 

With cash offers, buyers can feel more secure about the sale going through. Once the buyer signs the contract, they are typically stuck with the house if the cash has already been transferred.

It is not that air tight when dealing with buyers that are making an offer with a mortgage. The reason is that their home loan application is not guaranteed to be approved. If it does not get approved, then those buyers can back out of the sale and you have to start the process all over again.

Consider Accepting a Cash Offer

These are the main things that you need to know about accepting a cash offer on your home. There are pros, such as massively speeding up the sale process, having a more secure buyer, and not having to wait for a mortgage approval.

However, the main con is that some cash buyers will make you a lower offer on your home compared to other buyers. You have to decide what you will accept.