If you are like most home sellers, you probably want two things for your house when it sells: a good price and a fast close. It may be the house where your kids were born or where you reached some milestone. But now that you have decided to sell and move on to the next chapter in your life, you want this house sold and your interests and time focused somewhere else. You have heard about cash sales but how long would one take? Let’s find out.
Why should you accept a cash sale for your house?
Even though mortgage interest is tax-deductible, from your perspective as a seller, you should prefer a cash sale because those deals tend to close more quickly. When there is a mortgage involved, closings tend to take about 48 days which are needed mostly for the loan underwriting and processing.
If you receive a cash offer for your property, you do not have to waste time waiting for a home appraisal, home inspection, or any step related to the mortgage and thus save quite a bit of time.
How long does a cash sale for a home take?
Barring any unforeseen issues, in general terms, a cash sale should take about one or two weeks.
What happens during that time frame?
Negotiate
Once your cash buyer has received information on the property and analyzed it, you would receive the offer. You may either accept it or negotiate with the buyer until you both agree on the price. You may want to define who pays for closing costs, whether there are contingencies on the sale, and the expected closing date.
Get Proof of Funds
No matter how urgent it is for you to sell your house, you should not skip this step. You should always verify that the potential buyer does have access to the needed funds. This may be accomplished by a bank statement or through a letter from a private lender. Contact them to verify the validity of this information.
Sign the Contract
You should use a standard real estate contract that offers protection to both buyer and seller. A neutral third party, such as a title company, should act as a middleman to ensure that the property is as described in the contract and is free of encumbrances that would affect the property. Also, to ensure that you have the right to sell your house and that any liens found would be settled at closing.
Close the Deal and Move Out
Without having to pay any realtor commissions, you will probably have more money in your pocket and be ready to head in the direction of the new chapter in your life.
From the buyer’s perspective, why is it attractive to buy a home with cash?
A buyer that has the financial resources to purchase a house with cash can save themselves from going through the dreary and time-consuming process or getting approved for a loan. By offering cash to a motivated buyer, they can place themselves in a position of strength and negotiate the property’s price. A seller might find a cash buyer attractive because sometimes even people who look to be the strongest candidates have to walk away when their mortgage does not get approved or they cannot put together the amount needed for a down payment.
Also, when there is no mortgage involved in the transaction, the owner does not have to follow the mortgage company’s instructions as to how much hazard insurance to carry.
What are the advantages of buying a house for cash?
- A cash buyer does not need to put a contingency clause in the offer, saying that they will only be able to buy if their financing is approved.
- A cash buyer does not have to worry that something in their mortgage application will change before the closing and the sale might fall through.
- A mortgage can run up to thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest payments throughout the life of the loan.
- Presenting a cash offer to an interested seller makes the offer that much more attractive and less risky, particularly if you can show proof that the funds are available to be used right away.
In short, the wisdom of buying a house with cash offers plenty of advantages to both buyer and seller.
Are there different types of cash buyers?
In general, cash buyers fall into three categories:
- Investors that want to hold on to the property, fix it and rent it out for the long haul.
- House flippers interested in improving the property and selling it for a profit.
- Buyers who make an offer for a home online through automated valuation models.
Is it easy to find a cash buyer?
There are several effective ways to get in touch with an interested cash buyer for your home. Doing an online search will put you in touch with buyers who might also have purchased other properties in your area. You may also find interested investors, they purchase homes around St. Louis area and offer you a price based on known conditions of the property such as its market value, what expected rehab costs will be associated with the purchase and other factors. If you receive an all-cash offer, take the time to evaluate it before signing on the dotted line.
Advantages of Selling Your Home for Cash
There are many reasons why you might want to sell your home fast and without hassles. You may be facing foreclosure, you may have to sell because of a divorce, or you may have been relocated, and have a firm deadline when you need to be at your new location. Per FlHome Buyers recommendation, whatever the reason, when you sell your house for cash you will have a fast sale, pay no real estate commissions, have no worries about the way your house looks, and any repairs that you may need to do to the property. The buyer will buy your house as-is.
