A property cash buyer is someone who makes an offer on a home with the funds required already in their bank account. As a result, there’s no need to apply for a mortgage, which means the entire process is concluded a lot faster.
According to the Land Registry, a third of all house purchases (in England and Wales) in 2017 involved a cash buyer. And this percentage has been rising in recent years. Why? Because there are several advantages involved — and here are a few of the most impressive.
The sale completes quickly.
A cash buyer has the money needed to buy a property readily available. There’s no need for a lengthy mortgage application — something that often holds up a house sale. By cutting out the involvement of banks, a lot of the red tape disappears. Banks perform several checks before releasing funds, which always slows things down.
For these reasons, more and more homeowners want to find cash buyers — whether that’s in the open market or through a house buying company.
There’s often a discount for cash.
One of the most exciting advantages of being a property cash buyer is the opportunity to get a modest discount on market value. There’s no property chain involved and no need for a long, drawn-out mortgage application process, highly desirable for sellers in a hurry; no need to bother with staging your home for a sale, sell in an instance! And to attract cash buyers, many homeowners will offer their property at a slightly reduced price.
No complex property chain
A broken property chain is a common cause of collapsed house sales. Some chains are very complex and involve ten or more parties. When just one mortgage application or survey, the whole chain collapses.
Most property chain collapses occur because of problems with finance which is why many sellers seek cash buyers. If you’re affected this way, then it might be worth bypassing the open market completely. Flying Homes works with cash buyers in the UK. However, if you need to find a buyer in a hurry, selling to a quick sale firm could be your best option.
You’re less likely to be asked to perform repairs or modifications
Banks want to know that their cash is to purchase a home in a good state of repair or that the sale price reflects the property’s condition. For these reasons, banks insist on surveys, searches and a range of other checks before they release cash.
If a problem occurs holding up the sale of your home, you’ll be expected to rectify it yourself, and this could be a costly process. But cash buyers promising a ‘quick house sale’ service often don’t impose such strict stipulations.
What’s the downside of selling to a property cash buyer?
Finding a cash buyer gives you a degree of certainty during the house selling process. But don’t expect a free ride. In return for this increased certainty and shorter timeframe, you’ll probably have to reduce your price expectations. Remember: selling to a property cash buyer gives you a chain-free quick sale. And this could be crucial if you need to raise funds quickly.
Selling your home to a cash buyer makes the entire process faster and less likely to fail. But you might need to lower your price expectations if speed and certainty are your priorities. You can find alternative ways to sell your home here.
