Consumer Guide to Selling to a Cash Home Buyer
Have you received letters in the mail asking to buy your home? Phone calls? Or maybe you have searched the internet for terms like “sell my house for cash” or “cash for my home” or a similar phrase. If you have done any research in this market you must be wondering:
1) Who are these people?
2) Can they really buy my house in 14 days for cash? (Unfortunately, most of them cannot.)
Is the Cash Home Buyer you spoke with really a buyer?
Many of them are people with no money and no credit who went to a “get rich quick” seminar where they taught how to “buy houses without cash or credit”. So how do they do this? They will make an offer for your house, get you to sign a contract, and then they will try and SELL that contract to someone else who ACTUALLY HAS THE MONEY. Oftentimes, though, they cannot find a buyer for your house and the deal will fall through, leaving you right back where you started.
The point is that you should ONLY TRUST PROFESSIONALS when you are selling your most valuable asset.
At We Buy Houses Columbus, we will make a REAL OFFER for your house and BRING REAL CASH to the closing table. We pay a fair price for single-family and multi-family houses in any condition. Plus, we close on your timetable and remove the standard 8-10% in fees you pay to sell your house on the market (6-7% in realtor commissions and 2% in Title fees).
Below is a list of questions to ask to make sure that your potential buyer is a true professional:
1. Are they accredited by the local Better Business Bureau (BBB)?
Webuyhouses.com has an A+ rating with the BBB and we pride ourselves on being an ethical solutions provider to home sellers. Please do your research on the buyer of your home!
2. Are they willing to come and look at your house before making an offer?
If not, this is a warning sign. How can they make a fair offer without viewing the home’s condition and surrounding location? They are essentially just going to offer very low and hope you take it. Since they haven’t seen it yet, there is a good chance they will try and negotiate the price even lower after coming to inspect your house.
3. Can they provide proof of funds?
How can they make a cash offer without proving that they actually have the cash to close?
4. Will they provide references from real people whom they actually purchased homes from?
If not, do not sell your house to them.
5. Do they need a long inspection period in the contract?
Typically, this is an obvious sign that they plan to sell the contract to a different buyer. While we do conduct inspections at We Buy Houses Columbus, a very long inspection period or requiring multiple walkthroughs are major red flags. If your buyer needs a long inspection period or multiple walkthroughs, they most likely need the time to find a buyer, as they do not plan to close on the deal themselves. This can turn into a huge hassle as they need to continually bring people through to inspect your home. They will tell you these people are “contractors,” but they are most likely other buyers that they are trying to sell the property to.
6. Will they provide a significant amount of earnest money ($500 or more)?
Earnest money is held by the Title Company as proof that the buyer is serious. If the buyer backs out on the deal, the earnest money is given to the seller (you). If a buyer is not confident they can provide the required funds for your house, then they will not provide earnest money or will provide a very small amount.
7. Are they willing to allow you to keep possession after closing?
Sometimes sellers need the funds from closing to pay for moving costs or other expenses. We are willing to work with sellers depending on the situation.
8. Do they need to have an appraisal?
Appraisals are only for when deals are being financed. When you bring financing into the equation, certain issues can come up and stop the deal from happening. On certain occasions, we will finance through a traditional lender, but this is something you should be aware of as the seller. It is not a cash transaction if there is an appraisal involved.
We are not trying to scare you by sharing this. We only want to educate you and provide valuable information to consider when selling your home. We hope you find this helpful and can use it to your advantage to make the right decision for you and your family. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you have any questions about the process. We are more than happy to help.
