Selling your home can be a long and complex process. Many steps are involved, from preparing your home for viewings and marketing it effectively to negotiating offers and going through the conveyancing process to finalise the sale. All of this takes significant time and effort on your part.
However, the process becomes far more straightforward if you sell to a cash-buying company. Rather than going through traditional methods of finding a buyer, you can complete a cash sale with a company that makes an offer, conducts valuations, and handles all the administrative work needed to complete the purchase.
What is a cash-buying company?
When you sell your home to a cash buyer, you sell directly to a company or investor rather than an individual homeowner. These companies have available funds to purchase homes outright for cash without requiring financing or mortgages to complete deals. Some cash buyers flip and resell homes for profit after minor renovations or repairs. Others invest in rental properties as a way to generate ongoing income.
Most cash buyers aim to purchase homes below market value to earn immediate profits upon resale or profit long-term from rental income and appreciation over time. However, they also value speed and convenience, as buying directly from sellers allows them to add homes to their portfolios faster than traditional financing and loans. Cash-buying companies have the resources and motivation to purchase homes quickly for cash.
How can I make sure a cash-buying company is trustworthy?
It is understandable to worry whether a cash-buying company operates ethically, honours agreements, and handles transactions professionally. After all, you want assurance that the company has funds available and intends to close on time once you accept an offer. To vet potential cash-buying companies:
- Check online reviews from past customers and look for complaints with consumer protection groups
- Search the company’s name online along with the word “scam” or “reviews.”
- Ask for referrals from past customers who sold to the company
- Choose an established company that has operated for several years
- Verify their registration with Companies House
- Request documentation showing proof of funds before accepting an offer
The best cash home buyers have solid reputations and many positive referrals. They handle the sales process transparently and professionally. Do your research before choosing a cash buyer, but rest assured that selling safely to a reputable company offers many benefits.
Complete the sale within 7 days
Once you accept an offer from a cash-buying company, they can close the sale and send payment within approximately one week. Traditional home sales often take two to three months or longer with the various steps involved.
First, you must work with estate agents to market the property, conduct viewings and open houses, and then negotiate with potential buyers after receiving offers. The buyer secures financing, arranges surveys, and finally goes through conveyancing and exchanging contracts before completion. The entire process has many phases and opportunities for delays.
By selling directly to an established cash-buying firm for a fair cash price, you can minimise the time it takes to complete the sale.
Receive funds quickly
A significant advantage of accepting a cash offer for your home is that you get paid immediately upon completion of the sale. Cash buyers do not require mortgages or financing to pay you. Therefore, you get paid immediately once the transaction is finalised and the property changes hands.
With a cash sale, you do not have to worry about the buyer’s lending falling through at the last minute or other obstacles causing funding delays. Suppose you want or need money from the sale promptly. In that case, a cash transaction can ensure you have control over timing rather than waiting for banks and building societies to send funds.
Avoid all costs associated with selling a house
Cash home buyers are convenient because they handle all paperwork, legal fees, and other costs associated with sales, relieving you of these expenses. With traditional home sales, you may have to pay commissions to estate agents marketing your property. Solicitors also charge fees to handle conveyancing and transfers of ownership. Other costs range from cleaning or staging your home for viewings to paying property taxes until completion day.
However, established cash-buying companies handle everything about valuing, purchasing, and registering your home themselves. You may only pay nominal fees of a few hundred pounds rather than thousands. Best of all, companies buying with cash often make offers slightly below actual market value to account for the costs they take on and the speed/convenience you receive in return. Review all terms carefully, but selling to a cash buyer typically minimises frustrating fees.
Guarantee a sale
One key advantage of agreeing to sell your home to a cash-buying company is that you effectively guarantee a sale. Once you accept an offer from an established, reputable cash buyer, you can rest assured knowing they have the means to complete the purchase and will close on time as promised.
Sell a house that is in awful condition
Cash home buyers specialise in purchasing properties requiring repairs, updates, or general improvements. Suppose your home has significant damage, deferred maintenance, or outdated finishes. In that case, you may struggle to attract interest from buyers planning to live in the house themselves. Covering repair costs makes financing challenging as well. However, established cash-buying companies have funds explicitly earmarked for improving homes before selling or renting them out.
Non-functioning appliances, faulty electric and plumbing systems, leaky roofs, structural issues, asbestos, dampness, mould, and more do not necessarily deter cash buyers interested in a fix-and-flip investment opportunity.
No hidden fees
Reputable cash home buyers conduct business transparently, disclosing all terms and fees when making property offers. You can review documentation spelling out relevant details before accepting an offer.
Ask questions to understand expectations and responsibilities as the seller fully. Established cash-buying firms know that hiding substantive costs damages credibility and trustworthiness when working with sellers. Make sure to scrutinise paperwork thoroughly and get written explanations for any points requiring clarification.
Save a property chain from breaking
One dilemma facing homeowners planning to purchase another home occurs when you must coordinate the sale of your existing house with buying your next one. These linked transactions become vulnerable whenever a buyer or seller in the sales chain fails to progress as scheduled. Delays by one party threaten to stall all transactions, which can pressure others to back out and break the chain.
However, selling directly to an established cash buyer eliminates involvement in property chains. The cash company’s ability to close quickly and unconditionally keeps the sale independent rather than reliant on the progress of other home sales falling into place simultaneously.
Offloading a buy-to-let
If you currently rent out an investment property but want to offload it, selling to a cash buyer provides an easy exit strategy. Finding owner-occupant buyers may limit prospective interest more than marketing to real estate investors already focused on rental income rather than living in the home themselves.
However, established cash buyers specialise in assessing a property’s potential cash flows, making offers based on the home’s viability as a rental over the long term. With access to funding not dependent on strict lending qualifications, cash buyers have greater flexibility in pursuing buy-to-let opportunities and projecting future returns than traditional mortgage-restricted purchasers.
If being a landlord no longer suits your needs, cash buyers offer a clean break from tenant management and buy-to-let ownership responsibilities.
