Do Cash House Buyers Offer Less?
Why sell your house fast for cash & do cash buyers want a discount?
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Will a cash buyer want to buy my house at a discount?
When it comes to selling your house, you may have come across buyers who describe themselves as a cash house buyer and wondered what they actually are and whether or not selling to a cash buyer is a good idea.
To help you decide if selling to a cash buyer is right for you, we’ve written a guide on why you would want to sell your house for cash, if cash house buyers offer less than the market value, and so much more:
How Are Cash House Buyers Different?
If you're looking to sell your property to a cash house buyer, you may be wondering how they're different to a 'traditional buyer'. We explain whether the sale is quicker, why the process is different and what to watch out for.
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What is a cash house buyer?
A cash house buyer is someone who has the funds to buy a property outright, without the need to sell their property or get any kind of loan. You can find cash house buyers when you put your house up for sale on the open market, or you may come across a cash house buying company, like ourselves.
With a cash buyer, there are fewer ‘obstacles’ in the sale, as there is no chain and therefore less paperwork. You can also find some cash house buyers don’t tend to bother with having a survey on the property they’re buying, which tends to make the conveyancing process faster.
Cash house buyers tend to be more desirable to a seller due to the faster nature of the process and the fact there is no chain with a cash buyer, making them feel to be a more reliable buyer.
We’re a specialist cash house buyer with our own cash reserves, meaning we’re able to buy any property in any condition, no matter the price. We’re also a member of The Property Ombudsman and the National Association of Property Buyers, showing we’re a cash buyer you can trust.
Why would someone want a cash buyer for a house?
There are many different reasons why a seller may look specifically for a cash buyer for their property. After all, it’s much faster, there’s less paperwork and it allows sellers to avoid a chain – just to name a few reasons. Below are more examples of why someone may want to sell their house to a cash house buyer:
Old property
Older properties tend to have a few issues, with the standard of building and the materials that were used not being up to scratch with ‘modern standards’. It’s also likely that the property’s interior design will need a large amount of money spent on it to bring it up to date.
Some lenders will be reluctant to lend on a property that isn’t built to current standards, leaving these types of property only suitable for cash house buyers.
Property’s location
A property’s location can cause a lender to refuse to lend, if the property is in an unsafe or undesirable location, such as:
Flood risk areas
An area close to old or unsecure coal mines, leading to a risk of subsidence
Areas with high crime rates
Former petrol stations
Areas previously used for industrial purposes or toxic waste disposal sites
Areas with risk of landslip
Japanese Knotweed
Japanese Knotweed is a rapidly spreading weed that causes problems with a house’s foundations, as it has the ability to grow through solid ground. Due to the problems and danger associated with Japanese Knotweed, lenders won’t lend on affected properties, making them only suitable for cash house buyers.
Damaged Property
A severely damaged property is one that will make it difficult to find a lender willing to take on the property through giving out a loan, leaving a cash house buyer the only option.
Quicker Process
As we’ve mentioned, selling to a cash buyer speeds up the process drastically. They don’t have a property to sell and often don’t want to have property searches or a survey, making the conveyancing process far less time-consuming.
Structural issues
Properties with structural issues require a vast amount of money to be spent on it to get them up to a liveable condition, making them more appealing to cash house buyers. As a cash house buyer tends to look for discounts on properties, a house with structural issues fits perfectly into that.
Avoid a chain
With a cash house buyer not needing to sell a house and having funds readily available, there will be no chain. A property chain occurs when each sale relies on another sale to complete in order for their sale to complete (sounds a little confusing, we know).
Often, a sale will fall through as a result of a broken property chain, leading to a lot of sellers wanting to avoid them altogether.
Damp in the property
A property with serious damp issues is one that will need a large amount of money spent on it, leading to this type of property warranting a large discount – perfect for cash house buyers!
Also, lenders don’t tend to want to lend on this type of property, especially without an insurance backed guarantee, making properties with damp only suitable for cash house buyers.
Short lease
Leasehold properties with a short amount of time remaining on the lease (80 years or less) become increasingly difficult to sell on the open market, with short leases bringing high fees and many complications.
As a result of this, lenders aren’t keen to lend on this type of property, meaning they’re only suitable for cash house buyers.
Is a cash house buyer better?
Whether or not a cash house buyer is better will depend upon your situation as a seller and how quickly you would like to sell.
If you’re wanting your sale to be as fast as possible, then a cash house buyer will be the best option for you. Due to their funds being readily available, with no property to sell, they are the quickest type of buyer, with some cash house buying companies, like ourselves, being able to complete in as little as 7 days.
If you’re wanting to avoid a chain, then a cash house buyer will be the best option for you. As they have no property to sell in order to buy yours, they’re chain-free buyers, meaning it’s less likely the sale will fall through.
Although, unless you go with a cash house buying company like ourselves, there’s always a chance the sale could fall through, even if it’s not as a result of a collapsed property chain.
If the idea of a mountain of paperwork stresses you out, so you want to sell a house with as little paperwork as possible, then a cash house buyer will be the best option for you. If you sell to a cash house buying company, like ourselves, we will handle all the paperwork for you, meaning all you need to do is give us a signature!
Do cash house buyers offer less?
Generally speaking, cash house buyers will offer less than the market value, with some offering 20-25% less. Whilst initially you may think it’s pointless to sell to a cash buyer if they don’t offer near the market value, there are a lot of bonuses they bring, which you could argue are worth more than wasting your time on the open market, with the hope of getting full market value.
For example, a cash house buyer can complete in a quicker timescale as they have the cash reserves to buy your property ASAP and don’t need to spend time trying to get a loan. Some cash house buying companies, like ourselves, are able to complete in as little as 7 days – something you will never be able to achieve on the open market.
Also, some cash house buying companies, like ourselves, cover all the costs for you, meaning the offer you’re given is the amount you will receive in full. Whereas on the open market, you may only have to settle for 5-10% less than the market value, you will have solicitors’ fees and estate agent costs you will need to cough up, which can leave you with less money than you would have got through a cash house buying company and more time wasted.
Another bonus a cash house buyer brings that will make a cash offer more worth your time is that they’re a chain-free buyer, meaning the likelihood of the sale falling through is drastically reduced, with cash house buying companies, like ourselves, being a guaranteed buyer once you’ve accepted our final offer.
If you sell to a cash house buying company, like us, you will also be able to enjoy a more stress-free sale than on the open market, with us handling the whole process for you from start to finish.
What are cash house buying companies?
Cash house buying companies are a new type of cash buyer. In a way, they’re a ‘level above’ the classic cash house buyer. These companies tend to refer to themselves as ‘Sell house Fast Companies’ or ‘We Buy Any House Companies’.
Each cash house buying company will be different but on the whole, they can move you far quicker compared to a standard cash buyer, as they have priority relationships with solicitors and progressions departments, cutting the timescale down significantly.
As we’ve just mentioned, in exchange for speed, just like a normal cash buyer, cash house buying companies will give you an offer below the market value for your property. How much below will depend upon the individual company you choose to use.
You should be wary of any cash house buying company that says they will buy your house quickly for 100% of the market value. This is an empty promise which will not be achieved and will end up being a waste of your time.
When deciding which cash house buying company you should choose to sell your house to, always check to see if they’re registered with the National Association of Property Buyers and The Property Ombudsman.
These are two companies that will provide protection for you as a buyer and will mean the company will have to follow certain rules and procedures. With the ‘cash house buying’ market being unregulated, it’s vital you choose to sell to a company, like us, who are a member of these two regulating bodies.
It’s also important that you check out a company’s reviews, paying special attention to how many ‘verified’ reviews there are. Verified reviews show they’re from real customers and not just someone’s family or friends trying to make the company look better. You can check out our many good reviews on Trustpilot, so you can see by selling to us you’re in safe hands.
How does our ‘cash for house’ buying process work?
If you’ve decided you want to sell to a cash house buying company, then let us explain how our ‘cash for house' buying process works. Our process is much simpler and quicker than selling on the open market, with our main selling point being the speed of service.
We’re worked hard to streamline our process into just five easy steps, which are:
- Enter your postcode
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Enter your postcode into our get an offer page and answer a few simple questions about your property – how many bedrooms you’ve got, your house type, nothing too difficult! After that, we will let you know if your property has been approved
- We'll give you a call
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Once we’ve got your information, one of our experienced property consultants will give you a call after doing some research on your property. They will discuss your property with you in more detail, talking mainly about its condition, which will allow them to provide you with a conditional initial offer
- Regional manager visit
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If you’re happy with the initial offer you receive, we will then arrange for one of our regional managers to come and visit your property in person. Our regional managers have expert local knowledge and are able to inspect the condition in more detail in order to finalise an offer
- Finalise offer
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If you accept the finalised offer, our progressions team will get in touch with you to talk about instructing one of our recommended solicitors, and we will remind you that we cover all the legal fees, leaving you not needing to pay a penny
- Completion
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Once the RICS report is back, providing everything lines up, we will finalise all the legal work, allowing us to exchange contracts and complete on a day that suits you!
And that’s all there is to it – our simple 5 steps to get you sold in as little as 7 days!
Should I sell to a cash house buyer or a cash house buying company?
Well, this is a question only you can answer, as it will depend upon your personal situation. A person, or company, who is buying in cash will be looking to get a good deal on your property and therefore will be offering you below the market value.
But, on the positive side, you will be getting a super-fast sale, with little to no hassle, especially if you choose to sell to a cash house buying company, like ourselves!
The answer will all depend on the urgency of your sale, and how much you feel your time is worth – in our opinion time is very valuable!
If you decide you want to explore your cash house selling options, we can provide you with an offer for your property at no cost and no obligation. It will only take you a few minutes on the phone or online to fill in our form – got to be worth a try, right?
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