You might expect that working with a cash buyer would make the selling process quick and easy; Cash, fast close, no appraisals, no commissions, As-Is, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. If you are aware of what to watch for you can see the Red Flags and avoid getting sucked into a difficult situation. Here are some of the Red Flags that you should watch out for to help you find the right buyer.
- A Non-Contingent Offer
What does that mean and how does it work, you say? When a cash buyer submits a non-contingent offer, they are basically saying that they are giving up their right to perform an inspection of the property, confirm that the title to your property is free and clear, reviewing any disclosures that you may have on the property and the complete final walkthrough to name a few.
This happens many times, companies come in and make an offer and indicate that they don’t need an inspection period. This may sound too good to be true, when in fact it is too good to be true. What really happens is that the buyer takes advantage of the 72 hours that they have to setup the Escrow account and deposit the earnest money. During this time, they perform their inspection and research on the property. If they find something that they don’t like or the numbers don’t work, they can cancel the offer or try to re-negotiate with you to get a lower price. This all happens before they have put any money on the table.
To help protect you, write up a Seller Counter to shorten the period of time to submit the earnest money to 24 hours or sooner and make it clear that no further inspections can be done until the escrow service has received the non-refundable earnest money.
- Extremely Long and Unnecessary Inspection Period
If you were to sell your home to a typical bank financed buyer, they would probably request about 17 days to perform an inspection of the property. However, a cash buyer should be able to perform the inspection in a much shorter timeframe. How much time depends upon a couple of things; the amount of renovation that is required and the need for specialized inspections such as problems with the foundation or the need to have a swimming pool inspected.
The more complex the problems are, the more time that the buyer may need to do their due diligence. So TYPICALLY, it should only take about 5-7 days to perform an inspection on an average sized house.
- Unusually High Offer
If you are selling a property that needs a lot of work in Tucson, most likely you will receive many offers from local investors. If you receive many offers, be aware of any offers that come in significantly higher than the average offer that you get. There are some investors who will submit an over-inflated offer to you with the intent to negotiate the price down during the contingency period to a number that may be below the other offers that you received. Most reputable investors have a method to run their numbers and determine their offer.
At Stained Glass Homes in Tucson, we carefully evaluate each property and make realistic offers based on the value of the property. We won’t offer over-inflated prices in an attempt to negotiate you to a lower price at a later time. Occasionally, we may find serious problems that required specialists to inspect, which may affect our original offer, but should that happen, we will sit down with you and determine the best direction for you.
If you need to sell your home fast in Tucson, or you have property that has become a Money Pit, please contact us today so we can get you some cash in your pocket and help you move ahead with your life. Call us today at 520-200-3334 or click on the button below and send us your contact information. We will be in touch with you shortly.
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