Questions to Ask Buyer When Selling Your House

What questions should I ask a cash house buyer?

We explain what you should ask and what to consider...

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 and important questions you should be asking before agreeing to sell to a cash buyer, and so much more:

Questions about cash house buyers

If you're looking to sell your property to a cash house buyer, there are a lot of questions you will want to ask - after all it's different to selling to a 'traditional buyer'. We've answered some major questions you may have in the guides below.

What is a cash house buyer?

A cash house buyer is someone who has the funds to buy a property outright, without the need for house repayments or selling another property first. A cash house buyer may be someone you come across through selling your house on the open market, or you may find yourself looking at a cash house buying company, like ourselves.

With a cash buyer, there are fewer ‘hurdles’ to jump, with a lot not wanting to have searches or a survey done and there being no chain.

You can find a cash buyer through selling on the open market and listing your property as ‘cash buyers only’, but they can be hard to come by.

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 sell a house for cash?

There are many different reasons someone may want to sell their house for cash – it’s faster, there’s less paperwork and it helps to avoid a chain are just a few reasons. Below are more examples of why someone may want to sell to a cash house buyer:

Japanese Knotweed

• Japanese Knotweed is a rapidly spreading, dangerous weed which has the ability the grow through solid ground, causing disruptions to house foundations. As a result of this, lenders will not lend on a property affected by the weed, making the properties only really suitable for cash buyers.

An old property

• An older property tends to have a few issues – mainly that the standard of the building and the materials used may not be up to scratch with modern standards and that the property’s interior will be outdating, requiring a large amount of money spending on it to get it up to date.

• As a result of this, some lenders can be reluctant to lend on an old property which isn’t up to date with current standards, therefore meaning these properties are only appropriate for cash buyers.

Property’s location

Some properties will be in undesirable or unsafe locations, leaving a lender reluctant to lend. These include:

• An area of high crime rates

• Flood risk areas

• Former petrol stations

• An area close to old or unsecure coal mines, meaning a risk of subsidence

• Areas with risk of landslip

• Previously used for industrial purposes or toxic waste disposal sites

Damaged property

• A property which has been severally damaged, for example by flooding, fire or vandalism, will be very difficult to find a lender who is willing to lend, leaving finding a cash buyer the only option.

Short lease

• Leasehold properties with short leases (80 years or less left on the lease) become increasingly difficult to sell on the open market, as a short lease brings complications and high fees.

• On top of this, lenders tend to not want to lend on this type of property. As a result of this, a house with a short lease is only suitable to sell to a cash buyer.

Damp in the property

• As you may expect, a property with serious damp issues will need a large amount of money spending on it to resolve the issue, meaning this type of property tends to warrant a large amount of discount.

• Mortgage lenders are also not keen to lend on properties with damp issues, with some requesting an insurance backed guarantee.

• As a result of these points, finding a cash buyer tends to be the best method of sale for a property with serious damp issues.

Structural issues

• Properties with structural issues will require a large amount of money spending on them to get them up to a habitable standard, making a cash buyer a suitable method of sale, as they will look to pick up these types of property at a sizeable discount.

Avoid chain

• Another reason someone may want to sell their house for cash is because it helps them avoid a property chain. A property chain occurs when each sale is relying on another sale to complete in order for their sale to complete.

• A broken property chain can often cause sales to fall through, making someone want to avoid them altogether and find themselves a cash buyer.

Quicker process

• As a result of a cash buyer not needing to sell a property to buy, the process when selling to a cash buyer tends to be a lot quicker. Also, cash buyers are often looking at properties as a project, and so don’t tend to want to do property searches or a survey, which helps to speed the process up a lot.

Questions to ask a cash buyer

When looking to sell your house for cash, you may be approached by many different people claiming to be a cash buyer, making it hard to differentiate between the good and the bad.

Below is a list of questions you should ask your cash buyer to make sure they’re legitimate. There are also some questions included which you can ask if you’re thinking of selling to a cash house buying company:

• Can they provide proof of funds?

• How quickly can they complete?

• Could there be any potential delays?

• Could something cause their price offered to change?

• Do they want to do searches and a survey?

• What are the steps of the process?

• Are they expecting a big discount because they’re able to buy in cash?

• Who is valuing the property and how is it being valued?

• Will you have to pay the fees?

• Should anything go wrong, does the company have a complaints procedure?

• Is the company buying the property directly or are they passing your details onto a third-party buyer?

• Is the company a member of The Property Ombudsman or the National Association of Property Buyers?

If you’re not happy with the answers you have received, then it’s probably a good idea to look elsewhere, whether that be for another cash buyer on the open market or another cash house buying company.

Here at The Property Buying Company, we’re always open and transparent and we’re confident we can answer all your questions to complete satisfaction. We’re always open and available to talk and there’s no question too stupid to ask! We will answer all your questions, making you feel comfortable we’re the cash house buyer you need.

Things to consider when selling to a cash buyer

When looking to sell your house to a cash buyer, there are a few things you need to consider, as they are different to selling to a buyer who needs house repayments on the open market.

If you’ve decided to sell to a cash buyer, whether it’s one on the open market or a cash house buying company, here are some things you need to consider:

• Check you have been provided with proof of funds

• Check they’re not asking for a BIG discount off the market value (25% or more)

• If using a cash house buying company, check their valuation process

• Check for any tie-in clauses

• Have all paperwork checked by an independent solicitor

• Is using a cash house buying company and they offer to pay your legal fees, check whether they will cover the fees of your chosen legal firm

• Check the consequences for any party pulling out of the sale

These are just a few of the many things you will need to keep in mind when selling your house to a cash house buyer.

How does our ‘cash for house’ buying process work?

If you’ve decided a cash buyer is the right option for you, let us explain to you how our ‘cash for house’ buying process works. Our process is much simpler and quicker than the open market, with our main selling point being the speed of our service.

We’ve worked hard to streamline the process into just five steps, which you can see below:

Is this service right for me?

We’re always open and honest about the fact our quick ‘cash for house’ service isn’t for everyone, so it’s important you decide if it’s right for you.

The main purpose of our service is speed – if you have the time and patience to wait on the open market for a sale, you may achieve a higher value, but there are no guarantees of that.

Our particular service will be the best option for you if:

Why choose us

We’re more than just a standard cash house buying company. The Property Buying Company is owned and operated by property professionals, founded in 2012, and with over 50 years combined experience, you can be sure you’re in safe hands.

As we’ve mentioned, we’re also a member of The Property Ombudsman and the National Association of Property Buyers, further emphasising why we’re the people you can rely on. On top of this, we understand what it’s like to sell a property and all the stresses which can come along with it, so we will always be up for a chat to listen to your worries, and we handle the whole process for you.

We’re also rated excellent on Trustpilot, with over 1,000 reviews.

We will also be open and honest about our process and service – we will tell you upfront what we can offer for your property, and we will keep you constantly updated, including any issues we face and how we will do our best to overcome them for you.

Compared to a cash buyer on the open market, we will cover all your fees and can complete in a timescale of your choice. It’s never been easy to find a cash house buyer!