If you’re planning on selling your Austin home for cash, but don’t want to get fooled into making a bad decision, this is for you.
Selling a home for cash can be a great decision—it can help put cash in your pocket quickly.
However, buying homes for cash has become hugely popular and, as with any industry where there are large money transactions, buyers have sprung up who try to game the system.
It can be hard to tell the “good” honest cash home buyers from the scammers until an offer is made—but once you reach that point there are some red flags you can watch out for to make sure your cash buyer’s offer is legitimate.
An Overly Long Due Diligence Period
Some due diligence is to be expected, but an overly long due diligence period may be a dishonest buyer’s way of getting you to quit actively trying to sell the home while they see if they can sell it for a higher price.
All too often these buyers seem like the real deal—they make an offer, show proof of funds, and do everything else right—but if they find they can’t sell your house for more than you’ll accept from them, they never show up for closing.
An Offer Over Your Asking Price
These buyers know offering a big number initially will make you more invested in them as a buyer. As a result, mentally you’ll begin to see the sale as a “done deal.”
Then, when they inspect the home, they point out flaws and tell you that you need to fix all sorts of things that don’t need fixing. With each new “To Do” item, they try to nickel and dime you into accepting a lower price.
They talk down your product and use hard closing tactics to ultimately convince you to accept much less than you might otherwise have gotten for your home.
No References & No Proof Of Funds
Perhaps the biggest red flag is when you ask a buyer for references or proof of funds and they turn up empty-handed.
A common scam is to make an offer and then, after the seller “cashes” the check but before it clears, the buyer has a change of heart and asks for a refund. The refund is processed and they walk away with the value of the home—and the seller is out both the purchase and the value of their home.
Honest cash buyers will be able to and will expect to provide proof of funds, to show you they can actually make a cash transaction.
Similarly, a professional cash buyer who truly intends to purchase your home will be happy to provide Better Business Bureau references or lists of other homes they have purchased, so you can verify that they made good in previous deals.
Choosing a Cash Home Buyer
Before selling your Austin home for cash make sure you watch out for these common red flags and finding an honest cash home buyer will be much quicker—no delayed due diligence, no last minute changes of heart, no added “to do” items before you see cash.
Instead, you’ll feel good knowing you got a great deal, sold quickly, and made cold hard cash.
f you can’t make it to our office for a face to face conversation then we’ll come to you. We buy houses in the Austin, Texas metro and surrounding areas; Austin, Buda, Cedar Park, Kyle, and Manor.
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