Cash buyer, who cares?

Lou67

It is a bit of a conundrum, but I would be more likely to go with a cash buyer for sure, after buying and selling homes several times over the years, and the stressful experiences that have gone with it!!! (One sale took 5 and a half months to complete after the buyer of our house pulled out, and another one had to be found...) And then the buyer of the peoples house who were buying ours, fell through too, and THEY had to find someone else!!!

I don't know 'what' kind of 2-up 2 down home you have tabby, but if it is a terraced house, then in many areas of the UK, you can buy as cheaply as £40,000! Then again, some would run well into 6 figures, so I don't know if yours is an acceptable price or not.

At the end of the day, it is entirely up to you, whether or not you go with a cash buyer. It depends how much less they are offering, compared to what you need to pay off your mortgage. Many, many people have suffered negative equity though, particularly those who have bought since 2005-ish.

My landlady has about £25,000 - £30,000 negative equity! That is why she rents out the house, because she cannot sell it; because she needs about £135,000 to £136,000 to enable her to pay of the mortgage, and pay fees. And the house next door (although it needs a bit of cosmetic attention,) went for £93,000 last month!!!

If a cash buyer is offering you only five grand below what you are asking, I would literally jump at the chance. We had our house on the market about 5 years ago, for about £135,000, and a lady popped in to see us, (whose family buys and sells properties,) and offered us £120,000. I politely showed her the door!

We took it off the market (long story,) and about a year later, our house, and ones similar to it in the area, were going for about £120,000 to 125,000. I kicked myself every day for about six months!

If I were you, I would take one of the 'cheeky offers.' Your call though. Whatever you decide, I wish you luck and peace in your new home xxx

PasturesNew

As a cash buyer I am the one deciding what I am buying, whether it's habitable, whether it's likely to fall down, what it's made of ... and whether I could "afford it".

A cash buyer makes the choice to buy and has the cash in the bank waiting .... anybody requiring a mortgage will have to apply and see if they're allowed to borrow that much against that house. They aren't in control of whether they will be buying it.

bodmil

Lou- if your land lady is in negative equity, does she have permission to be renting to you?

Hillbilly1

I agree with the above that a cash buyer is preferable.

However, you need that in writing at the start that they are cash, and will remain so. Its common for people to be confused into thinking they are cash buyers if they have an AIP. Also some cash buyers sniff out a bargain, then arrange finance without you knowing until there are late delays.

PasturesNew

Yes, you do need to check the cash buyers aren't delusional. A lot of people pompously call themselves "cash buyers" when actually they mean "I've a house and I'm selling it ... and once that's sold I have enough cash" as their sale might still fall through.

A proper cash buyer has cash IN the bank and can simply transfer that cash to wherever.

poppysarah

tabbyfish wrote: »

However, I've had a couple of cheeky offers for less than £70k and they come with the "I am a cash buyer" line..

Chain free
No mortgage company to undervalue the house and delay the sale
Faster sale

<sebb>

If you're only getting offers under £70k (cash buyers or not) what makes you think the house is worth £79k?

You can't expect someone to pay more than they think a house is worth because that's how much you "need".

Wywth

tabbyfish wrote: »

My house is up for sale for a very modest £79950. 2 up 2 down.
I need to sell for £75k to pay off the mortgage and fees.
I have a deposit already saved and don't want to use that for the fees or mortgage so I am happy with what I need.

However, I've had a couple of cheeky offers for less than £70k and they come with the "I am a cash buyer" line.

Why do people think that makes a difference?

It's not like they will give me a suitcase full of cash and it will be mine is it!

I know what I need to sell for to cover things so why keep going on about being a cash buyer and offering well below the asking price?

Surely the only benefit of selling to a cash buyer is that it may go through a lot quicker having to to wait for a mortgage?

Had a viewing today, yes cash buyer lol. These were a young family not investors, I know certain cultures only deal in cash so to not pay interest but to me it makes no odds. Or should it?

Rant over...

A cash buyer means they will not later have to pull out because they cannot raise the finance, or worse still a lender withdraws an offer before it is actually taken up.

Also, as others say, with nothing to sell and no mortgage to worry about, the purchase could go through much, much quicker. Quite important if you are desperate to raise the £75k yourself - the sooner you sell, the sooner you can stop giving a large slice of your income to your mortgage provider

Be careful that they really are cash buyers - some unscrupulous people now classify those with nothing to sell as a cash buyer despite them needing or intending to seek a mortgage to purchase the property.
Then they are only as good as a first time buyer, or anyone else with nothing to sell

If people are consistently offering well below the asking price, it sounds like your asking price is too high to start with.

As there appears little room for manoeuvre from your asking price, to that you can financially accept, why not speak to your agent over the possibility of re-advertising the property as 'offers over'.

This won't stop the agent from passing on any offers received, even if below the stated value, but the agent will be on a clear understanding what the likely outcome will be and will be able top pass this onto anyone initially offering a below minimum stated price, hopefully with a view to them increasing their offer.

moneyistooshorttomention

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yes, you do need to check the cash buyers aren't delusional. A lot of people pompously call themselves "cash buyers" when actually they mean "I've a house and I'm selling it ... and once that's sold I have enough cash" as their sale might still fall through.

A proper cash buyer has cash IN the bank and can simply transfer that cash to wherever.

I'll second that. A friend of mine has been trying hard to persuade me to call myself a "cash buyer" and I think maybe even believes that I am for the house I am looking to buy. I have had to insist very hard that I am NOT a cash buyer - because I have to sell my present house to fund my next one. My only advantage there is that I cant be mucked about by mortgage providers and their valuers - because I don't need a mortgage.

tabbyfish

My house is in the mid range price for where I am. There are houses up for sale same 2 up 2 down that are on for we'll less but they have been trashed and full of damp so the extra funds needed to bring up to standard would equal the asking price of mine. So if some one is a cash buyer why would they buy it cheap and have to spend more when they can have mine with no work to do.

I don't mind cheeky offers, I will be making one myself when we sell but I won't be using the 'I'm a cash buyer' line to sway any one to sell.

If I sold £5k less than I need I would have to use my deposit money and therefore not be able to buy what I have planned. Raising 5k is not easy.

I'm happy to wait until the right buyer found, I will have,more equity to play with too.

I just get frustrated by these 'cash buyers' wasting my time.

One guy said its too small, wrong location.........but I'm a cash buyer will you take £65k. I said it won't get any bigger or move no matter how cheap you get it mate.