Selling to Cash Buyer... Timescales?

LDO

So we're fairly sure that a couple we know to be cash buyers are going to submit an offer for our house. Over christmas they've been back twice and we get some decent vibes from them.

Not counting our chickens, but assuming they make an offer and we accept it, how much does this really differ in terms of timescales to selling to a normal buyer tied to a mortgage deal?

What motions does a cash buyer have to go through? Obviously theres no valuation taking place on behalf of a bank, but is it commonplace for buyers to carry out full surveys?

What do their solicitors do? Do they do anything other than land registry searches / title deeds and transferring the cash...?

Any potential pitfalls or disadvantages?

Hope this works out! :T

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

Most do get surveys, I never did on my first house as a cash buyer.

How do you know they are cash buyers.....

LisaLou1982

No more or less time than someone purchasing with a mortgage
Just because they arent getting one, it doesnt mean that they wont be instructing a surveyor to go round and the solicitors paperwork will take as long as it takes for everyone to get their information together

I used to advise clients it would be 10-12 weeks for an average sale to go through. Im sure that is still around average.

G_M

By 'cash buyer' do you mean they have cash in the bank, or they have a property to sell and will then have the cash (without mortgage).

Big difference. The former means they can buy without delay. The latter means they still have to find a buyer for their own house.

Surveys? Entirely up tothe buyers - most will still want a survey.

Solicitors? Not much difference. They'll still do the usual searches.

LDO

They have the cash in the bank. I know this because they told me so willingly, I didn't ask, although it doesn't really make a difference to us either way - we're not in a major rush but we are selling without a chain so are kind of happy to let them dictate the speed of sale.

12 weeks we know to be average, though as an anomaly we completed in 6 when we bought this house 5 years ago.

Just wondering if it could complete super fast, like in 4 weeks or something, and then we'd be at panic stations!

They did ask to see our survey from all that time ago and guarantees of work done that were raised by it. They also brought a builder - the lads uncle - to have a mooch round which was unexpected

G_M

LDO wrote: »

They did ask to see our survey from all that time ago and guarantees of work done that were raised by it. They also brought a builder - the lads uncle - to have a mooch round which was unexpected

If you were buying a 2nd hand car and your uncle was a mechanic, would you not ask him to give it the once-over....?

LDO

G_M wrote: »

If you were buying a 2nd hand car and your uncle was a mechanic, would you not ask him to give it the once-over....?

Well yes - but what I was meaning was that I didn't expect him to be with them, knocking on walls and asking questions about damproofing, pipework and purlins.

Though it was no bother

phoebe1989seb

We sold our last-but-one house to cash buyers (money ready in the bank) and the process took six weeks. They didn't have a survey, even though they were spending well over half a million, as they explained they were of the opinion that all old houses had issues and as they knew we'd restored it to a high standard, they weren't bothered!

We were buying our next house without a mortgage (although obviously it was dependent upon our sale to said cash buyers) and also didn't have a survey.

When we went on to sell that house we were again not relying on a mortgage and once we'd accepted an offer on our place, then found somewhere to buy, the process took just over four weeks......although we again didn't have a survey as we had a builder friend look it over for us.

Old_Git

I agreed to buy my house on the 16th March .2013. I phoned the surveyor on the 18th March,Survey was done on the 19th March.I got the keys on the 3rd May 2013. Cash buyer.

LDO

Thanks for all the info so far. The anecdotes are really helpful.

Will update as and when we hear anything!

pawpurrs

Completed in less than two weeks as a cash buyer, on my last house.