The Cash buyer

AnotherJoe

Swings and roundabouts. Some sellers will be keen, others will fear a last minute gazunder since you have nothing to lose in terms of mortgages, chains etc. They will even suspect you of planning to do that and pass you over in favour of someone who has "more skin in the game".

When i bought as a genuine cash buyer the once,  my experience mirrors what others have said, the whole process took just as long as if i'd have been buying with a mortgage.

MobileSaver

GDB2222 said:

It’s not just getting the money a few weeks earlier. At today’s low interest rates, that’s not worth a lot. There’s Council tax, insurance, maintenance, general deterioration. With a repo, there’s still interest running on the mortgage. 

Sorry, I totally disagree. £10,000 is ten thousand pounds regardless of interest rates (and a say 6% cash discount on the average UK house is somewhat more than £10k anyway), that's worth a lot whatever your circumstances.

All the other things you mention are likely to only be hundreds of pounds a month and in my opinion and experience very few people would willingly give away £10,000 to save a few weeks of ongoing expenses.

GDB2222

MobileSaver said:

GDB2222 said:

It’s not just getting the money a few weeks earlier. At today’s low interest rates, that’s not worth a lot. There’s Council tax, insurance, maintenance, general deterioration. With a repo, there’s still interest running on the mortgage. 

Sorry, I totally disagree. £10,000 is ten thousand pounds regardless of interest rates (and a say 6% cash discount on the average UK house is somewhat more than £10k anyway), that's worth a lot whatever your circumstances.

All the other things you mention are likely to only be hundreds of pounds a month and in my opinion and experience very few people would willingly give away £10,000 to save a few weeks of ongoing expenses.

Actually, what I said is that the interest lost on £10,000 over a few weeks is not very much. 

[Deleted User]

Unless you are a cash buyer who is buying a chain free property an are going to skip doing any searches  then you will be ready at the exact same time as a mortgaged buyer 99 times out of 100

GDB2222

Deleted_User said:

Unless you are a cash buyer who is buying a chain free property an are going to skip doing any searches  then you will be ready at the exact same time as a mortgaged buyer 99 times out of 100

I have been a cash buyer in the past, and I am extremely sceptical about the value of the usual searches. I really, really don't need a search to tell me that a house at the top of the hill is at low risk of flooding. 

blue_max_3

Maybe if you lost your job and needed to sell your house quick, the fact that a cash buyer could move quickly may be critical if you have creditors breathing down your neck. There's no point in selling to someone who then has to start putting their house up for sale and potentially ending up in a chain that falters.
I was living with my ex and two teenage kids. We took a massive hit to get out of there. Sold to a developer who promised to buy in two days. Took six months, but that's another story!

Crashy_Time

GDB2222 said:

We’ve had a period when it was fairly easy to get a mortgage with a 5% deposit. In such circumstances, it’s expected that buyers with a mortgage in principle will get the funding they need. So, indeed, why prefer a cash buyer?

 But, what if things change? If lenders start only doing 80% LTV, or even 90%, that will drastically reduce the number of potential buyers. Lenders may also be more picky about what they will lend on.  Then, having a buyer who can definitely proceed is an advantage. 

It’s not just getting the money a few weeks earlier. At today’s low interest rates, that’s not worth a lot. There’s Council tax, insurance, maintenance, general deterioration. With a repo, there’s still interest running on the mortgage. 

Cash buyers won`t be paying the old price though.

MobileSaver

Crashy_Time said:

Cash buyers won`t be paying the old price though.

Agreed, even some of your fellow HPCers are talking about desirable properties with big gardens and/or in greenbelt areas seeing prices increases once the lockdown is over; cash buyers had better be quick before the really good properties start jumping in value.

All the more worse for the crashaholics is the Bank of England is suggesting there may be the deepest recession on record BUT that it may be over very quickly with a record 15% growth next year and the economy back to pre-virus peaks just a year from now. So even for the less desirable properties out there there will be a very narrow window for any bargains to be had...

ACG

I would never sell to a cash buyer unless it was something like a marriage breakdown or an elderly person/couple downsizing. 

I have seen "cash buyers" need to raise funds against other property/ies or lower their offer at the last minute because by that point everyone is financially and emotionally invested. I am not saying neither of those things are limited to cash buyers, but when I think of problems with buyers over the years, there has been more from cash buyers than non cash buyers. 

Crashy_Time

MobileSaver said:

Crashy_Time said:

Cash buyers won`t be paying the old price though.

Agreed, even some of your fellow HPCers are talking about desirable properties with big gardens and/or in greenbelt areas seeing prices increases once the lockdown is over; cash buyers had better be quick before the really good properties start jumping in value.

All the more worse for the crashaholics is the Bank of England is suggesting there may be the deepest recession on record BUT that it may be over very quickly with a record 15% growth next year and the economy back to pre-virus peaks just a year from now. So even for the less desirable properties out there there will be a very narrow window for any bargains to be had...

The same BOE that was so prepared for the last crisis? I`m sure all those people who didn`t enjoy lock down in the city (most probably didn`t care much TBH, they just drank or worked out a bit more and got time off work) are going to dip into their large cash piles and buy something with more space for next time........then again..........Why do you see demand for more expensive houses increasing when there is more unemployment and tighter lending criteria?