The real estate market can be overwhelming, especially if you need to sell your house fast. Traditional methods usually mean having to do major repairs, stage the home, and wait for the right buyer. This can take months and lead to major stress for you.
Cash home buyers take all of the hassle away. They buy houses in “as is” condition, so you can skip all of the repairs and waiting around. If you need to move quickly due to financial constraints, job transfers, or other reasons, they have you covered.
But as amazing as cash home buyers sound, you should be wary about some of them. Homeowners in Tacoma, do your full due diligence on potential cash buyers. Check their reviews or references and confirm that they are financially able to give you a cash offer.
Understanding Cash Home Buyers
One trusted option is We Buy Houses As Is. This company prides itself on its reputation and doing right by its customers. They remove all of the usual headaches and allow you to get on with your life.
As a last thought: remember, cash home buyers are people too! They have the same feelings and concerns as everyone else. Some of them are just trying to do their business the right way—and help others in their lives.
Cash home purchasers are growing in real estate markets like Tacoma for easy, efficient sales. These buyers have cold, hard cash on hand to buy your house–no need for mortgages or other financing methods. This makes the home buying process not only easy but much quicker as well. They often close a home sale in as soon as a few days!
Benefits of going for cash home sales:
No improvement needed: These types of buyers also aren’t too picky about the condition of the home. There are, after all, several homes out there that probably need a bit of work. If there are a few corners here and there with missing paint (from your child’s rowdy friends), these cash buys won’t mind. Caleb Liu, a regular buyer of homes, says, “When I purchase a house, I buy the home in its current, reddened form. You do not need to make any home improvements just to sell the home.”
Less paperwork: Paperwork is everybody’s worst nightmare and a list topper of things many people hate about. The most exciting experience you will ever experience is waiting for the mortgage loan approval. Thankfully, because these people are cash buyers–and they have the cash outright–they don’t need to get mortgage lenders into the equation. Most of the time, there aren’t nearly as much papers and documents to be signed. You get to make a quick sale without extensive, stressful, and time-consuming months, weeks, or years of slowly biting at your soul, causing it to wither and die, while waiting for all the paperwork to be done.
Signs of Legitimate Cash Home Buyers
A good cash home buyer should be willing to explain everything to you. This includes their process, their timeline, their fees, and how they plan to mitigate all of the contingational stuff that can come up when buying a home. An investor performing this important transparency in communication will build your overall trust in them by 10xs. This will also dramatically reduce the fear and uncertainty you have about selling your home to them. The more they communicate upfront, the better they are.
A buyer who has no issues conducting in-person buyer meetings is likely located close by. You may believe that due to Covid, many buyers will be afraid to meet in person. Although this is likely not the case. All they need to do is simply wear a mask and you guys can meet up outside. You likely already knew that. You were just afraid of having industry knowledge upfront. But whatever, it won’t hurt to find out who’s an out-of-state buyer in the first place.
A strong track record likely means that previous sellers are satisfied with the services provided by the cash home buyer. This is not all true, but according to buying psychology “we” feel that when companies have a successful track record, that means they are good at doing their job. When us sellers see a previous review about buyers finding effective solutions, the only thing we can ask is – “Can these buyers do the same for our situation?”
This is similar to the idea of previous track record identification, but we are simply making sure to do it legally. This often requires checking the buyer’s certifications to see if they are a certified and licensed homeowner journey buyer. Sure, most state governments require homeowners to be somehow related to the property agent industry. But we are only doing this to see how legit they are. We have to stay prepared, right?
Red Flags to Watch Out For
Homeowners often encounter so many scams in the cash home buying market they could be enough to curdle your blood.
- Unsolicited Offers – One thing we hear a lot is homeowners mentioning they’ve encountered various individuals or companies that try to reach out to homeowners first and then provide cash offers for their properties. Again, we don’t give legal advice (this would be more of a safety warning), but typically it isn’t a good idea to engage with these types of proposals. This could be a slick way for the other guys to back you up into the private corner we talk about later.
- Pressure Tactics – Another trick of the trade is having what’s often referred to as “sunsets” or even the “now-or-never-type” offers that so many people rush to pounce on. We absolutely caution homeowners against these offers. The thought behind it is deviously brilliant. Make Joe Homeowner make the decision today to sell to us and he won’t have time to do the due diligence on our company, therefore, agreeing to sell his home to a company that may not even be real (yes, we’re serious).
- No Physical Address – There are so many reasons not to engage with a company that doesn’t provide you either an address OR any contact info. There are so many companies that buy houses that are here today, gone tomorrow. You don’t want to encounter the mess of dealing with someone similar to this.
The good thing about our clients is that they know who we are, they know where our business address is and if they’ve been to our website, phone number, various emails, and our name, of course.
How to Verify a Cash Home Buyer’s Legitimacy
Thoroughly research the buying company: Look them up online, see where they’re located, and get an idea of their business practices and any other red flags. A quick web search should yield enough information to paint a picture of the buyer. Look at their website, their social media, their marketing materials, any articles written about them. If they’re being fraudulent, it should be apparent somewhere.
Ask for references: If they’ve bought houses from homeowners in cash before, then they’ll have some people who can vouch for the validity of their offer.
Consult with a real estate professional, like an agent: Most real estate professionals will give you an Open-Door Policy consultation. If you ask for one, don’t forget to give them all the information you have in writing and point out your correct thoughts and concerns about the offer.
Have your attorney review the final terms and agreement: When someone makes a cash offer to buy your house the first time in your life, you don’t know what to cross-check in the final terms and agreement. Find a lawyer who specializes in Real Estate Sale & Purchase Transaction services to help you analyze your deal from many angles, to make sure that the transaction goes well.
Why Choose We Buy Houses As Is
“We Buy Houses As Is” believes selling your house in Tacoma should be simple. Say goodbye to the stress of selling your house. This is because:
- We buy houses in “as is” condition (you won’t have to make any repairs or clean).
- We will give you a fair cash offer for your house (this means you avoid the normal escrow process).
As a result, we work with homeowners who need to sell this kind of house. Many folks we talk to have a house that needs some (or many) fix-ups. They don’t want to spend their time and money fixing up a house that they’re going to sell.
We’re also real estate professionals, who are experienced in how these kinds of houses are priced on the market. Our local expertise will help you make the best decision for you. And it will help you avoid some of the notions and “rumours” of people trying to take advantage of you! This is another reason for you to trust us.
If you’re interested, the fastest way you can get your house sold to us is by calling Sean at +1 206-291-6117. Sean will talk with you about the options we offer. Wouldn’t that make selling your house feel more like a solution than a lingering problem? We will certainly be glad to hear from you, and yes! Sean is an easy-going, approachable person. We Buy Houses As Is today! What you see is what you get!
Final Words
The importance of verifying cash home buyers in Tacoma cannot be overstated. It has unfortunately become another requirement if we want to be sure our real estate transactions are secure and completely “above board.” Not all cash buyers are equal. Some may claim buying power that they do not have. Does the buyer you are working with really have the cash they claim to have in the bank? It is often quite easy to verify this: ask for a particular reference or some type of proof of funds. They should be quite easy to check, again.
Do your research. A simple Google search will reveal a vast wealth of easy to access information on the reliability and efficiency of cash home buyers. Other factors you might want to consider: How long has the company been working/buying homes? What sort of national reputation do they have, if any? Are they known in your city, county, and/or—more importantly—your state?
The legitimate and UN-legitimate (probably illegal) cash buyers will be quite easy to identify. Often, those “We Buy Houses As Is” signs you mentioned— this is a positive sign. A casual Google search will direct you to many legitimate real estate forums where you can investigate cash buyer companies. Better yet, utilize Bigger Pockets as a real estate resource.