To get a cash offer on your house, you request one directly from a buyer who can pay the full price without a mortgage: an iBuyer like Opendoor or Offerpad through their online form, an institutional investor or local wholesale investor through their intake process, or an individual buyer usually reached through an agent. Cash sales can close in as little as two weeks instead of the 30 to 60 days a financed deal takes. The catch is the price. Cash buyers paid an average of 9 percent less than market value in 2025, so the work is less about finding an offer and more about knowing who’s making it and whether the number is fair.
Who Actually Buys Houses for Cash
The type of buyer you deal with shapes the offer more than anything else. Each one makes money differently, and that math drives their price.
iBuyers are tech companies using automated valuation models to generate near-instant offers. They prefer homes in decent condition within a predictable price range because their business depends on quick resale. Most charge a service fee of about 5 percent of the purchase price, comparable to a traditional agent commission. Their offers tend to land closest to fair market value among cash buyers, but they’re selective about which homes they’ll take.
Institutional investors are private equity groups and hedge funds building rental portfolios. They target neighborhoods with strong rental demand, and their valuations reflect rental yield math rather than what a retail buyer would pay to live there.
Local wholesale investors are the “we buy houses” operators. They specialize in distressed properties and price in renovation costs plus their own margin, which is why their offers tend to be the lowest. Some never intend to close themselves. They lock the property under contract and assign that contract to an end buyer, keeping the spread.
Individual cash buyers are regular people who recently sold a home, received an inheritance, or have the savings. They often behave more like traditional buyers on price, just without the mortgage timeline. You’ll usually get the best number from this group, though they’re the least predictable on timing.
What to Have Ready Before You Request an Offer
Cash buyers move fast. Sellers who get the best offers are the ones who can match that speed, so organize your paperwork before you fill out a single form.
Property Condition Records
Buyers want to know the age and condition of the roof, HVAC, water heater, and electrical panel. A log of past repairs and upgrades helps them price without guessing. Known defects like foundation issues or water damage should be documented upfront. Disclosure protects you legally and builds trust with serious buyers. High-resolution photos of the interior and exterior are the primary visual evidence for remote assessments.
Legal and Financial Documents
Pull your current deed, which proves your right to transfer ownership. If you don’t have a copy, the county recorder’s office where the property is located keeps these records. Request a mortgage payoff statement from your loan servicer showing the exact balance owed, including a daily interest figure that adjusts the total based on your closing date. Property surveys from your original purchase help identify boundary lines, and any existing title insurance policy can flag historical claims early.
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
If your home was built before 1978, federal law requires you to give buyers a lead hazard information pamphlet, disclose any known lead paint or hazards, provide any existing lead inspection reports, and allow at least 10 days for the buyer to conduct their own lead inspection before the contract becomes binding.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property Keep signed copies of these disclosures for three years after closing. A seller who skips this step can be sued for triple damages.2U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule Fact Sheet The law doesn’t require you to test for lead or remove it, just to share what you know.
Requesting Offers and Verifying the Buyer
Most high-volume cash buyers run web forms where you submit property details and photos. Once they compare the data against recent sales in your area, a preliminary offer typically arrives within one to two days. Individual cash buyers usually work through a real estate agent or direct negotiation, which takes slightly longer but often produces a higher price.
Any legitimate offer should come with a proof of funds letter: a bank or brokerage statement confirming enough liquid capital to cover the purchase price. If a buyer can’t or won’t produce this document, that’s the clearest sign you’re wasting your time. Treat a missing proof of funds letter the way a bank treats a missing income verification. The deal doesn’t move forward.
What “As-Is” Really Means
Many cash buyers present “as-is” offers, meaning they expect to buy without you making repairs. That doesn’t automatically mean they waive inspections. If their offer includes an inspection contingency, they retain the right to renegotiate or walk away based on what the inspection turns up. If the offer has no inspection contingency, the buyer generally can’t reclaim their earnest money over condition issues after signing. Read the contingency language carefully. An as-is label on its own doesn’t tell you who bears the risk.
Judging Whether the Price Is Fair
Cash offers from investors and iBuyers almost always come in below what a retail buyer with financing would pay. That discount is the price of speed and certainty. The question is whether the discount is reasonable.
Pull recent comparable sales in your neighborhood and get at least two or three competing cash offers before committing to one. If the house is in good condition and you have time, listing on the open market while entertaining cash offers often produces a higher final price because you’re creating competition.
Red Flags and Contract Traps
The cash-offer market attracts predatory operators. A few warning signs should stop you cold:
- Requests for upfront money. Legitimate buyers pay you, not the other way around. Any “processing fee” or “good faith deposit” flowing from seller to buyer is a scam.
- Refusal to show proof of funds. Real cash buyers can prove they have the money. Someone who keeps deflecting likely plans to tie up your property under contract while they scramble to find an actual buyer or financing.
- Extreme pressure to sign immediately. A fair offer doesn’t expire in hours. Buyers who won’t give you time to have a contract reviewed are counting on you not reading the fine print.
- No verifiable business presence. Check for a physical address, website, and business registration. Handwritten signs on telephone poles and burner-phone callbacks are not confidence-builders.
- Assignment clauses you didn’t agree to. Some wholesalers include language letting them assign the deal to a different buyer, so the person who closes isn’t the person who made you the offer. Assignment isn’t inherently illegal, but you should know when it’s happening and agree to it deliberately.
Hiring a real estate attorney to review the purchase agreement before you sign is worth the cost, and roughly half of states require one at closing anyway. Even where it’s optional, an attorney catches problems that cost far more than their fee.
Closing, Costs, and Timeline
Once you accept an offer, a title company or escrow officer takes over as the neutral third party. They run a title search to check for outstanding liens, unpaid property taxes, or legal judgments attached to the property. Clear title is non-negotiable. The buyer won’t close until any issues are resolved.
Both parties sign a purchase agreement spelling out the price, closing date, and conditions. You then sign the deed transferring ownership, which gets recorded with the local government. The escrow agent handles the money, distributing your proceeds via wire or cashier’s check after deducting any outstanding mortgage balance, closing costs, and fees.
Cash sales eliminate lender-related fees, but sellers still owe several costs. Real estate agent commissions, if agents are involved, are the biggest expense. Title insurance, escrow fees, and prorated property taxes come out of your proceeds. Most states and many localities charge a transfer tax, with rates ranging from under 0.1 percent to about 2 percent of the sale price. Recording fees for filing the new deed typically run a few dozen dollars. Total seller closing costs usually land between 1 and 3 percent of the sale price in a cash deal with no agent commissions, or 6 to 8 percent when commissions are involved.
Without a lender in the picture, there are no underwriting delays, no lender-mandated appraisals, and no secondary approvals. Most cash sales close in two to three weeks from the signed purchase agreement. Complex title issues or repair negotiations can stretch that, but the ceiling is still well below the 30 to 60 days a financed sale typically requires.
Staying in the Home After Closing
If you need time to move, a rent-back agreement lets you stay as a tenant of the new owner. These are negotiated before closing and cover the rental rate, utilities, maintenance responsibility, a security deposit, and a firm move-out date. Most rent-backs cap the stay at 60 days, though this varies.
The downsides are real. Your monthly cost during the rent-back may exceed what your old mortgage payment was. You lose control over the property: no renovations, no changes. Damage to the home risks your deposit, and overstaying the agreed date exposes you to eviction. Treat the rent-back as a strict short-term arrangement and have your attorney draft or review the terms.
Taxes You’ll Still Owe
A cash sale triggers the same federal tax rules as any other home sale. Speed doesn’t change what you owe the IRS.
If you owned and lived in the home as your primary residence for at least two of the five years before selling, you can exclude up to $250,000 of profit from your taxable income, or $500,000 if you’re married and file jointly.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 121 – Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Principal Residence Profit means the sale price minus your cost basis, which includes the original purchase price plus qualifying improvements. Any gain above those thresholds is taxed at long-term capital gains rates of 0, 15, or 20 percent depending on your total taxable income for the year.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 701, Sale of Your Home
If you haven’t lived in the home for two of the past five years, because it was a rental, a recent purchase, or a second home, the full gain is taxable. This is where cash sellers who own investment properties often get surprised at tax time.
The closing agent is generally required to file IRS Form 1099-S reporting the sale proceeds, with an exception for lower-priced principal residences where the full gain is excludable and you certify that in writing.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-S Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions Either way, you’re still responsible for correctly reporting the sale on your own return.
One boundary worth flagging: if you’re a foreign person selling U.S. real estate, the buyer must withhold 15 percent of the sale price under FIRPTA, with a reduced 10 percent rate for residential properties priced at $1,000,000 or less where the buyer intends to live there.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1445 – Withholding of Tax on Dispositions of United States Real Property Interests7Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding This doesn’t apply to U.S. citizens or residents.