Do Home Sellers Prefer Cash Offers in Beverly Hills?

Why many sellers lean toward cash

A cash buyer does not need a bank to say yes. That one fact takes out the steps where most sales stall: loan approval, the lender's appraisal and underwriting questions that show up late in escrow.

Fewer steps means fewer ways for the deal to fall apart. When a financed buyer's loan falls through, the seller is back at the start, often weeks later. With cash, the money is there or it isn't, and you can check that before you sign.

Cash buyers also tend to take a property as-is. No repair list after the inspection, no back-and-forth over a water heater or an old roof. For a lot of sellers, that alone is worth a lower number.

• No loan approval to wait on
• No lender appraisal that can come in low
• Fewer repair requests after inspection
• More control over timing, so you choose the closing date

When a financed offer can be the better deal

Cash buyers know their offer is easier to accept, and many price that in. A well-qualified financed buyer will often pay more because they are competing on price, not on convenience.

If the property shows well, you have time and you are not in a rush to move, putting it in front of the full market can bring a stronger number. At higher price points, many buyers use larger loans with careful underwriting, so the paperwork takes longer, but the extra money can be real.

The honest answer is that neither one wins every time. It depends on what you need more: the most dollars, or the most certainty on a set date.

How to compare a cash offer to a financed one

Don't compare the top lines. Compare what you walk away with and how likely you are to get it. We put both offers on one sheet so you can see them side by side.

• Net proceeds after commissions, fees and closing costs
• Proof of funds for cash, or the strength of the loan approval for financed
• Contingencies: inspection, appraisal and loan, and how long each one lasts
• Repairs or credits the buyer is likely to ask for
• Closing date and whether it fits your plans
• How much time and prep the house needs before a market sale

How we handle it, start to finish

We do both. We can make a cash offer on the property, or act as your agent and sell it on the open market. You don't have to decide before you call.

We are a small team, and the person who walks through the property with you is the same person who handles the numbers, the paperwork and the closing. You won't get passed to someone new halfway through escrow and have to explain everything again.

If certainty matters most, our Guarantee cash offer program gives you a firm number to hold against anything the market brings. If price matters most, we'll tell you plainly whether a market sale is likely to beat it, and by roughly how much the trade-off is worth to you.