House for Cash
 

So much I don't understand. If a buyer offers cash, is that a good deal for the seller? If so, why? Isn't the seller going to get his money anyway?

One more: If you're buying a house from a seller's agent, do you need a buyer's agent for yourself?

One thought i have is that a cash settlement means to the seller that obtaining financing would not be a negotiated item as a contingency for the sale.

Cash sale = quicker closing date and no bank inspection.

I think you mean no bank appraisal - an inspection is an entirely different issue. To protect any buyer, the contract - cash or not - should specify that it is subject to satisfactory inspection within a stated number of days.

In today's market cash is a great deal. Our friends had an accepted offer 3 times and each time the financing feel through. We sold our house 3 months ago and the first offer fell through because the buyer had paid his federal taxes late and he was denied financing. Buying, selling and financing a mortgage is nothing like it used to be even just a few yrs ago. Cash eliminates all these issues.

Just curious, were your friends here in The Villages or elsewhere?

Hi mgm444,
Others have explained well why a cash offer makes a seller happy. Quick closing, no worry about financing, no financing costs to negotiate, basically a sure bet. It's also good for the buyer for obvious reasons (no points and interest payments) and for the less obvious reason that a motivated seller might accept a lower offer in exchange for the near certainty that the sale will go through.

As a buyer, I would always get a buyer's agent if possible. (Not possible if buying a new home in TV, but works for resales). You need to know though that your agent is only another transaction agent unless you get a written "buyer's agent" agreement. Without it, your agent is obligated only to facilitate the transaction, not to represent your interests alone in the deal.

Are you, perchance, nearing a decision on a home in TV?

In addition to what everyone has said about avoiding the financing issues, here in Miami one wants to avoid an appraisal since the banks are discounting properties in Miami from 30 to 40 percent so the appraisals come in way below any reasonable asking price. Our buyer got our townhouse for $30,000 less than the asking price (we expected to come down about $15,000 from the beginning) because it is a cash purchase and they will wait until our house in TV is finished before closing on ours --which saves us rental and storage expenses. If financing had been involved our townhouse would probably have been appraised at another 10-15,000 less than we sold the house for!

PT,

I'm taking the tiniest baby steps and learning as much as I can. It's a huge investment, but of course, like everyone else, I wanted to buy on my first LSV! Just can't get enough of the place! I would be interested in renting the house, as well, because I'm a "youngster".. still have to work for a couple of years. I really think the market is going to begin to creep up a little, on a whole, in '12 (election year) and I would like to take advantage of that situation sooner than later.

What exactly would a buyer's agent do for me? -- And, how much would that cost? And, where would I get one?