If you’re in the process of selling your home, we won’t blame you for feeling a little bit on-edge right now. After all, the US housing market has slowed down considerably in recent months, with some pundits openly speculating that a real estate market crash is imminent.

As such, it is once again a buyer’s market, meaning that now might be the time to look for alternate options for offloading your house.

One way to circumvent the traditional route is to accept a cash offer on your home. When you sell for cash, you immediately receive payment for your home from a dedicated cash buyer.

If you’re unfamiliar with this increasingly popular route, read on to find out the main reasons why selling for cash can be your best bet.

1. A Cash Offer Means Cash

When you choose to sell a home for cash, what you see is what you get. A cash buyer, by definition, will offer you the full some for your house in one cash payment, delivered directly to your bank account.

The cash buyer will first initiate what is called a “walkthrough”, where an expert will take a look at your home and determine a fair price.

After this, they will make you an offer, and you can choose to accept it there and then. This is why choosing a cash buyer is such a popular option for those who are in need of equity.

It is a highly effective way of raising real money, rather than going through a complex, drawn out process wherein you will not be able to access the equity from your home as easily as you might want.

Whether you have big bills to pay or wish to finance a major life decision such as starting a business or moving abroad, choosing a cash buyer can be one effective way of doing this.

2. A Very Quick Turnaround

While money is often one compelling reason to sell for cash, the time element is another. If you sell your house the traditional way, the process takes several months on average, but this can easily stretch to years in some cases.

Even when you find a traditional buyer, you can expect all of the admin and legal processes to add an extra few months to the process. For some, time is a luxury that they simply do not have.

By choosing a cash buyer, the process of selling your house is reduced dramatically. With some cash buyer companies, you can receive an offer and sell your home within 24 hours.

If you just want to get your old house off your plate and move on with your life, this short turnaround time can be a powerful motivator to choose the all-cash option.

3. Sell Your Home, as It Is

If your house is not in so-called “turnkey” condition, expect the process to take a long time. After all, not so many people are on the market for a fixer-upper these days.

This means that you will either have to spend longer finding a buyer, or you will have to invest tens of thousands of dollars in renovating your home and making it as good as new.

By choosing a cash buyer, you do not have to worry about these factors. A cash buyer will always offer to buy your home as-is, no matter what condition it is in.

While a home in worse condition will command a lower cash price, this can still be more attractive than having to shell out heaps of cash to take care of the renovations yourself.

4. Avoid a Range of Fees

It’s tempting to think that selling your house the traditional way means an automatic payday, especially after the craziness of the housing market over the past decade. However, selling your home is a very expensive business.

You’ll need to pay the realtor, of course, who will demand 5-6% of the sales price as their fee.

You might need to pay for inspections yourself to show that the house is habitable, which is another few thousand. Then there are the costs of staging your home, arranging the photography, and so on.

That’s before we get into any renovation costs or fees to banks or insurers. By choosing a cash buyer, you can avoid all of these overheads entirely, and sell your house without having to pay through the nose for the privilege.

5. Avoid a Lot of Paperwork

As well as being expensive, selling a home is also a highly bureaucratic ordeal. Since you are transferring such a valuable asset, expect to read through a huge amount of contracts and other legal documents.

You’ll be urged to retain a lawyer for this process since even the slightest paperwork mistake on your behalf could cost you a fortune.

Then there is the drawn-out process of negotiating the paperwork, to determine which party is responsible for which aspect of the sale. With a cash buyer, you can skip most of this.

In fact, some cash buyers offer to handle all of the paperwork on your behalf, so that you don’t have to deal with it at all.

6. Skip the Appraisal

A key step in the traditional sales process is appraisal. This is when a lender will send over their own people to examine your home and determine its value.

If the appraisal gives you a lower value than you are happy with, you have a problem. Rejecting the appraisal price makes it less likely that you will be able to sell since the lender will be unwilling to finance the sale.

This is famously a very stressful part of the home selling process, which is why some people opt for a cash buyer, to skip this step entirely.

7. Enjoy Total Peace of Mind

Finally, let’s not forget the simple value of peace of mind. Studies have shown that moving house is ranked as the single most stressful life event a person can go through.

If you already have a lot going on, why add to that by choosing to go through a tiring, degrading, and highly complex process that will take months?

This is why so many people turn to cash buyers, as the stress involved with the traditional route is simply not worth it for some people.

Your Finance Questions, Answered 

Accepting a cash offer for your home is not always the right option. It all depends on what your priorities are.

If the most important thing to you is a quick, convenient sale and easy access to equity, then this is probably a good option for you. With all financial matters, the best approach is to be informed.

For this, we have got you covered. Make sure to consult our dedicated Finance hub for practical, impartial advice and guidance on the financial questions that matter to you.