Selling a house for cash

Selling a house for cash can seem a great way to make a quick sale. But with six figure sums at stake, it is important you sell your property to someone reputable at a fair price.  Here’s everything you need to know to protect your money.

Ruth Jackson-Kirby Personal Finance & Property Journalist

Selling a house for cash

Selling a house for cash means you’ll sell quicker and there is a lower risk of the sale falling through. A cash buyer is likely to have less paperwork to do and you won’t be waiting for other people along the property chain to complete.

The different ways of selling a house for cash

There are two main ways to sell a house for cash. Either through:

1. A professional company offering an instant cash purchase. You’ve probably seen one of the many adverts for these types of companies on TV or online. Their business model is to pay you far less than you might get if you had sold on the open market but in return they promise to complete in around 7-28 days. It can also be a route to consider if you are having dificulty selling your property. You can find out more about them in our guide to quick sale firms.
2. Cash buyers: This is a traditional buyer, an individual who can buy your home without needing to sell a property or take out a mortgage to do so. Cash buyers tend to be able to complete faster than other buyers as they aren’t in a property chain or waiting for mortgage approval.

There are around 150 quick sale firms operating today and the proportion of cash buying individuals has also been on the rise. In 2023 cash buyers made up 30% of property sales in the UK, according to data from Zoopla. That’s a rise from an average of 20% between 2017 and 2022. Cash buyers have been unaffected by higher mortgage rates in recent years and have made up a greater proportion of house buyers as a result.

Is selling a house for cash fast?

Yes. The main attraction of selling a house for cash is that it is fast.

Many quick sale firms advertise that you could have the money in your account in as little as seven days. Compare that with the standard sale process which takes an average five months, according to the Government. It’s clear to see why people use cash home buying firms.

Opting for the traditional sales process using an estate agent, but selling to a cash buyer will also make the process faster. That’s because your buyer is chain-free so not waiting for the sale on their own property to go through. And, on top of that, they don’t have to get a mortgage approval either which can slow down the sale.

A private cash buyer may still want to do their due diligence on your property though and that can mean waiting for searches, a survey and legal enquiries. But it should still be faster than a mortgage purchaser or someone with a chain.

What to watch out for when selling a house for cash

If you are selling your house for cash, make sure you ask some extra questions. You want to ensure that the person buying your home has the funds to do so, will honour their initial offer and not drop it at the last minute, and that they are offering you a fair price.

When you are selling your home to an individual cash buyer – that’s someone who has approached you through your estate agent – then it is part of what your estate agent will do to check ID and proof of funds.

If you are selling your home to a quick house sale firm, there are a few more things you need to watch out for.

What to watch for with Quick House Sale companies:

• Last minute price cuts: An agreed sale price being reduced at the last minute.
• Hidden fees: Sudden extra charges being levied, and the sale blocked until they are paid.
• Tie-in agreements: You are locked in for six months giving them ages to complete the sale rather than the quick deal you were promised, and you can’t accept an offer from anyone else during this period.
• Exit penalties: Hefty charges if you try to pull out of the deal.
• Slow sales: Customers have complained to us that their quick cash sale ended up taking months to complete

Read our guide on quick house sale firms: what to beware of.

Pros and Cons of selling house for cash

There are several pros and cons to selling a house for cash, weigh them all up before deciding if it is the right choice for you.

Pros of selling for cash

• Time: Most people opt to sell their house for cash as it will make the sale process quicker. Some quick house sale firms won’t bother with surveys or searches and mortgage applications are not needed. All this makes the period to exchange of contracts and completion a lot shorter. In fact, some firms say they can complete and give you the cash within seven days.
• Fees: If using a quick sale firm, sellers can save on estate agent fees as they may not have to pay an estate agent a commission and, some house buying firms will cover your legal costs too.

Cons of selling for cash

• Lower sale price: Individual cash buyers may offer less than other buyers as they know their chain-free position makes them attractive. The price cut for professional home buying firms can be even bigger. Some quick buy firms could offer you as much as 20-25% less than the market value of your home. If you don’t really need to sell fast, then the traditional route of an estate agent could net you a significantly higher sale price.
• False economies: While you could save money on estate agent and legal fees, this could be a false saving. Firstly, what you would save on estate agent fees is likely to be far less than what you will lose on the sale price. Most cash buying firms offer you far less than the market price. Secondly, the savings on legal fees are if you use the firm’s own solicitors. It is usually better to spend the money to get your own solicitor who will give you independent legal advice.
• Dodgy firms: Quick house sale firms are not regulated and there are plenty of cowboys in the market. Get involved with a dodgy firm and you could face all sorts of problems from a last-minute drop in the price offered to the whole process taking months – with you locked in – so you lose the advantage of a quick sale. Plus, as an unregulated market, you may have nowhere to go for redress if things do go wrong.
• Gazundering: This is where your buyer lowers their offer on your house just before you exchange contracts. Gazundering is common when selling your home for cash. Buyers know time is important and you won’t want to lose the deal and some use that to their advantage.

Process of selling a house for cash

The process of selling a house for cash is similar to what you would expect when you sell your home via an estate agent.

The process when selling your home to an individual cash buyer:

1. Offer made and accepted.
2. Solicitors instructed.
3. Searches and surveys carried out.
4. Exchange of contracts.
5. Completion.

You can find out more about the process with our step-by-step guide to selling.

If you are selling your home to a house buying company the process of selling your house for cash will be a little different.

The typical process when selling with a cash house buying company:

1. Get your home valued: Make sure you get a valuation from three different local estate agents before you contact a house buying company. That way you know what your property is worth and can make an accurate assessment of the cash offer you will receive. Read more with our guide on what price to sell your home for.
2. Find a reputable firm: Check their Google and Trustpilot reviews and make sure they are members of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB). That means they will be registered with The Property Ombudsman (TPOS) and follow its Code of Conduct.
3. Research the firm: Check if they are the actual buyer or if they pass you onto another company. If they are a middleman, you may find the process takes a lot longer than you expected.
4. Sign up: Once you’ve found a suitable firm you can usually register with them online or you may have to call.
5. Receive an offer: After you’ve signed up you should receive a cash offer for your home.
6. Negotiate: Don’t just accept the offer you are given. If you’ve had your home independently value by three estate agents, you’ll be in a much stronger position to negotiate. You can also use our free tool to get an instant home valuation.
7. Get it in writing: Get the offer and any business terms in writing so there can be no confusion during the sale process.
8. House visit: Once you’ve accepted an offer the buyer will visit your home to inspect it and complete their valuation. They should also get a survey completed.
9. Get an independent solicitor. It is vital that you have a conveyancer who is acting in your interests. Many house buying firms offer to cover the costs themselves, but this could mean the solicitor is acting in their best interests rather than yours. Read our guide on How to find the right solicitor.
10. Read your agreement: Make sure you understand what you are agreeing to. Get your solicitor or conveyancer to look over it too. Make sure the fees are set out clearly and you understand what will be charged.
11. Exchange contracts: This is when the process becomes legally binding. You may complete at the same time of a short time later.

Is it legal to sell a house for cash?

Selling a house for cash is legal. You are well within your legal rights to sell your home to a cash buyer whether that is an individual or a home buying/quick sale company. However, in either situation you will need to employ a conveyancer or solicitor to handle the legal work of your house sale.

You can get instant, no-obligation quotes from regulated and reviewed conveyancing solicitors to represent your interests today

f you are selling your home to an individual who is a legitimate cash buyer (your estate agent and solicitor will do checks for this) and you are both using solicitors to represent your interests, then it can be a low-hassle way to sell your home, with more certainty than selling to someone who has to jump hurdles to get a mortgage or who is part of a chain.

The other option is to sell a house for cash to a quick house sale firm. This too is perfectly legal, but it is an unregulated market with plenty of dodgy firms in amongst the more reputable ones. So, you need to do your research and read all the paperwork carefully to ensure you aren’t being ripped off. We explain more here: Quick house sale firms: What to beware of.

Is selling a house for cash safe?

Selling a house for cash can be safe as long as you get independent legal advice and perform some basic checks on your buyer. If you accept an offer from an individual cash buyer, your estate agent will also perform a number of checks including:

• due diligence to check their identity
• proof of funds checks to ensure they can afford to buy your home
• money laundering checks to comply with regulations to ensure the funds the buyer is using were obtained legally.

While legal, professional house buying companies are unregulated, and there are plenty of disreputable companies out there. If you do want to use a quick sale firm, check if the firm is a member of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB). If they are then they will also be registered with The Property Ombudsman so you can go to them for compensation if things go wrong. Although the compensation is limited to a maximum of £25,000.

When dealing with a professional house buying company/quick sale firm, make sure you don’t agree to an ‘option agreement’ which can prevent you selling to anyone else for up to a year.

In summary, the safest way to sell your house is the traditional way, via an estate agent.

Use our Best Estate Agent Finder tool below to help you find and compare a local estate agents in your area. It will list which agents operate near you, which ones have the biggest local market share, how likely they are to achieve asking price and their success rate at selling houses like yours so you can find the best estate agent.

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