Everything You Need to Know About The Cash Offer Process On A House in Brooklyn

Stairway to a house entrance in an apartment building in Brooklyn, NY.

Are you looking to sell your real estate property in Brooklyn to cash buyers? If you want a cash offer on your house, you can forego working with a real estate agent and directly contact cash home buyers. 

However, there are numerous steps and laws you’ll need to follow when pursuing a cash offer on a house process. If you want to sell your home through a cash sale, follow the steps below. 

Here, you will learn about the contracts, pre-sale paperwork, home inspections, and closing documents necessary for the cash offer on a house process.

 Ready to find out all about it? Read on!

How Long Do Cash Home Purchases Usually Take?

In most cases, the cash offer process in NY usually takes only one or two weeks to complete. The reason it goes by much faster is due to the lack of needing a mortgage loan during the home-buying process. The buyer won’t need to wait on loan approval or a credit score check. Also, you won’t need to spend as much time seeking buyers or working with a realtor.

Furthermore, homeowners looking to sell their house via a cash offer can also sell their property in its as-is condition without needing to waste any time on renovations and upgrades. Cash home buyers are often house flippers who buy a property at a cheaper cost, renovate the home, and sell it at a profit. 

The advantages of selling a house by owner include a quick home sale in only a couple of weeks. Also, you won’t need to work with a realtor, staging company, or contractor if you plan to sell the place in its as-is condition directly to a cash buyer.

However, even though you can sell your home without a real estate agent, you may still want to work with a realtor to get help with negotiations and real estate laws. A realtor can help you with closing costs and documentation while ensuring you sell your home hassle-free at a good purchase price. 

Nonetheless, if you’re an experienced home seller, you can avoid paying 6-percent commission fees to a realtor if you choose the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route. 

A judge and a homeowner discussing some house laws in Brooklyn, NY.

Cash Home Buyer Laws in Brooklyn

When completing a new home sale with iBuyers or cash home buyers in the state of New York, you will need to work with a real estate attorney. You may also benefit from hiring a realtor in Brooklyn. A real estate agent can ensure you sell your place at market value. However, a real estate attorney will represent you on the closing date and prepare the contract for selling your place. 

During the home selling process, the lawyer will likely provide a standardized form when preparing a contract for sale. The attorney will also help negotiate terms between the seller and the buyer.

With a finalized contract in hand, the lawyer will have both parties sign it and require the buyer to send a downpayment. In the state of New York, the downpayment is usually 10 percent of the final home sale price. 

Also, the attorney will review the title report to ensure there are no issues before the closing process begins. The lawyer is also responsible for gathering closing paperwork, like a deed and transfer documents, as well as calculating the buyer’s financing responsibilities.

The lawyer will also figure out the closing costs the seller needs to pay. Furthermore, the New York Property Condition Disclosure Act requires home sellers to disclose known home defects to the buyer even if the buyer foregoes the home inspection contingency. 

However, when your potential buyer offers a cash deal via a home cash buying company, you likely can sell the place in its as-is condition regardless of home defects. 

The Cash Offer On House Process in Brooklyn

The typical steps necessary to complete a home sale with a cash buyer include:

  • The cash buyer making an offer 
  • The seller accepting the offer or negotiating a better offer
  • The seller verifying that the cash buyer has proof of funds, which takes up to two days
  • The escrow company holding onto the earnest money put toward the down payment
  • A title company handling the title search and title insurance, which takes three days
  • The buyer submitting the earnest money, which takes only one day
  • A home inspection, which takes one week to book and a few hours to complete
  • The home appraisal, which may take up to five days to complete
  • The final walk-through, which takes place on closing day or a day before
  • The closing process, which takes about two hours

Below, you can learn more about the contracts, closing paperwork, home inspections, and payments required for a cash home-buying process.

Contracts and other Pre-Sale Documentation

To complete a home sale with a cash buyer in only two weeks, you will need to accept a cash offer from the buyer and sign a purchase and sales agreement. Your real estate attorney can help you formulate the purchase and sales contract while a realtor may help you negotiate a fair price. 

The lawyer is also responsible for preparing any other pre-sale documentation. These processes will begin the home sale to the cash buyer. The next step is for the seller to verify that the cash buyer has the funds necessary to pay for the property.

The buyer will need to put forth a downpayment before completing the sale and provide proof of funds.

Home Inspections

If the buyer included home inspection clauses in the contract, you will need to hire a home inspector to check over the house. You will likely need to fix up any issues that the inspector finds before closing day. The buyer may also ask for a reduction in the price instead of home repairs.

Before your house passes the inspection, you will need to hire an escrow company and a title company. The title company is responsible for determining the boundaries of the property and ensuring that the home has no liens against it. 

Once the home sale completes, the title company records the change in ownership of the property. The escrow company, on the other hand, handles holding the money and then sends it to the rightful party after closing. 

Payment Processes

A cash deal for a home sale is a much simpler way to sell a house than the usual method of waiting for a buyer to get a mortgage loan approval. By skipping the home loan approval process, the completion of the sale goes much faster.

The payment process begins with the buyer putting in an offer and the seller either accepting it or negotiating a better offer.  The seller will also need to verify whether the buyer has the money necessary to purchase the house. Essentially, the buyer needs to provide proof of funds.

The escrow company will also hold the initial down payment or earnest money from the buyer until closing day. 

Closing Documentation and Transfers

The last step in the home purchase is closing where you sign closing documentation, transfer ownership paperwork, and transmit money between the two parties. It usually takes only one or two hours to complete closing since you can bypass the mortgage loan documentation. 

To have a proper closing, it’s best to include real estate experts, such as a realtor and a real estate lawyer. From beginning to end, you can expect to complete a home sale to a cash buyer within around two weeks. 

How to Sell Your House to a Cash Home Buyer in Brooklyn

You can sell your property to a cash home buyer in Brooklyn by either working with a realtor or bypassing the real estate agent altogether and contacting a cash home buying company.

Brooklyn or the state of New York is no different than other regions when selling to a cash home buyer. You will need to contact a cash buyer and schedule an appointment for viewing your house. The cash buyer then visits your real estate property and usually makes an offer right away.

Then, you can accept the offer on the house and sign a purchase and sales agreement. The rest of the steps involve verifying funds, hiring an escrow company and title company, completing a home inspection and appraisal, and signing the closing paperwork.

Conclusion

The cash offer on the house process in Brooklyn is rather straightforward, but there are a few specific cash home buyer laws you’ll need to follow. You may or may not need to complete a home inspection, but you will certainly need to have the documentation necessary for the real estate transaction.

The best part about selling to cash buyers is the fast process. You can complete the home sale in only a few short weeks, as cash buyers do not need a mortgage loan or to wait on the mortgage lender to approve the home loan. 

Essentially, if you want to sell a house fast in New York, you should seek out cash home buyers in Brooklyn.  Did you know we buy houses NYC locals adore? Call us today!