Cash offer for your house: how it’s worked out

A cash offer for your house can arrive quickly — but it’s worth understanding how the number was reached before you accept it. Our main guide on how to sell my house cash fast covers every route, the timescales and the trade-offs.

How cash buyers work out an offer

Most cash-buying companies start from what the house would sell for once it’s in good order, then take off the cost of any work, their buying and selling costs, the time the money is tied up, and a margin for risk. That’s why a direct cash offer is normally below open-market value. When the Office of Fair Trading studied the quick house sale sector, it found sellers typically gave up between 10% and 25% of market value.

How to check whether a cash offer is fair

• Compare it with recent sold prices for similar homes nearby — not asking prices.
• Ask the buyer to show how they reached the figure, in writing.
• Ask whether the offer could change after a survey, and by how much.
• Get a free valuation from a local estate agent for comparison.
• Check the buyer belongs to a redress scheme such as The Property Ombudsman.

When a lower cash offer can still make sense

A quick, certain sale can be worth more than a higher price that may never complete — for example if a sale has already fallen through, the house can’t be mortgaged, or you’re facing arrears. Our guide to selling fast for full market value explains the trade-off.

Local sold prices in Merseyside and Cheshire

Each area page shows recent Land Registry sold prices, so you can compare any cash offer: Liverpool house prices, Wirral house prices, Sefton house prices, Knowsley house prices, St Helens house prices, Halton house prices, Chester house prices, Ellesmere Port house prices and Warrington house prices.

We buy houses for cash across Merseyside — Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens — and nearby Cheshire, within easy reach of Liverpool and the Wirral: Halton, Chester, Ellesmere Port and Warrington. Each local page has sold prices for the area and what a fast cash sale looks like there.

Next steps

We explain how we reach every figure — see our offer explained, or ask for a written offer with no obligation.