How to sell my house quickly, for cash and fast

If you’re searching “sell my house cash fast”, you probably want two things at once: a buyer who doesn’t need a mortgage, and a sale that completes on a date you can plan around. Both are possible — but the quickest cash sale is rarely the one that pays the most, so it helps to know your options first. This guide explains how to sell your house quickly for cash in Merseyside and nearby Cheshire: the fastest routes, how long each really takes, what speed costs you in price, and how to check a buyer is genuine.

Can I sell my house for cash fast?

Yes. A “cash buyer” is simply a buyer who doesn’t need a mortgage — the money still moves between solicitors in the normal way. Taking the mortgage out of the sale removes the lender’s valuation and the wait for a mortgage offer, two of the stages that most often slow a sale down or stop it altogether. Around a quarter of Merseyside home sales go to buyers without a mortgage, so cash buyers are more common than many sellers expect. Our guide to selling your house for cash explains how a cash sale works in detail.

The quickest ways to sell a house for cash

Selling through an agent is covered in how to sell a house fast, auctions in selling a house at auction, and every route side by side in need to sell your house fast?.

How to sell my house for cash quickly, step by step

1. Work out what it’s really worth from recent sold prices, not asking prices — our pricing guide shows how, and each area page lists local sold prices.
2. Get your paperwork ready: proof of identity, the title and any lease, planning or building-control papers, guarantees and an up-to-date energy certificate. Missing documents are one of the commonest causes of delay.
3. Decide which route fits your deadline and your situation, using the table above.
4. Ask any cash buyer for proof of funds before you accept an offer.
5. Instruct a solicitor early, so the legal work can start the day a price is agreed.
6. Agree the completion date — and any conditions, such as a survey — in writing.

How fast is fast?

Agreeing a sale can happen within days. Completing takes longer, because the legal work — searches, enquiries, the transfer of money and ownership — has to happen whoever the buyer is. The government estimates that it takes around 120 days on average from an accepted offer to completion, and that one in three sales falls through. A cash buyer with no chain removes the mortgage stages and the risk of a lender pulling out, which is why cash sales are usually quicker and more certain. Leasehold properties, probate and missing paperwork add time. Our guides to how long it takes to sell a house and how long conveyancing takes go into the detail.

What selling your house fast for cash costs you

Speed and certainty have a price. When the Office of Fair Trading looked at the quick house sale sector, it found people selling to quick-sale firms typically gave up between 10% and 25% of market value. A private cash buyer found through an agent will usually pay more, but you’ll wait longer to find them. Whichever you choose, compare any cash offer with realistic sold prices for similar homes nearby — can you sell fast for full market value? explains what’s achievable.

How to check a cash house buyer is genuine

• Ask for proof of funds dated within the last few weeks.
• Check whether the company belongs to a redress scheme such as The Property Ombudsman, whose code says members must not claim to be cash buyers if they rely on mortgage finance.
• Ask whether they’re buying the property themselves or passing it on to someone else.
• Find out whether the offer depends on a survey, and whether the price could change afterwards.
• Never pay an upfront fee to sell your own house.
• Get the offer, the completion date and any conditions in writing.

Our guide to checking quick house sale companies covers the warning signs in more detail.

When a fast cash sale makes sense

If your home is in good condition and you have a few months, a well-priced open-market sale usually gets you more. A fast cash sale tends to suit people who need certainty, a fixed date, or a buyer for a property others can’t mortgage — for example:

• an inherited property you need to sell and clear
• a house that needs major work or can’t get a mortgage
• arrears or the threat of repossession
• a sale that has fallen through
• a tenanted property or a vacant home
• divorce or separation, or a move for work

Not sure which route is right? Direct sale vs estate agent compares the two honestly.

Sell my house cash fast in Merseyside and Cheshire

We buy houses for cash across Merseyside — Liverpool, the Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens — and nearby Cheshire: Halton (Widnes and Runcorn), Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston, and Warrington, all within easy reach of Liverpool and the Wirral. Each area has its own guide to selling quickly, with local sold prices, the council to contact and what a fast cash sale looks like there.

More on selling your house for cash, fast

This guide is the starting point. These go deeper on the questions people ask most:

• Can I sell my house for cash in 7 days? — what’s realistic, and what slows it down
• Cash offer for your house: how it’s worked out — and how to tell if it’s fair
• Selling for cash when you still have a mortgage — what happens to what you owe
• Selling your house for cash: what fees will you pay?
• Selling your house for cash: how it works and every way to sell fast, compared
• Selling a house as-is, at auction or without an estate agent

Next steps

If a fast cash sale sounds right, tell us about your property and we’ll come back with a written offer and an honest view of your other options — there’s no obligation to proceed. You can also read how it works first.