What Companies That Pay Cash for Homes Can (And Can’t) Do for Sellers

Whether you’re moving for a new job, going through a divorce, or struggling to make ends meet, sometimes life changes fast and unexpectedly. A house that was once the right fit can suddenly become a weight holding you back. When the need to sell is urgent, the average 70-day listing process can cause stress and financial strain. Thankfully, alternative solutions are available for sellers needing a quick out, including companies that buy homes for cash.

Companies that buy homes for cash are designed to step in and provide a no-fuss sale to a variety of sellers, whether you simply need extra cash now, don’t want to deal with showings, or seek a buyer who has deep pockets for hefty repairs. Since the reputations of “fast cash” companies haven’t always been the most pristine, this guide acts as an honest handbook to help you understand the strengths and limitations of house-buying entities: what can they do for you? What are the trade-offs? And where can you get a cash offer? We’ll cover it all here.

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What companies that pay cash for homes can do for sellers

House-buying companies are real estate investors who purchase homes, oftentimes at scale, as their business model. Some of these companies rehab and re-market properties, while others rent them out long-term. What they offer sellers is a convenient cash option that takes the mystery out of finding a buyer and reduces the closing timeline to a matter of weeks, or even days, due to the lack of lender involvement. Here are six conveniences you can expect from companies that pay cash for homes.

1. Eliminate house showings (and the work of staging your home).

Selling a house normally takes a ton of work. For a typical listing, you’d need to declutter and deep clean the home at a minimum. In addition, 38% of top agents recommend staging your home to help it sell in the current market. This may involve rearranging the furniture, adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls, putting bulky items in storage, and adding final staging touches like fresh towels.

Homes in bad condition will need even more attention to sell on the open market. According to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, 46% of home buyers are less willing to compromise on the condition of the home when purchasing. And common pre-listing updates add up:

• New front door ($505 to $1,898)
• Fresh quartz countertops ($2,000 to $8,000 for 40 square feet at $50 to $200 per sq. foot)
• Install new roof ($5,867 to $13,214)
• Refinish floors ($1,103 to $2,672)
• Improve landscaping ($3,000 to $16,000)

These types of updates will make your house look amazing, but cost significant money upfront. Then, all your hard work and investment into the property will be judged by a parade of buyers coming through your home in the evenings and on Saturdays, no less.

Companies that buy homes for cash, on the other hand, don’t need your house to be pretty. They will make you an offer based on what they believe the bones of the house to be worth. They don’t plan to sip coffee on the front porch or raise their kids in this home — they’re looking at it through the lens of profit, which takes the burden off you as the seller to primp, prep, and keep the house looking perfect for weeks.

2. Waive certain repairs, even if they’re serious.

Most buyers do not have the funds or expertise to fix a home with major issues like a crumbling foundation, a bad roof, and a water leak blooming in the corner of the ceiling. Since these problems will be a deal breaker for most of your traditional buyer pool, “cash buyers really do come in as somewhat of a hero for some of these clients who don’t have the money to fix up the property,” says Zandra Ulloa, a top real estate agent in San Diego who often represents sellers seeking a cash buyer alternative. “These investors are willing to take on the risk.”

Maybe, in the process of preparing the house for the market, you realize these repairs are too big a task to take on. “A lot of people aren’t willing to deal with contractors and managing home repairs —  that’s when they look at the situation like, ‘I could just accept a cash offer right now,’” adds Duane Alexander, the founder of a BBB-accredited, family-owned cash buying company in Atlanta.

3. Help you out of paying housing costs you can no longer afford.

Even prior to the pandemic, research from Harvard found that 21% of American homeowners were “cost burdened,” defined as those spending more than 30% of their income on housing. When you’re on the cusp of being unable to afford your mortgage, it may be wise to sell the asset unless you foresee your financial circumstances improving.

It’s always recommended, first and foremost, to speak with your mortgage lender directly if you’re struggling with payments and discuss your options. However, after about three months of missed mortgage payments, you’ll likely receive a Demand or Notice to Accelerate letter, informing you of how much you owe and providing a 30-day notice to get your balance current. From there, it can be two to three months to the scheduled sale of your property if you take no action to square up with the mortgage company (though some foreclosure sales can take much longer — up to 10 months), guidelines from the Department of Housing and Urban Development note.

When you’re up against a foreclosure deadline, a cash buyer can remove the uncertainty of when an offer will come in. Ideally, you’re able to collect the cash for the home, pay off the existing mortgage, and cover any fees related to your delinquency with your skin intact, helping you sell your house fast before foreclosure. If you have more wiggle room in your timeline, alternatively, you could work with a top agent who has experience helping financially distressed homeowners.

4. Relieve you of a house flip gone wrong.

Home flipping is a risky business. Let’s say you bought a house with the intention of flipping it and realized you’re in over your head. Perhaps you live too far away from the property to manage the flip, or discover you were way off on estimating repairs or resale value. In that case, you may be better off selling that property to another investor rather than holding on longer or attempting to sell buyers on a half-renovated house.

“Regarding a soured house flip, if the seller puts it on the market ‘as is,’ people aren’t willing to go back and do that work to the home,” notes Alexander.

“The pool of buyers is going to be smaller. But investors look at it differently —  the more incomplete a home is, the better … and the more excited we get!”

5. Take an inherited or probate property off your hands.

If a relative passes away and leaves behind an inherited property, that home can turn into an unexpected hassle. You’re on the hook for maintenance, taxes, and utilities for every additional month you keep the house, and you’ll also need to account for the time and money spent traveling back and forth to manage the sale process.

Rather than coordinate contractors and worry about the house sitting vacant, you could sell the inherited house and request a cash offer for the home to make a swift exit. Keep in mind, you’ll need to be sure you have the rights to sell the home and that you’ve followed all of the necessary steps of probate if applicable.

6. Close in a fraction of the time a regular sale takes.

As of June 2025, the average purchase mortgage took 41 days to close, according to data from ICE Mortgage Technology. That’s around a month and a half that the lender needs to perform due diligence on the borrower and make sure they can close on the loan in good faith. By way of paying cash, house-buying companies can move a lot more nimbly and offer a faster closing. Typically, a company that buys homes for cash will show you proof of funds for the amount they’re willing to offer and be able to close within a week to 10 days.