How to check a cash home buyer

Is the offer in writing?

A text with a dollar figure is not an offer you can enforce. Ask for a written contract that names the address, the price, and what has to happen before anyone is paid. Momentum Properties shows sellers a written offer and a settlement statement before they sign.

Read who the buyer is. The name on the contract should match the company you have been talking to. If the contract names a different party, ask why before you sign.

Who holds the money?

A Virginia settlement or title company should hold the funds and pay them out from the settlement statement. You can read who is allowed to do that work, and how a signed statement directs the funds, on the lawyer and settlement page.

Do not wire a deposit to a buyer’s personal account because a caller says the closing is informal. Ask for the settlement agent’s name on the draft statement.

Is anyone asking for money up front?

Ask whether the buyer wants a fee before closing. Treat an upfront fee as a check, not as a courtesy. Ask any buyer the same question, including Momentum Properties. If someone asks you to pay for the visit, the contract, or a “processing” step before a settlement statement exists, stop and ask what the payment is for.

Ordinary closing costs belong on the statement, where you can see them next to the price. That is a different moment from a payment collected at the first phone call.

When is the deed signed?

Sign the deed at the closing the settlement agent runs, when the statement is there and the funds are handled under that statement. Do not sign a deed early so a buyer can “get a head start.” If a buyer asks for the deed before that closing, treat it as a reason to walk away.

The practical check is the timing of the deed. The legal roles of the settlement agent are on the lawyer page.

How do you compare two offers?

Put the two written offers next to two draft statements, not next to two headline prices. The number you keep is the price minus the payoff, the settlement costs, and any repair credit the writing actually contains. A higher price with a larger credit can net less.

Ask Momentum Properties to show the math on our offer the same way. How that math is built is on the calculate-offers page. A listing is a third column if you want one. The cash-versus-listing page is the comparison.

Questions

Does Momentum Properties show a written offer before you sign?

Yes. Sellers see a written offer and a settlement statement before they sign.

Can the signing be remote?

Yes. Momentum Properties works with remote or mobile-notary signings. The settlement agent still has to accept that signing for the file.

Should I check a street address for the buyer’s office?

Use the written contract, the settlement agent, and the statement. Do not treat a visit to a buyer’s office as the way to prove the offer.