Hey, Berks County. A lot of times people will ask us what does it mean to buy a house cash, as is? What does as is means? And I just wanted to take a few minutes to explain that.
My name is April Crosslet. I’m with Berks County House Buyers, and we help homeowners in Berks County that need to sell their house quickly, or have a home that the need of significant repairs that they can’t sell on the market.
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So today I just want to discuss what as is for cash really means, because we get that question a lot. So, when we buy as is, that means that we’re buying without doing any inspections.
So what we’ll do is typically someone will submit an inquiry on our website or they’ll give us a call and we’ll take a few minutes to talk to them on the phone to see if the house is a good fit for us. We certainly don’t buy every house from every person that calls us. We like to make sure that we’re a good fit for you and that the house is a good fit for what we’re looking for.
But we’ll take a few minutes on the phone and ask you some questions about the house and why you’re looking to sell and what the condition is. And if we feel like it’s a good fit for us, and that we are a good fit for you, we’ll come out and take a look at the property.
Our Simple Process
When we walk through the property, we will take some pictures just to help us show our contractor, so that he can see what kind of repairs need to be made, and to help us look at comparable properties in the area to come up with a value for the property when it would be all fixed up. So when we come and look at it, that’s the only time that we look at the property. So when we say we buy as is, that means that we’re buying without doing any formal inspections.
So when you list a home on the market in Berks County, you typically will have to go through a home inspection, radon, termite. There’s all different kinds of inspections that traditional home buyers like to do because they’re getting a loan to purchase the property, and to get that loan they’re required to do certain inspections. Because we’re buying cash we don’t have to do any inspections. So little disclaimer, if a property has a septic system, which you’ll find some videos on our YouTube channel about that, we do a septic inspection. The reason we do a septic inspection is because the cost of replacing a septic system in Berks County is significantly high. So septics are the only things that we will inspect. Otherwise, we just walk through the property, we take a look at it one time, and then we’re able to go back and analyze our numbers and make you an offer.
Now when we say that we buy cash, what we mean by that is all funds are exchanged at the closing table, at a title company, just like they would be if you listed your house on the market, only we can buy a lot quicker because we’re buying it cash so we don’t have to do inspections, we don’t have to wait on bank loans or anything like that. We can close as quickly as you’d like to or you can take your time. We don’t have to close quickly if you’re not ready to move yet. And that how quickly close depends on how fast the title company can get us in as well. But we’ve been working with our title company for over 12 years in Berks County and they’re really good to us, and just have a way of getting us in in a timely manner, which is great.
So when we say we buy cash, that means we’re not getting a loan, so the process can go much faster, but you don’t get cash directly from us. What happens is you will get a certified check from the title company that you can deposit that same day at your bank. So it’s not like you have to wait or there’s any kind of delay. I’ve driven sellers to the bank after settlement so that they can deposit their check right away, and have access to their money right away. This is just safer and more secure for everyone involved. That way you don’t have to worry are we giving you cash? Are we giving you some type of check that might, for some odd reason, not be a good check or something. So we just want to calm your fears about that. We send the money to the title company and the title company gives you a certified check.
We can’t buy your house without your permission. So we sign an offer purchase agreement and we go to the title company and sit at the settlement table. You have to bring your ID. The title agent will ask you questions and you have to sign paperwork. It’s typically a really quick process. Closing usually only takes about 15 minutes for a cash offer. It’s not like when someone gets a loan, there’s lots of paperwork and lots of signing. It’s not like that when you buy a house cash. So as is cash offer is quick, it’s convenient. It’s definitely not a fit for everybody, but we’re happy to chat with you to see if we might be a fit for you. So if you have any questions or you have a home you’re looking to sell in Berks County, feel free to reach out to us. (610) 816-6205 and you can check us out @berksdirectcashbuyers.com.