Should I accept a cash offer on my house?
This page is an honest framework for that decision: how to compare net to net rather than offer against asking price, a worked example on a £200,000 house, and the situations where saying no is the right call.
Get a Free Cash Offer Call us nowQuick answer: Accept a cash offer when speed and certainty are worth more to you than the extra you might net on the open market, which is often the case with a fixed deadline, a difficult property, or a mortgage-affecting issue. If your home is in good order, in a strong location, and you have time to wait, an estate agent usually nets more, so it is fine to say no.
The one question that actually decides it
Most people ask whether a cash offer is a good price. That is the wrong first question. The right one is: what is speed and certainty worth to me, in my situation, right now? A cash offer isn't a valuation of your house. It is a trade. You give up some headline price, and in return you get a fixed sum, a fixed completion date, no fees, and near-zero chance of the sale collapsing. Whether that trade is worth taking depends entirely on how much a slow or failed sale would cost you, in money and in stress. This page gives you a way to work that out on your own numbers, then a genuine list of situations where the answer is yes and where the answer is no. We are a cash buyer: a small local team who buy with our own funds and answer the phone ourselves. We have still tried to write this the way you would want it written, because talking someone into the wrong decision costs us referrals and costs you far more.
Compare net to net, not offer to asking price
The comparison almost everyone makes is the cash offer against the price they hope an estate agent will get. That isn't a fair comparison, because the asking price isn't what lands in your bank account. You have to compare what you actually walk away with on each route, after every cost, and after allowing for the risk that the sale falls through. Reputable UK cash buyers offer between 75 and 85% of open market value in 2026, so on headline price the gap looks large. We don't put a percentage on our own offers in advance, because there are too many variables in a house for a formula to be honest about it. Once you subtract estate agent commission (usually 1 to 2% plus VAT), solicitor fees, an Energy Performance Certificate, any pre-sale repairs and presentation, and the carrying costs of mortgage, council tax, utilities and insurance across the average 25-week open-market timeline, the real gap narrows. Then you weigh the roughly one-in-four to one-in-three chance the open-market sale collapses before completion, taking your wasted costs with it. Our full net-vs-net maths sits on the cash buyer vs estate agent page. The point here is simple: compare the two net figures, not the offer against a hopeful asking price.
Want to check that against your own house? Get a free, independent estimate from Zoopla or Rightmove, then ask us what we would pay. Every property is different, so we price yours on what it actually is rather than on a formula. There is no fee and no obligation.
The third route: modern method of auction
If you are also weighing an auction, apply the same test. Under the modern method of auction the buyer pays a non-refundable reservation fee on top of the hammer price, commonly 4.2 to 5% of the price plus VAT. It is described as paid by the buyer, not the seller, but a buyer works to a total budget, so that fee comes out of what they can bid and the hammer price is lower than it would otherwise be. Your own fee stack then comes off that suppressed figure. We aren't saying you always end up with more by selling to us, because sometimes you won't. We are saying a hammer price and a cash offer aren't the same kind of number, so compare what actually reaches your account on each route.
A worked example on a £200,000 house
This is illustrative, not an offer or a valuation, and your figures will differ. Take a house with a realistic open market value of £200,000. Estate agent route, assuming it completes: sale agreed at 97% of asking is £194,000; minus agent commission around £2,800; minus conveyancing around £1,300; minus an EPC and some presentation, say £800; minus roughly £1,300 in carrying costs across a 25-week sale. Net to you is around £187,800. Cash route: there is no commission, we can cover your legal fees if you use our panel solicitor, and there are no carrying costs because completion is 7 to 28 days, so the figure you accept is the figure that reaches your account. We won't put a percentage on that figure here, because it depends on the house itself and on what you tell us about it. Ask us for it in writing and set it next to the £187,800, and you can see the real gap on your own numbers. And crucially, the £187,800 is the figure if the open-market sale completes. If it falls through at week ten, you keep none of it and you have spent money getting there. The cash figure carries no such if.
When to say yes
The maths and the stress usually point to accepting a cash offer when you are working to a fixed external deadline or your property narrows the open-market buyer pool. A firm cash sale earns its discount when: you have a repossession court date or possession warrant and need to sell before the court acts; you are tied to a divorce or financial order deadline; you need to complete on an onward purchase and can't risk a chain; you are handling a probate property that is running up council tax, insurance and empty-home costs every month; your sale has already fallen through once and a second failure would be the last straw; or your property carries a mortgage-affecting issue such as Japanese knotweed, subsidence, non-standard construction, a short lease, or sitting tenants. For those properties, most mortgaged buyers can't get a loan anyway, so the realistic buyer pool is already other cash buyers. In that case an estate agent often just adds months and a commission to a sale that was always going to be a cash transaction. If any of this is you, the certainty of a fixed completion is frequently worth more than the headline difference.
When to say no
A cash offer isn't always the right answer, and a decent buyer will tell you so. Think hard before accepting, and often decline, if: your house is in good or easily presentable condition, in a sought-after area, and mortgageable without any specialist conditions; you aren't in a chain and not buying onward, which removes the single biggest cause of open-market fall-throughs; you have genuine time and financial slack to sit out a 5 to 6 month sale; and you have plenty of equity, so the extra you might net on the open market is money you would actually feel. In that situation the open-market premium is real and worth waiting for. Also say no, to any buyer, if something feels off: an offer above 90% of market value made before anyone has viewed is almost always a bait figure that gets cut days before exchange when you are most committed. Pressure to sign on the spot, a refusal to explain how the figure was reached, or a buyer who turns out to be reselling your contract to a third party are all reasons to walk away and get another offer.
Check the buyer before you check the price
A fair price from a buyer who can't or won't complete is worth nothing. Before you weigh any offer, confirm you are dealing with a genuine buyer. Ask whether they are buying with their own funds as a principal or simply signing you to terms and then shopping the deal to a network, which reintroduces the chain risk a cash sale is meant to remove. Check the company on Companies House, look for membership of the National Association of Property Buyers and The Property Ombudsman's Code of Practice for Residential Property Buying Companies, and get written confirmation of who pays the conveyancing. Read the heads of terms before you sign anything, and be wary of any clause that lets the offer be revised late in the process. We buy with our own funds, we can cover your legal fees if you use our panel solicitor, and we don't reassign contracts to third parties. Our guide on spotting a legitimate cash buyer sets out the red flags in full.
How to make the decision without regret
You don't have to choose blind, and you don't have to choose today. Get two or three estate agent valuations and one or two written cash offers at the same time. Neither carries a fee or an obligation. The agent valuations give you the optimistic open-market ceiling; the cash offers give you the certainty-weighted floor. Put both net figures side by side, add your real deadline and your tolerance for a sale falling through, and the right answer for your situation is usually clear. If the open market wins on your numbers and you can genuinely wait, take that route and you have lost nothing by getting the cash benchmark. If certainty wins, you have lost nothing by confirming what the open-market premium would have been. Whichever way you go, remember that taxes including any Capital Gains Tax remain yours to handle, and independent legal or financial advice is sensible where the numbers are large or the situation is complicated.
Frequently asked questions
Accept it when speed and certainty are worth more to you than the extra you might net on the open market. That is often the case with a fixed deadline like a court date or divorce order, a probate property running up costs, a sale that has already fallen through, or a property with a mortgage-affecting issue. If your home is in good order, in a strong location, and you have time to wait, an estate agent usually nets more and it is fine to say no.
Reputable UK cash buyers offer between 75 and 85% of open market value in 2026. We don't publish a band for our own offers, because the right figure depends on the property and on what you tell us about it. Below 75%, without a clear reason such as serious structural problems or a very short lease, is generally exploitative. Above 90% before anyone has viewed is almost always a bait offer that gets cut later. From us you get one figure in writing, our best at that point on the information given, rather than a low opener we work up from.
On headline price, yes. On what you actually net, usually less than it looks. Once you subtract agent commission, solicitor fees, an EPC, any repairs, and the carrying costs across the average 25-week open-market timeline, a £200,000 open-market sale nets closer to £188,000 than to £200,000. Set your written cash offer against that net figure rather than against the asking price, then weigh the risk of the sale falling through. The open-market figure also depends on the sale completing, which a cash sale doesn't.
Say no when your house is in good condition, in a sought-after area, mortgageable with no specialist conditions, you aren't in a chain, and you have the time and financial slack to wait out a 5 to 6 month sale. In that situation the open-market premium is real and worth waiting for. Also say no to any buyer who pressures you, won't explain their figure, quotes above 90% before viewing, or turns out to be reselling your contract.
Yes, and most sellers should. Get two or three agent valuations and one or two written cash offers together. Neither carries a fee or obligation. The agent valuations give you the open-market ceiling and the cash offers give you the certainty-weighted floor, so you can compare the two net figures side by side before deciding.
A genuine written cash offer should come with no obligation to proceed and no pressure to sign on the spot. A reputable buyer will explain how the figure was calculated and give you time to compare it. Read the heads of terms before signing anything, and be cautious of any clause that lets the offer be revised late in the process.
Confirm they are buying with their own funds as a principal rather than signing you to terms and reselling the deal, which reintroduces chain risk. Check the company on Companies House, look for National Association of Property Buyers and Property Ombudsman membership, and get written confirmation of who pays the conveyancing. We buy with our own funds, can cover your legal fees if you use our panel solicitor, and don't reassign contracts.
A cash sale typically completes in 7 to 28 days from accepting the offer, sometimes in as little as 7 days, because there is no mortgage application and no chain. The usual limit on the timeline is your own paperwork, such as ID checks, title deeds and any leasehold management pack, rather than the buyer's funds. If you need longer, a good buyer will work to a completion date that suits you.
With a reputable cash buyer there are no agent fees, and we can cover your legal fees if you use our panel solicitor. That means the figure you accept is the figure that reaches your account on completion, with nothing taken off for fees. Taxes are separate: any Capital Gains Tax remains your responsibility on either route, so take independent tax advice where it applies.
Usually no, but it depends how close the date is. A cash sale can complete in 7 to 28 days, and the fastest we have done is 7 days, so there is often still time to sell before the court acts. Tell your lender a sale is under way, because they may agree to hold off. Ring us as soon as you can and we will be straight with you about whether the timing works.
Some buyers do try this, which is why you should ask up front whether the figure can change. Our written offer stands for 14 days and is based on what you tell us about the house. The only thing that moves it is something genuinely new coming out of the legal work, such as a title problem or serious damage nobody knew about. A buyer who cuts the price days before exchange for no clear reason is one to walk away from.
Get a firm cash offer in place fast so you have something solid to tell your seller. We can put a written offer to you the same day, and completion can be 7 to 28 days, which is often enough to hold a purchase together. Tell your solicitor and the other side what is happening. If your seller can wait a few weeks, a cash sale often saves the move.
It will if the sale covers your mortgage, the arrears and any fees, and your solicitor pays the lender straight from the sale money before anything reaches you. Ask your lender for a redemption figure so you know the exact amount owed, then hold it next to the offer. If the offer doesn't cover it, say so. There are still options, but you need honest advice rather than a rushed sale.
You can still sell, but your lender has to agree, because the sale won't repay the loan in full. Any shortfall normally stays as a debt in your name, so this isn't a decision to make quickly. Get a redemption figure from your lender and speak to a free adviser such as StepChange or Citizens Advice first. We will tell you plainly if selling isn't in your interest.
It can be, so trust your gut. A time limit is normal, because prices and costs move, but it should be a fair window and clearly explained. Ours stays open for 14 days and we won't pressure you into deciding. What isn't normal is being told to decide today, being pushed to sign before you have read anything, or being warned the price drops if you take advice. That is pressure, and it is a reason to walk away.
No, we buy houses in any condition and we often prefer the ones that need work. You don't have to clear it, clean it, decorate it or repair anything. The condition is priced into the offer, so a house needing a lot doing gets a lower figure than one ready to live in. The trade is that you spend nothing up front and you aren't tidying the place up for a stream of viewings.
Yes, within reason. A fast completion is an option, not a rule, so if you need longer to find somewhere, we can work to a date that suits you. Sellers often line it up with a new tenancy, a court order or an onward purchase. Tell us the date early so the solicitors aim for it. What we can't do is let you stay on after completion, so pick a date you can actually meet.
They might, and any fee would come from your existing agency contract rather than from us. Read that contract before you accept anything. Many agreements have a tie-in period or sole selling rights, which can mean a fee is still due even when you find the buyer yourself. Check the notice period as well. If you are unsure, ask the agent in writing what you would owe. We would rather you sorted that out first than got a surprise bill after completion.
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