Guide · November 9, 2026
How to compare cash offers and choose a cash home buyer
Two cash offers with the same price can leave you with different amounts and different risks. Put them side by side, read the contract terms, and read the buyer's reviews with care.
Key points
- Compare what you keep after every cost.
- Check who holds the earnest deposit. A Florida title agency must use escrow funds only as the closing instructions say.
- Read the inspection period: how long it is, and whether the buyer can walk away or lower the price during it.
- Look for a clause that lets the buyer assign, or sell, the contract to someone else.
- Ask for proof of funds and the comparable sales behind the price, in writing.
- Federal rules forbid fake reviews, bought reviews and hidden insider reviews. Read reviews for the city, the situation and the timing.
Price is one line of an offer
When you ask several cash buyers for offers, the first thing you see is the price. Two offers with the same price can still leave you with different amounts at closing, and with different chances that the sale closes at all. The terms in the contract decide both.
This guide shows what to put side by side, how to read the contract terms, and how to read a buyer's reviews. It gives no legal advice, so ask a lawyer to read any contract you are unsure about.
Put the offers side by side
Ask every buyer for its offer in writing, then copy the same lines from each into one table. Leave a line blank when a buyer will not answer it in writing, and treat a blank as a question to ask.
| Line | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Price | The number in the contract, in writing |
| Closing costs | Who pays them, in the contract |
| Fees | Any fee charged to you, of any kind |
| Earnest deposit | How much, and who holds it |
| Inspection period | How many days, and what the buyer can do in them |
| Assignment | Whether the buyer can sell the contract to someone else |
| Closing date | A date you choose, or a range |
| Proof of funds | A bank letter or statement with the offer |
| How the price was set | The comparable sales and the repair estimate |
| What stays in the house | Whether you can leave furniture and items behind |
What you keep, after every cost
Start from each price and take off what you pay: closing costs if the contract puts them on you, any fee, your loan payoff and liens, the prorated property tax, and any repairs or clean-out the contract asks you to do. The result is what you keep. Compare that number across the offers. Use the same payoff figure and the same closing date for every offer, so the numbers line up, and write down the date of each offer next to its total.
The net proceeds calculator on this site does the arithmetic with your own numbers.
The earnest deposit and who holds it
The earnest deposit is money the buyer puts down when the contract is signed, credited to the price at closing. It shows the buyer is committed, and it is what you may keep if the buyer breaks the contract, depending on the contract's terms. Ask how much it is and who holds it.
A licensed title company is the safest holder. In Florida, section 626.8473 says a title agency acting as escrow agent must deposit the funds in an insured financial institution in Florida, use them only as the escrow, settlement or closing instructions say, and keep separate records of every receipt and payment. Call the title company yourself, at a number you look up, to confirm the deposit arrived.
The inspection period
A cash contract can give the buyer a set number of days to inspect the house. Read what the buyer can do in those days. If it can cancel for any reason and get its deposit back, the contract binds you and not the buyer until the period ends.
Watch for a lower price after the inspection, called a retrade. A buyer that offers high, then finds reasons to cut the price once you have stopped talking to other buyers, can leave you worse off than a lower, firm offer. Ask each buyer in writing whether the price can change after the inspection, and why.
The assignment clause
Some contracts let the buyer assign the contract, which means selling its right to buy your house to another buyer before closing. The words to look for include "and/or assigns" after the buyer's name, or a section titled assignment.
If the buyer can assign, the person who closes may not be the person you met, and the closing depends on someone you have never checked. Ask each buyer whether it will close itself, and ask for that in the contract, in plain words that both of you sign. If an assignment is allowed, ask who the end buyer is and for their proof of funds.
Proof of funds and the numbers behind the price
Ask every buyer for proof of funds, such as a bank letter or statement, with the offer. A buyer that cannot show the money may be planning to find it, or to assign the contract, after you sign.
Ask how the price was set. A written offer that lists the comparable sales and the repair estimate lets you check the number yourself, and lets you compare buyers on the same terms. If two buyers used different sales, ask each one why, and look up the sales yourself on the county's website.
How a cash offer is worked out →
Reading reviews
Reviews help, and they can be faked. A federal rule, 16 CFR Part 465, bars businesses from fake or false reviews and testimonials, buying positive or negative reviews, hiding insider reviews, running review websites that look independent but are company-controlled, and suppressing reviews.
Read reviews for detail: the city, the situation, how long the sale took, and whether the price changed. A review with real detail tells you more than a row of five stars. Ask the buyer for the names of sellers you can call.
- Reviews that name the city and the situation
- Reviews that mention the closing date and the final price
- Replies from the company to unhappy reviews
- Reviews spread over months and years
Ask every buyer the same questions
Offers are easier to compare when every buyer answers the same questions, in writing. Send the same short list to each one, and copy the answers into your table.
- Will you close the purchase yourself, or assign the contract?
- Who holds the deposit, and how much is it?
- How many days is the inspection period, and can the price change after it?
- Who pays the closing costs, and are there any fees to me?
- Can I choose the closing date?
- Can I leave furniture and items behind?
- Will you send proof of funds and the comparable sales with the offer?
Take the time you need
A fair offer gives you time to read it. A buyer that pushes you to sign today, before you can compare or ask questions, gives you a reason to slow down. The Federal Trade Commission warns about rescue papers that transfer the deed and are signed under time pressure.
Ask each buyer how long its offer stays open, and use that time to compare. If you need a lawyer to read the contract, tell the buyer, and see how it responds.
Picking the buyer
The best cash buyer depends on the house and on you. The best offer for you is the one that leaves you the most money, on the date you need, with the least risk that the price changes or the sale fails. Sometimes that is the highest price. Sometimes it is a lower, firm price from a buyer that closes itself, holds the deposit with a title company, and puts every promise in writing.
Before you sign, check the buyer as well as the offer. The guide on checking a cash buyer lists the warning signs.
What a BIMINIO offer includes
BIMINIO buys houses in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Lakeland, Phoenix and Glendale. Our written offer arrives within 24 hours, with the comparable sales we used and a bank letter as proof of funds. Your earnest deposit is held by a licensed title company. We pay the closing costs, and the price in the written offer is the price at closing.
You pick a closing date from 7 to 35 days out. A cash offer is below full market value, so compare ours with your other offers and with a listing, line by line.
Want a number for your house? BIMINIO buys in Florida and Arizona, as is. A written offer comes within 24 hours.