✏️ Editor’s Note: Realtor Associations, agents, and MLS’ have started implementing changes related to the NAR’s $418 million settlement. While home-sellers will likely save thousands in commission, compliance and litigation risks have significantly increased for sellers throughout the nation. Learn how NAR’s settlement affects home sellers.
Better Cash Offer Program helps you make attractive cash offer on the house of your choice. The company charges 1.25 to 2.5% of the home purchase value.
What exactly is Better Cash Offer program, is it the best in the market, and how does it compete against other competitors? Read our take on Better Cash Offer Reviews to know more.
How Does Better Cash Offer Program Works?
You can get cash offers from Better.com by following the steps:
Step 1: Get in Touch with Better Real Estate
Better Real Estate agents are in-house agents that are hyperlocal. This allows them to work with home buyers to identify properties that perfectly suit their needs. They also have experience coordinating cash offers and can support the bidding process.
Step 2: Get Approved for a Mortgage
Next, have Better Mortgage pre-approve your mortgage after it has been underwritten. Mortgage pre-approval allows you to buy back your home from Better Real Estate seamlessly.
Remember that even though you’re offering the seller all cash, you’ll still need a mortgage to pay for the house. You’ll need to determine your purchasing budget and your financial capacity.
Home buyers can choose to work with a mortgage lender of their choice. In that case, Better charges you 2.5% of the purchase value, instead of 1.25%.
» Benefits of All Cash Offer: Discover how cash offers beat mortgage-backed offers
Step 3: Make an Appealing All Cash Offer
Once your loan is approved, it’s time for you to work on budgeting and making bids. You may seek the assistance of Better real estate agents.
With the Better.com Cash Offer program, you waive off financing and appraisal contingency. Also, as a cash buyer, you provide home sellers with a quick closing. These two aspects make your bid more appealing to home sellers.
» How to Beat a Cash Offer on a House: Best tactics for making your cash offer more appealing
Step 4: Move in and Repurchase
After your offer is accepted by the home seller, Better real estate purchases the property in all cash. You can move after the company has closed the sale, and live there, while your mortgage is processed.
Once your home loan is finalized, you buy back your home from Better Real Estate at the original purchase price.
» What’s My Home’s Value: You can know your home’s market value with Houzeo’s free Home Worth Estimator. It helps you estimate the amount you will get upon sale.
Better Cash Offers: Pros & Cons
Pros
- Perfect for tech-savvy borrowers that prefer an online experience and have access to human customer support if necessary.
- There are no commissions or fees.
- Intelligent technology automatically searches for discounts and applies them to qualified borrowers.
- An automated procedure produces a preapproval letter in three minutes.
- I’ll match any offer from a rival or pay you $100. (only available to applicants who go directly through Better).
Cons
- No branches exist.
- HELOCs and home equity loans are not available.
- Some federal loans are not accessible.
Who is Best Suited for the Better Cash Offer Program?
1. Buyers Who Aim to Succeed in Cutthroat Markets
Offers for all cash are four times more likely to be accepted. A Real Estate Agent may be necessary if you have been looking for a property but have yet to achieve results. An all-cash offer could give you a better chance of winning in competitive marketplaces.
2. Home Buyers Who are Also Sellers
For homeowners, buying and selling have always been challenging and stressful, but not longer. The Better Cash Offer program allows you to sell on your schedule and eliminate the need for two sets of movers by dropping the house sale condition.
Timing can be a problem for purchasers who want to use the proceeds from the sale of their present house to finance the purchase of their next property. You still have 90 days to sell your old property, but with the Better Cash Offer, you may immediately purchase the house you desire.
3. Buyers Seeking Advantageous Conditions to Negotiate
The seller will usually see you more favorably if you are a cash buyer. Still, you may also have greater negotiation power when it comes to the conditions of the transaction.
In exchange for cash that wouldn’t be on the table with standard mortgage-based bids, sellers sometimes agree to compromises. For instance, they could decide to perform the house’s needed renovations or accept a lesser cash offer even if an enormous non-cash offer also exists.
Is the Better Cash Offer Expensive?
With Better Real Estate and Better Mortgage, you pay 1.25% of the purchase price as a service fee.
» What’s My Home’s Value: You can know your home’s market value with Houzeo’s free Home Worth Estimator. It helps you estimate the amount you will get upon sale.
Alternatives to Better Cash Offers
Following cash-offering companies empower home buyers to make appealing cash offers on homes, similar to Better.com:
1. Ribbon Home
The company has two cash offering packages – Ribbon Boost and Ribbon Reserve.
- Ribbon Boost: The company purchases a house on your behalf by backing your bid with cash and appraisal protection. After securing a mortgage, you can repurchase your home from Ribbon at the same price.
- Ribbon Reserve: It is similar to Ribbon Boost, except you can move into your new house while shopping for a mortgage. This Ribbon loan package is ideal if you want to close quickly.
» Ribbon Home Reviews: Read to know which Ribbon loan suits you the best
2. Homeward
Homeward helps you make a cash offer on a house in three ways:
- Buy Before You Sell: Homeward purchases new property in full cash before you sell the existing one. You move into the newly purchased home, list and sell the old one, and use the proceeds to repurchase your new home from Homeward.
- Buy With Cash: To make your offer more competitive Homeward backs it with cash. Unlike buy-before-sell, you need not sell your existing house. Homeward Buy Before Sell empowers first-time home buyers to make cash offers.
- Cash-Backed Offers: If your mortgage financing falls through, the Homeward backs your offer with cash. A cash-backed offer from Homeward will strengthen your bid but will leave you on the hook to pay a 1% fee, even if you do not use the entire cash.
» Homeward Reviews: Discover how Homeward differs from other cash-offering companies
3. Homie Cash
Homie Loans announced Homie Cash™, a program that allows buyers to make all-cash offers to increase their chances of winning the perfect home drastically.
The company levels the field by allowing buyers that don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars in their bank accounts to become cash buyers and compete against investors and iBuyers like Opendoor, Offerpad, etc.
As a buyer, you need to understand that you still need to get a traditional mortgage to pay back Homie Loans. This means you have two closing costs and end up spending more than necessary on one transaction!
» Homie Reviews: How this cash offering company works?
4. Opendoor Cash Offers
To gain a secure cash offer through Opendoor you need a mortgage pre-approval first. Opendoor pairs you with one of their agents to help you figure out your budget. The Opendoor agents also help you negotiate various contingencies involved.
Once the seller accepts the bid, Opendoor will purchase the house in total cash and hold it for you. In the meantime, you can shop for the mortgage and buy back your house from Opendoor.
» Opendoor Reviews: Everything you need to know about Opendoor Cash Offers
5. HomeLight Cash Offer
Homelight is a cash offer company that deals in both buying and selling houses. The company is willing to make cash offers on your behalf and resell it to you if you meet their cash-buying criteria.
The company offers guaranteed closing. This makes Homelight stand apart from other cash financing companies.
» Homelight Cash Offer Reviews: Read what cash home buyers have to say about Homelight
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