What is Cash Buyer?
Cash Buyer — A real estate investor or buyer who purchases properties without mortgage financing. Cash buyers can close faster (often 7-14 days) and are the primary end buyers for wholesale deals.
Why Cash Buyers Matter in Investing
Cash buyers are the engine of the wholesale real estate business. When a wholesaler puts a property under contract, they need an end buyer who can close quickly without the delays and contingencies of traditional financing.
Cash closings typically take 7-14 days vs. 30-45 days for financed purchases. This speed matters because:
- Motivated sellers want to close fast
- Shorter holding periods reduce risk
- No risk of the deal falling through due to financing denial
How to Build a Cash Buyer List
- Public records — Pull recent cash transactions from county records
- Networking — REI meetups, Facebook groups, BiggerPockets forums
- Title company relationships — They see who's buying with cash
- Your own marketing — Run ads targeting investors looking for deals in your market
What Cash Buyers Look For
Cash buyers typically want properties at 65-75% of ARV minus repair costs. They're evaluating: neighborhood quality, rehab scope, comparable sales, and timeline to resale or rental stabilization.
Related Terms
A real estate investment strategy where an investor contracts to purchase a property and then assigns that contract to an end buyer for a fee, without ever taking ownership of the property. Wholesaling requires finding deeply discounted deals and motivated sellers.
The estimated market value of a property after all planned renovations and repairs are completed. ARV is the foundation of deal analysis for fix-and-flip investors and helps wholesalers estimate assignment fees.
A property transaction that occurs without the property being publicly listed on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Off-market deals typically offer better pricing and less competition, making them highly sought after by investors.
A key performance metric that measures the total marketing spend divided by the number of closed deals. Cost per deal is more meaningful than cost per lead because it accounts for lead quality and conversion rates.
Related Questions
What is wholesaling in real estate?+
A real estate investment strategy where an investor contracts to purchase a property and then assigns that contract to an end buyer for a fee, without ever taking ownership of the property. Wholesaling requires finding deeply discounted deals and motivated sellers.
Read full definition →What is arv (after repair value) in real estate?+
The estimated market value of a property after all planned renovations and repairs are completed. ARV is the foundation of deal analysis for fix-and-flip investors and helps wholesalers estimate assignment fees.
Read full definition →What is off-market deal in real estate?+
A property transaction that occurs without the property being publicly listed on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Off-market deals typically offer better pricing and less competition, making them highly sought after by investors.
Read full definition →What is cost per deal (cpd) in real estate?+
A key performance metric that measures the total marketing spend divided by the number of closed deals. Cost per deal is more meaningful than cost per lead because it accounts for lead quality and conversion rates.
Read full definition →