Is It Suspicious to Buy a House With Cash?

Most people when buying a property that there is only one way to really go about it – securing a mortgage and making monthly repayments to the mortgage provider. However, there are people out there, for one reason or another, that have the cash available to spend on a house and buy it outright without the need for a loan or any help from a financial organisation.

As it’s out of the ordinary for most people, you may be concerned if you find yourself in that situation. Perhaps you have recently inherited money or won money. You may wonder if it might seem a little suspicious to buy a home with cash.

The short answer is no. Unless you turn up to the property with suitcases of cash, although it’s perhaps out of the ordinary, there is nothing sinister or suspicious about buying in cash. Besides, if you have the funds available, there are many reasons why it may be a good idea to buy with cash rather than using any other method.

Seller is More Likely to Trust You and Want to Sell to You

Rather than being suspicious of your money and where you got it from, a seller is likely to be more trusting towards you and want to sell their property to you. This is because there are fewer chances for the sale to go wrong and fall through. There will not be any chain, as you are not waiting on the funds being available through the sale of another property or for your mortgage to be approved. The lack of a property chain makes it an attractive prospect to a seller and you as a buyer.

Less Stress For All Parties

Anyone who has ever bought or sold a house and been involved in the long and drawn-out process that is often involved in doing things the traditional way will know how stressful it can be. Moving to a new house is one of those life events that is considered to be one of the most stressful, closely behind the death of a spouse and divorce. The process of actually buying or selling the process before the move can happen is a huge reason why it is so stressful.

Therefore, if you have the funds available and are prepared to make a cash purchase for a property, it is going to be less stressful for everyone involved.

The process is Much Quicker

Although we have touched upon it, this is too big a benefit to not mention on its own, but the fact that you are cutting out a lot of the time-consuming parts of traditional home buying and selling when you buy with cash means that the process will, in general, be a lot quicker.

No Interest

The lack of a mortgage means the lack of interest on monthly repayments.

Potential Downsides

No method of buying a property is completely foolproof and it’s important to consider the downsides as well as the benefits.

Overstretching Your Finances

Perhaps the biggest downside of buying a property with cash is the potential to overstretch your finances. It is all very well and good being able to secure the cash to make the purchase, but at what cost have you got to that position. If it is inheritance money or you have been fortunate to have won the lottery or something like that, then that’s fair enough. However, if you have collected together with your life’s savings and are left with not a penny to your name, you need to be careful with going through with buying the property.

Although you won’t have to worry about monthly repayments, there are always going to be ongoing expenses of living and running a household. Will you have enough to keep things afloat after the sale? What happens if you lose your job and do not have the same income, will you still be able to live comfortably?

These are important questions you need to ask yourself.

So, while it may not be something that people experience every day, buying a property with cash is not going to make you look suspicious. Unless, as we said, you turn up with large black suitcases.