How to Spot a Genuine Cash Buyer (4 Checks That Take 10 Minutes)

"Cash buyer" is not a regulated term. Anyone can put it on a website. The difference between a company buying with its own money and a broker hoping to find someone else''s is invisible on the homepage — and enormous by completion day.

The five questions that separate the two

1. "Can you send proof of funds today?" A genuine buyer has a bank statement or a solicitor''s letter confirming cleared funds, and can send it within the hour. A broker will say funds are "with our investor panel" or offer a facility letter from a bridging lender. Bridging is borrowing — that is a mortgaged purchase with extra steps.

2. "Who is named on the contract?" Ask which company or individual will appear as buyer on the TR1. If the answer is "we''ll confirm nearer the time" or "one of our partners", they are sourcing the deal to sell on, and your timescale depends on a third party you have never met.

3. "Is the offer subject to a survey and can it change?" Every serious buyer inspects. The question is whether the offer is a genuine figure that only changes if something material is discovered, or an opening number designed to be reduced later. Get it in writing that the offer is not subject to revision absent new material information.

4. "Are there any fees at all?" A real cash buyer pays your legal fees and charges you nothing. Watch for "administration fees", "valuation contributions", or a sourcing fee deducted at completion.

5. "What are the terms if I change my mind?" There should be none until exchange. If a document ties you in for weeks or months, or gives them an option to buy at a price fixed today, walk away and take legal advice.

Warning signs

• Pressure to decide on the phone today
• No registered company number, or a company incorporated weeks ago
• No Companies House filing history and no named directors
• Requests for a payment of any kind from you
• Refusal to let you use your own independent solicitor
• Reviews that are all five stars, all posted in the same month

Verify in five minutes

1. Companies House — check incorporation date, filed accounts and directors
2. Land Registry — a genuine buyer has bought before; ask for two recent completions you can verify
3. The Property Ombudsman or Property Redress Scheme — membership is a meaningful accountability signal
4. Solicitor — ask which firm acts for them, then check that firm on the SRA register
5. Independent reviews on Google and Trustpilot, read chronologically not by rating

What a fair process looks like

Enquiry, then a same-day indicative range based on comparable sales. An inspection or detailed remote assessment. A written formal offer with the buying entity named, proof of funds attached, and a stated completion window. Your own solicitor instructed — paid for by the buyer, but working for you. Exchange and completion on the date agreed, at the price agreed.

Be realistic about price

No genuine cash buyer pays full market value. You are trading a percentage of the price for speed, certainty, no fees and no chain. Anyone offering 95% of market value in cash within seven days is either mispricing or intends to reduce later. An honest company tells you the number up front and holds it.

If you want to test us against this checklist, ask. We will send proof of funds, the buying entity name and recent completions before you commit to anything.