In a legitimate cash sale you never receive a briefcase of cash and never hand your bank details to the buyer. All money moves through the title company escrow account, and you receive a wire or cashier’s check at closing with a settlement statement listing every dollar. Understanding this flow is the single best protection against fraud.
KEY FACTS FROM THIS GUIDE
- A written cash offer should show comps, repair estimate and margin, every time
- All closings run through licensed title companies (OH, TX) or closing attorneys (GA)
- Never sign a deed outside a closing; never pay a fee to sell your house
- Primary-residence gains up to $250,000/$500,000 are usually tax-free (IRC 121)
Step 1: Earnest money proves the buyer is real
Within days of signing, the buyer deposits earnest money with the title company. You can call the title company yourself to confirm it arrived. A buyer who cannot produce a deposit is not a buyer.
Step 2: Escrow holds everything until closing
Before closing day the buyer wires the full purchase price into escrow. The title company confirms the funds are cleared and irreversible before anything is signed. This is why cash closings do not fall apart the way financed deals do.
A written offer costs nothing and decides nothing yet. Written numbers, licensed title company closings, zero pressure.
Step 3: Debts are paid first, in legal order
From the escrowed funds the title company pays off your mortgage, any tax liens, judgments and closing fees, each documented on the settlement statement you sign. You never write these checks yourself.
Step 4: You get the remainder, documented
The rest is wired to your account, or issued as a cashier’s check, usually the same day the deed records. Keep the settlement statement: it is your proof of every payment and the document your tax preparer will want in April.
The one rule that prevents almost every payment scam
Verify wire instructions by phone, using a number you found independently, before sending or expecting any money. Email-forwarded wire instructions are the most common fraud vector in American real estate.
Get a free written cash offer here, or book a free consultation if you want to talk it through with a real person first.
