How Much Do Cash House Buyers Pay?
No Fees, No Obligation, Cash Offer.
Why do cash buyers pay below market value?
A cash buyer is paying for something an open-market sale can’t give you: speed and certainty. There’s no estate agent, no chain of buyers and sellers, no mortgage lender who can pull out, and no months of viewings. To offer that, a cash buyer takes on the risk, the holding costs and the eventual resale – and the discount to market value is how that’s funded.
It is not a con, and it’s not meant to be a full-price offer. It’s a straight trade: you accept a little less than the theoretical top price in exchange for a fast, guaranteed, cost-free sale.
What you actually keep is closer than it looks
The “full market price” an estate agent quotes is never the amount that reaches your bank. Once you subtract agent fees, months of mortgage payments, bills and council tax while it sits on the market, and any repairs, the real gap narrows sharply. Here’s a like-for-like example on a £200,000 home:
| Estate agent ~7 months, if it completes | Cash sale to us as little as 7 days | |
|---|---|---|
| Agreed price | £190,000 (after negotiation) | £156,000 (78% offer) |
| Agent fee (1.5% + VAT) | −£3,420 | £0 |
| Legal / conveyancing | −£1,200 | £0 (we cover it) |
| ~7 months mortgage, bills & council tax | −£7,200 | £0 |
| Repairs / prep to sell | −£1,500 | £0 |
| In your pocket | ~£176,680 | £156,000 |
The real difference here is about £20,000 – and we’ll never pretend otherwise. But the agent figure assumes the sale completes (around one in three fall through) and that you can carry the property for months. When certainty and speed matter, that trade is often worth it.
How we work out your offer
We look at recent sold prices for similar properties in your street and area (using Land Registry data), the condition and type of your home, and the local market. From that we work out a fair, firm cash figure – usually within 24 hours. We explain how we got there, and we don’t inflate a number to win you over and then chip it down before completion.
Common questions
Do cash buyers ever pay full market value?
Is 70–80% of market value a fair offer?
Are there any fees or costs to pay?
Will you drop your offer before completion?
Related guides
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