12 questions before you accept
A fast way to test the buyer, price, timeline, and contract terms.
Read the checklist →Resource center
Practical tools for a clearer decision.
Use these short guides to compare offers, understand contracts, prepare for deadlines, and ask better questions before signing.
Browse by topic
Compare net proceeds
Compare each path on the same basis—fees, repair deductions, closing costs, time, and what you may actually keep.
Use the framework →Clauses worth slowing down for
Review assignment, inspection, price-change, extension, cancellation, and default terms.
Review warning signs →When foreclosure feels close
Organize the facts and documents that determine which paths remain.
See the first steps →Verify the buyer
Confirm the buying entity, proof of funds, earnest money, assignment rights, and what happens if closing fails.
Check the buyer →What matters most to you?
Rank speed, price, certainty, convenience, control, and protection.
Set your priorities →Quick guides
Questions you can use today.
Save or print the questions that fit your situation. If a deadline is close or the documents are unclear, request one-to-one guidance.
12 questions before accepting a fast cash offer
- What evidence supports the offered price?
- How does it compare with recent nearby sales?
- Who is the actual buyer named in the contract?
- Can the contract be assigned to someone else?
- How much earnest money is deposited, and when?
- How long is the inspection or feasibility period?
- Can the buyer cancel without losing earnest money?
- Can the buyer reduce the price after inspection?
- Which closing costs, liens, or fees come from your proceeds?
- Is proof of funds current and tied to the buyer?
- What happens if closing is delayed or fails?
- Have you compared at least one realistic alternative?
Compare net proceeds—not just offer prices
Start with the expected sale price. Then subtract service fees, commissions if any, repair deductions or credits, seller-paid closing costs, taxes and assessments, mortgages and liens, moving costs, and the cost of holding the property until closing.
Compare each path on the same page
Estimate a realistic high, middle, and low outcome for each path. Add the likely time to close, probability of closing, and risk that terms may change. The fastest offer may still be the right choice—the goal is to see the price of speed and certainty.
Contract terms worth slowing down for
- A long inspection or feasibility period
- Broad cancellation or price-reduction rights for the buyer
- Assignment or marketing language you do not understand
- Access rights before closing
- Missing or very small earnest money
- Unclear closing extensions, taxes, liens, fees, or repair responsibilities
- Blank spaces, addenda, recording rights, or verbal promises not written into the agreement
When a foreclosure deadline feels close
Confirm the exact notice type, date, loan servicer, amount needed to reinstate, and whether a sale date is already scheduled. Gather recent statements, notices, income information, tax returns, and any prior loss-mitigation correspondence.
Do not assume that selling to the first buyer is the only way to act quickly. The realistic choices depend on the state, loan, stage, equity, and days remaining.
Verify the direct buyer
Confirm the full legal name of the buying entity, the signer’s authority, current proof of funds, recent completed purchases, title or escrow contact, earnest-money terms, assignment rights, whether the named buyer will take title, and what happens if that buyer cannot close.
Set your decision priorities
Rank these from most to least important: highest net proceeds, speed, certainty, minimal repairs, privacy, flexible move-out, keeping the home, and preserving control. A better choice is the one that fits your actual priorities after the costs and risks are visible.
Before you decide
Bring the offer and your questions.
A Homeowner Protection Counselor can help you understand the terms, compare your options, and identify what deserves a closer look—at no cost and without pressure.