Hard Money vs. Cash

[ROBERT DEHAVEN]

Any ideas on how to best position your hard money offer to compete with cash offers? Ultimately...if you are pre-approved, the numbers work, and the lender can close super-fast there ought to be no material difference in the seller's eyes, right? Granted, there are fewer variables with the cash offer...

I'm not confident that all seller's agents even know what to make of a hard money offer (traditional sales).

Any useful language or tactics that folks have used with success?

[Will Barnard]

As others stated, a HML is still financing. The trick to make it appear as strong as cash offers is the following:
Check the box that selects the financing is Non Contingent to close.
Second, place verbiage in the contract that states that the lender has no appraisal or conditions necessary to close.
If you are capable of it, also show POF for full amount of purchase and state in contract that in any event lender does not fund, you will close with cash.

Lastly, write a cover letter explaining that though your offer includes financing, the it is non contingent, it is not institutional but private funding, and if possible (true), state you have closed on prior deals with said lender without a hitch.

All of this together will not make your offer equal to cash, but damn close to it.