​Who Would Buy My House and Close in 7 days?

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a cash home buyer with Westbrook REI. We are a locally owned and operated“We Buy Houses” Company located in the Sac-Joaquin County. We buy Houses throughout the greater Stockton, Sacramento and Modesto metropolitan areas of California and today's article is going to answer the question; can you really close in as little as 7 days”?

If you need to sell your house fast, how quickly you can close and collect the cash will depend on 7 factors.

I want to state for the record that while we have closed many purchases of properties within a 7 day period, it is definitely not the standard and in most real estate transactions that include a cash buyer, we can schedule a closing within 10 days from start to finish, but it requires a lot of work and coordination with the Buyer, the Seller, and the Title Company ;

• The Cooperation of the Title Company
• Clean Chain of Title)No Loans or Mortgages Free and clear title (no loans)
• No Liens
• No Judgments to Cloud Title
• No Outstanding Code Violations
• Cash

Just to be clear, we are not talking about the transaction that bypasses the use of a Title Company or its Scrutiny with a Quitclaim Deed that is signed at the County Court House, immediately recorded with the County and an envelope full of cash is handed to the seller. We always use a Title Company for closing real estate transactions for good reason; they protect both the Buyer and the Seller.

For the Seller, the title company is the resident expert in what needs to be done and in the required time frames. They are the neutral third party that acts as an agent for both the Buyer and the Seller. The Title Officer has a fiduciary responsibility to follow the letter of the purchase and sales agreement and facilitate a fast closing. The Title Company also makes sure that the seller gets paid the amount that was agreed upon and that the sale is recorded at the County Court House.

For the Buyer, the Title Company Insures that the seller is providing clean and clear title on the day of closing. Buyers need to know that whenever they purchase real estate, that there are no previous claims that can cloud the ownership of the property.

• 1) The Title Company

The title Company is the fiduciary in all real estate transactions in California. They are the independent third party that provides a level playing field for the buyer and seller and follows the intent of the purchase and sale agreement to the satisfaction of both parties. Their job is to coordinate and facilitate a fast closing. Be forewarned, that if you want to close quickly, all parties must cooperate for the one specific purpose of funding and recording.

If you are hoping for a fast close, it requires that the Title Company is willing to cooperate and will schedule accordingly. It also requires that the buyer and seller make themselves available to immediately address any issue that arises from title, as they reveal themselves.

• 2) The Chain of Title:

The first hurdle is the Preliminary Title Report. This report is run and analyzed by the Title Company and reveals any known defects or flaws in title that affect the chain of title (ownership). It is the title company’s main responsibility to identify that the seller is who they claim to be and that they have the legal right as the sole owner to sell the subject property. Defects can affect any and all aspects of chain of title that throw into question the rightful ownership of the property as specified on the deed.

A common example can be identifying a father and son that share the same name. A subject property may be held in a Trust for the benefit of a husband and wife. If the wife passes away and the husband for whatever reason transfers the title out of the trust directly to the son (quitclaim deed) without the benefit of a Title Company (all of which are legal transactions), and without additional identification, the chain of title may be considered broken and the title Company will need to have additional information provided to them to proving the chain of title. The title report will also reveal any transfers of title that have occurred for the subject property.

Also common are transfers of ownership that are incomplete or not properly recorded. Believe it or not many inherited properties may have never gone through  probate and are still in the name of the decedent. Before a sale can occur the probate of the estate must be completed.

Related: How to Sell When You don't Have the Time or Money for Repairs

• 3 ) No Loans or Mortgages

Banks and Mortgage Companies are not nimble and are generally not fast. As with other debts, demand payoffs need to be ordered by Title and can take up to 10 days for a normal payoff response. Mortgages that are in good standing are generally not the cause for a delay. Please note, however, that Mortgages that are in a pre-foreclosure (missed payments) or are actually in foreclosure (a notice of default has been issued) can be challenging and the new Legal fees and additional cost will need to be added to a payoff demand prior to closing.

• 4) Liens found in the Title Report:

Many times a title report will reveal liens that that have been properly recorded against a property but not released by the lien holder. Often, theses liens have been paid in full but a “release of the lien” was never filed at the time it was paid. The most common types of liens are old mortgages or mechanics liens that may have been filed but never removed.

In addition, mechanics liens (for work performed on a house), property tax liens, and code violation liens placed by a municipality are also fairly common.

Whatever the liens purpose, the title company must prepare a 'Demand Payoff' request for each lien, mail or fax it to the lien holder and the lien holder has 10 days to respond. It is rare in these instances that a release or “zero Demand” are returned within the 10 day period. It is incumbent on the Buyer and Seller to actively get involved and in many cases to diligently guide these through the process by making repeated phone calls to the lien holders.

In instances where the liens were never satisfied the lien holder would present an amount due and owing to the Title Company. At the final closing, this lien would need to be paid from the proceeds and is the responsibility of the seller.

Please note that mechanics liens can and should be negotiated prior to the title company issuing a 'demands payoff' to the lien holder. Waiting for the demand payoff would alert the lien holder of the pending sale and your ability to negotiate the amount owed would be immediately diminished. As a buyer, I always offer to lead the way and negotiate on the behalf of the seller as my success rate is over 95%

• 5) Judgments found in the Title Report:

A judgment is a court ordered payment generally as a result of a civil case that remained unpaid and as such clouds title. Generally speaking, the judgment is against the property owner, not the property, but is included in the title report as a debt that would need to be satisfied at the time of closing and prior to recording the new sale. The most common judgments are generally for medical or other bills that remained unpaid. It is important to note that judgments may be negotiated and I have negotiated $10,000.00 judgments down to several hundred dollars.

It is important that these judgments be negotiated prior to a demand payoff is issued by the title Company and will definitely delay a closing.

• 6) No Code Violations on Title:

Code violations are a City and Counties only real way of managing blight in neighborhoods caused by vacant houses and owners that fail to maintain houses up to the standards as defined by ordinance. The repeated and unresolved infractions are posted and the homeowners are given a period of time to comply. If an issue is not resolved the city or County will red tag a property and hire outside contractors to remedy the infraction at the homeowner’s expense. Code Violations can become costly rather quickly and may find their way to title.

While fines and fees for performed work are generally not negotiable, any code violations will need to be paid for prior to closing. In addition, the buyer must satisfy the concerns of the City or County and in most cases where the Code Violations have not been remedied, have to accept responsibility for them via a signed affidavit.

• 7) Cash:

The final component required to close the sale of a house in 7 days or less is cash. Cash home buyers will typically buy the house in its current, as-is condition,  waiving all inspections and insist on no contingencies. As such, the Title Company is not waiting for anything other than funds deposited into the escrow account to complete the sale.

Not all cash buyers are created equal and you will need to believe that whoever the Cash home buyer is that they are committed to the result and can create a plan that you believe will work. Check their references, get a proof of funds letter or statement, and most of all, interview them because to make a fast closing happen they become your partner in action.

Read more: Comparing Cash and Financing Offers When Selling

The most important thing to remember is that nothing beats the experience of your buyer to facilitate a fast closing. His/her experience will certainly be required along with of their knowledge of the right Title Company, their relationships with that Title Company in order to make things happen as quickly as possible. While it is impractical for a buyer to promise that they can accomplish everything within a specific and limited time frame, there are certain transactions that will allow for a fast closing.

For the seller, the experience of the buyer is everything and your choice of that buyer should reflect that. Do your due diligence and know that an experienced buyer in your corner, not willing to allow any hurdle get in the way of the sale, is what you need.

Again my name is Peter Westbrook and I am the owner of Westbrook REI. I am cash home buyer in Sacramento and Stockton, I can close a real estate transaction in as little as 7 days and I will utilize all of my relationships and resources to accomplish that feat.

At " Westbrook REI" and "We Buy Houses Sacramento", we are the best at what we do because we work at it every day. We understand that a commitment to the customer and a commitment to our business only happens with hard work. We have years of experience and a plan that we follow. We are a real company with real people that are committed to helping you achieve your goals.

We buy houses in Northern CA and its surrounding areas in Stockton, Lodi, Woodbridge, Acampo, Lockeford, Linden, Ripon, Manteca, Modesto, Ceres, and Tracy CA. If you need to sell your house fast, call us... we'd love to make you a fair no-obligation no-hassle offer. You've got nothing to lose, but we'd love to earn your business.