Like many homeowners, Misty and John were shopping in a highly competitive market where contingent offers usually lose. And the owner of the home they had their eyes on had already rejected several contingent offers.

As a real estate agent, John knew he and Misty wouldn't be able to get the home they wanted without a little help. So they explored their options with us. They took a close look at the costs and benefits and decided it was worth every penny.

A better offer

Our Buy before you sell service enabled Misty and John to use our cash to make their offer more attractive to the seller. It also meant they didn't have to worry about selling their old home. If it didn't sell on the open market within six months, they knew we'd buy it from them — and they knew exactly how much we'd pay.

So, they made an offer to the seller with no finance contingency and no home sale contingency. "Because we were able to offer [cash], they were more intrigued by that," explains Misty.

Better terms

Sellers love cash offers because they're more likely to close smoothly and more swiftly than a traditionally financed bid. What does that mean for buyers? More negotiating power — power you can use to negotiate the terms and timeline you want.  And that's exactly what Mistay and John did.

"We were able to negotiate  [quite a bit] off the list price based on the fact that it was a cash offer with no contingencies," explains John. "That was a huge advantage for us personally."

Better pricing

Misty and John paid a convenience fee to become cash buyers. (For more detail about our conveninece fees, visit the Buy before you sell and Buy with cash pages.) The money they saved by negotiating a better deal because they were cash buyers more than offset the convenience fee they paid.

"Being able to go in knowing we were making a cash offer in a competitive environment, getting the house we were looking for, knowing we had the certainty of selling our house if it didn't sell — all those things outweighed that expense," remembers John. "There's no question that all the benefits were absolutely worth it in our situation."

In the end, John was so impressed by the experience that he came to work for us. Today, he's one of our partner leads.