Should You proceed with a buyer with a loan with a higher offer or one with cash with a slightly lower offer

The current market for property sales in Cyprus is a challenging one. The difficulty multiplies exponentially when you need to find the right buyer with the financial capacity to buy your property at the asking price or close to it. Not all buyers have the financial capacity to pay the full price for a property. In some cases, you may find buyers who are ready to pay a high price for your property but have a loan at hand. In other cases, you may find buyers who can’t afford to pay the asking price but are ready to take the property off your hands at a slightly lower price. As a result, you may have a compromise when the time comes to sell your Cypriot property.

In reality, it is almost impossible to find a buyer whose financial capacity color matches the asking price for your Cypriot property. When the time comes to sell, you’ll have two basic choices; either you lower your asking price or find a buyer that is ready to step up his/her budget to afford your property. Which begs the question: Which should you proceed with between a buyer offering a higher offer price with a loan or one with cash with a slightly lower offer?

The answer

There is no straightforward answer to this question. Because, at the end of the day, whom you sell your property to and the price you request for your property depends on your needs. That being said, it is always best to accept cash payment for your Cypriot property, as opposed to loans or other alternative modes of payment. Life is unpredictable, and as such, you shouldn’t sell your property to buyers that have little or no chance of paying the sale price before the sale contracts are signed.

On the off chance that you decide that you want to sell your property to a buyer that offers a higher price but have a loan, you should consult your lawyer and your estate agent to protect your property from encumbrances. We recommend that you collect a substantial cash deposit from the potential buyer, to reduce the outstanding payment and make the necessary checks before agreeing to sell to them.

Why Cash buyers are better

Properties sale is a complex business with plenty of legalities. All these legalities and documentations require cash that you may or may not have. Thus, finding a buyer with the financial capacity to pay the sale price in full and with cash, can go a long way in helping you take care of other important projects. Besides, a one-time cash payment from a buyer can be used to acquire other properties.

If compromising on the asking price of your property will not hurt you too much, we advise that you take the offer instead of proceeding with a buyer that can’t afford to pay the full price immediately.

Conclusion 

The process involved with property sale and change of title deed is a time-intensive one. Thus, you have to go with an offer that’ll help you save time on the sale procedure. All things considered, a cash offer is the best offer.

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Author: Christos Nikolaou

BEng Mechanical Engineering, MSc Real Estate, ETEK Property Valuer, Register and Licensed Real Estate Agent.

Christos Nikolaou is the founder and Managing Director of Property Canvas, he holds a license as an Estate Agent from the Association of Real Estate Agents of Cyprus and he is a registered Property Valuer in the Technical and Scientific Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK). He is the author of our “Should You proceed with a buyer with a loan with a higher offer or one with cash with a slightly lower offer” and is a certified advance negotiator.