How to Sell My House Fast in California: Cash Offer Options
As a homeowner in the Golden State, you may find yourself racing toward a new chapter in life and asking, “How can I sell my house fast in California?” Whether it’s a sudden event or a planned move, handling California’s dynamic real estate market swiftly can seem challenging.
In this guide, we’ll explore your two best options for a quick sale: securing an instant cash offer from a house-buying company or collaborating with a top-performing local real estate agent. We’ll delve into the processes of both avenues and provide expert selling tips that could lead to a swift sale and potentially higher returns.
Option 1: Sell your California house fast for cash
Selling your California house to a cash buyer allows you to cut through the traditional real estate process, such as inspections and repairs, home prep and staging, and can significantly accelerate your home sale.
HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform connects you to the largest network of cash buyers in the U.S., including trusted buyers in California. We use the information you provide about your home, along with local neighborhood transaction data, to get you a convenient, no-obligation cash offer in as little as a week. If you accept the offer, you can close in as few as 10 days.
Here are the three easy steps in the Simple Sale process:
HomeLight was founded in 2012 and is BBB accredited with an A+ rating. The company has 4.8 stars on Google based on hundreds of reviews.
Who else will buy your California house for cash?
You can also find other cash buyers in California, such as house flippers, iBuyers, and investors, who will buy a house for cash. Below are examples of these businesses, the types of homes they look to purchase, and their process.
House flippers: House flippers buy homes with good bones in dire need of repair to remodel and resell as turnkey for a maximum profit. Flippers typically make offers well below market value to account for the cost of needed repairs.
iBuyers: iBuyers use a proprietary algorithm that compares many data sets, including price history, lot acreage, a home’s square footage, tax valuation history, and other data points to determine the home’s automated valuation model (AVM). While historically offering more than flippers, iBuyers typically charge sellers a fee between 5% to 6%.
Buy-and-hold investors: Buy-and-hold investors buy houses as long-term investments, often converting properties into rental units to build equity.
Franchising/homebuying companies: These investors will buy your house as-is for cash, and renovate and sell them as turnkey homes for a significant profit. Like flippers, these investors offer sellers below market value.
Oriana Shea, a top-selling Long Beach agent with over 27 years of experience, reminds buyers that companies who buy homes for cash may sometimes tack on other fees to their services, even if they don’t work on a commission basis. It is always in the best interest of the buyer to ask the cash buyer outright regarding their terms and conditions.
Cash house buyers in California
California house-buying companies, also known as We Buy Houses companies, typically buy houses in need of repairs. Most of these companies will conduct a walkthrough within 48-72 hours, pay cash, and strive to close the sale in around seven to 10 days. In more urgent cases, some California cash buyers can close in as little as three days.
Here are examples of some established house-buying companies in California.
Company name
Contact
About
Closing costs*
HomeVestors / We Buy Ugly Houses®
webuyuglyhouses.com
866-200-6475
Largest professional house-buying franchise in the U.S.
None
Simple Sale (a HomeLight platform)
homelight.com/simple
844-488-8455
Connects you to the largest network of cash buyers in the U.S., including trusted buyers throughout California
None
We Buy Houses
webuyhouses.com
877-932-8946
Provides unified branding, marketing materials, and systems to professional investors nationwide
None
Express Homebuyers
expresshomebuyers.com
877-804-5252
Has purchased over 4,000 homes since beginning operations in 2003; available in many California cities
None
SoCal Home Buyers
socalhomebuyers.com
951-331-3844
Founded by husband and wife, team Doug and Andrea Van Soests
None
Premier Property Buyers
premierpropertybuyers.com
714-475-7526
A local family-owned company that takes pride in being honest and transparent
None
John Medina Buys Houses
johnmedinabuyshouses.com
310-928-9688
Founded in Los Angeles in 2013, and now buying houses throughout California
None
Laurel Buys Houses
laurelbuyshouses.com
916-476-2381
Serving for more than 20 years, the company touts integrity, transparency, and putting customer needs first
None
*Service plans can change. Check the company’s website for current fees and costs.
