How to Compare Two Cash Offers on Your Cincinnati House

Two cash offers can have similar headlines and very different outcomes. If you are selling a house in Cincinnati, compare what you would receive, what could change, and what you must do before handing over the keys. A higher number is useful only when you understand the terms behind it.

Start with the same information

Give each buyer the same description of the property's condition, occupancy, belongings and preferred closing date. If one buyer has walked through the house and another has only seen exterior photos, their prices are not yet equally informed. Ask whether each offer is preliminary or follows the buyer's property review.

Create one column per offer and copy information from the written documents. Leave a blank where a term is missing; do not fill it with a verbal assumption. Request a written clarification before deciding.

Use these seven comparison rows

• Purchase price: the amount stated in the agreement, including any separate credits.
• Seller deductions: your allocated closing charges, mortgage payoff, liens, taxes and prorations.
• Inspection rights: the deadline and the circumstances in which the buyer can cancel or request changes.
• Buyer and funding: the legal purchaser, evidence of funds and any financing dependency.
• Earnest money: amount, due date, holder and the contract's refund or release terms.
• Assignment: whether another party may take over the buyer's contractual interest.
• Possession: when you must leave and which belongings must be removed.

A cash label does not answer these questions. For the broader steps, see how our buying process works.

Compare proceeds, not just prices

Consider an illustration, not a Burnett quote: Offer A is $150,000 with $3,000 in seller-allocated charges. Offer B is $148,000 with $500 in seller-allocated charges. Before mortgage payoff and other adjustments, the amounts are $147,000 and $147,500. The lower headline offer is $500 higher on that limited comparison.

Now add the differences the example leaves out: holding costs, moving expenses, tax prorations, title issues and obligations already owed under a listing agreement. Use actual estimates for your property. The CFPB explains why a mortgage payoff can differ from the statement balance; obtain the correct figure rather than relying on the balance you remember.

Decide which uncertainties you can accept

An offer with a longer inspection period may be workable, but it creates a different planning risk from an agreement whose review is already complete. Likewise, extra possession time may be valuable if your next home is not ready. Put that value beside the dollars rather than assuming one feature makes an offer universally better.

Burnett Home Buyers buys houses as-is for cash. There are no fees or commissions, and we pay the closing costs. You can request a no-obligation offer and use the same worksheet to assess it.

General educational information; individual property and contract circumstances vary.