A cash sale removes the lender, not the paperwork. Here is what the title company actually does between contract and keys: title search, payoffs, the settlement statement, signatures, and the wire that lands the money.
By InTym Properties
A cash sale still has a closing, and it still has paperwork. What changes is who is missing: no lender means no loan documents, no appraisal condition, and no underwriting delay. Everything else, the title work, the payoffs, the statement, the signatures, the disbursement, is done by the licensed title company, which is the neutral third party running the whole exchange. Here is the sequence, in order.
Once the contract is signed and escrow is opened, the title company searches the public record: the deed history, mortgages, judgments, tax liens, code enforcement liens, HOA estoppel status, and anything else recorded against the property or the seller's name. The output is a title commitment, a promise to insure title subject to listed exceptions and requirements. Anything that must be cleared, a mortgage payoff, a judgment, an unreleased lien, shows up as a requirement.
This stage is the real timeline in a cash deal. The closing timeline post covers it: clear title closes in days, cloudy title closes when the clouds clear.
The title company orders payoff statements from every lienholder: the mortgage lender, judgment creditors, the county for delinquent taxes, the HOA. Those payoffs are disbursed from the sale proceeds at closing, before the seller's share. The seller does not pay them out of pocket; they come off the top, and the statement shows each one. The sell a house with liens page covers how attached debts transfer and resolve.
Earnest money still exists in a cash sale; it just plays a smaller role than in a financed one. The deposit goes into the title company's escrow account when the contract is signed, and the contract's contingencies decide whether it is refundable. In a financed deal the deposit is hostage to appraisal and loan contingencies for weeks. In a clean cash deal the contingency windows are short or absent, which makes the deposit's size the honest signal: a real buyer puts down real money. The cash buyer vs. wholesaler post explains why a $100 deposit and a month of contingencies usually means the "buyer" is shopping the contract, not the house.
Before signing, the seller gets a settlement statement (a closing statement or ALTA-style statement, depending on the office). The seller's side reads top to bottom:
With InTym Properties there are no fees or commissions on the seller's side, and the written offer states which closing lines fall where, so the statement should hold no surprises. Read it against the offer; a legitimate buyer's numbers reconcile.
The signing package is short compared to a financed closing, since half of a normal stack is loan paperwork:
Many title companies handle signing by mobile notary or remote package if the seller is out of state, which is common for inherited and vacant properties.
After signing, the title company releases the deed for recording and disburses per the statement: lienholders get paid first, then the seller's net goes out by wire or cashier's check, typically the same day or the next business day. That wire is the end of it: no holdback for repairs, no post-closing inspection, no lender funding review. In Florida and Idaho the deed is recorded with the county, Broward County's Records Division or the Ada or Canyon County recorder in the Treasure Valley, and recording is what makes the transfer official.
A cash closing is measured in minutes, not hours. A typical day runs like this: the seller signs the five-document package (about 20 to 30 minutes, often the day before or by mobile notary), the title company confirms the file is complete and releases the deed to record, payoffs go out to lienholders, and the seller's net wires same day or lands the next business day. Compare that to a financed closing, where signing is only the midpoint: the lender reviews the signed package before authorizing funding, which is why financed deals fund a day or more after everyone signs. Cash skips that review entirely. The buyer's funds are already sitting in escrow waiting for the signatures.
Cash removes the appraisal contingency, the financing contingency, and the underwriting calendar. It does not remove the title search, the disclosures, the payoffs, or the seller's right to have counsel review the documents. A buyer who says "no title company needed" is not offering speed; they are removing your only protection. Every InTym Properties closing runs through a licensed title company, and the verify us page lists the checks a seller can run on any buyer, including this one, before signing anything.
Want a written offer with the closing math already shown? Call or text (650) 540-1854 or email hello@intymproperties.com. InTym Properties makes written offers usually within 48 hours, closes through licensed title companies, and shows proof of funds on request.
Some lines follow the seller by contract or custom: lien payoffs, prorated property taxes, and in Florida the documentary stamp tax on the deed. With InTym Properties there are no fees or commissions charged to the seller, and the written offer shows which closing lines fall on which side before signing.
Earnest money is the buyer's deposit held in escrow by the title company, proof the buyer intends to perform. If the buyer cancels inside a contingency window, the deposit typically goes back. If the buyer defaults outside the contingencies, the seller usually keeps it as liquidated damages, per the contract. Size matters: a tiny deposit is a cheap option, not a commitment.
The title company disburses: payoffs go to lienholders first, then the seller's net proceeds arrive by wire or cashier's check, typically the same day or the next business day after signing, once the deed is released to record.
Liens get paid from the proceeds at closing: the title company orders payoff statements and disburses to each lienholder before the seller's net. Title defects like a missing heir or an unreleased old mortgage take longer to cure and can extend the timeline. InTym Properties works with the title company to clear them rather than canceling.
Written offer usually within 48 hours, signed by InTym Properties, every number shown. No repairs, no fees, no obligation.
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